January, 2014.
This is a follow-up post-harvest report on our work with Plantskydd Animal Repellent. The product was used to reduce damage on grape vines from ground squirrels and deer. An initial report was submitted in May, 2013.
Now that our season is over and the wine grapes have been harvested we can say that 2013 was a good year indeed. Even considering that the harvest was the best on record for all of California the results on Plantskydd treated sites were outstanding.
We attribute at least a 30% improvement in yield on the 1,000 acres that were treated with the product in this operational trial. This represents well over $1 million. Planstkydd will definitely be included in our plans next year and we will likely use on it more acreage where we suspect underperforming sites.
Thank you for all your assistance,
Matt Boughner
Diamond West Farming
Read more from Viticulture Management
Managing Deer Damage to Young Pecan Trees
using Plantskydd Deer Repellent
Summer 2013
Field Trial Results
Managing Deer Damage to Young Pecan Trees
using Plantskydd Deer Repellent
Overview of the Stiuation:
The problem:
This established pecan farm inter-planted approximately 15,000 young trees on 600 acres where 60’ x 60’ spacing had originally been used. Shortly after planting, herds of deer began to cause significant damage to the young trees.
Plantskydd Animal Repellent:
Facing the prospect of unacceptable damage and mortality, the grower contacted Plantskydd and acquired enough of the deer repellent Plantskydd powder concentrate to spray 331 acres of the newly planted trees. Damage to the trees was dramatically reduced immediately after the first application of Plantskydd and complete control was achieved once adequate coverage was achieved. By the end of summer, browse damage from deer was virtually eliminated.
Other product unsatisfactory:
Young Pecan trees require only a short period of a few years to grow past deer damage, ruling out fencing as an economical option. In the past, a contingency plan included the use of another deer repellent: a capsaicin-based animal repellent commonly used in agriculture. Once significant browse damage began, the capsaicin product was sprayed 2 times but the deer resumed heavy browsing after only a few days. The farm is in the Southwest U.S. desert climate zone with an average June rainfall of less than ¼” and the fields are flood irrigated, so it cannot be said that the capsaicin-based product was washed off the plants. These same conditions create an ideal situation for the deer with irrigated, nutritious young trees and grasses for food, shade and cover from the sun thanks to the mature trees and presumably fewer predators due to the human presence. Other than a ¾ mile buffer of residences on one side and pockets of dwellings on the other, the farm is literally surrounded by hundreds of miles of wilderness.
Read More – Go to Full PDF Document
Raspberry plants plagued by deer.
I am sending this note to comment on one of your products – Plantskydd.
This is my first endorsement of a product.
Our family grows raspberries which in recent years have been plagued by deer. We have tried various products which have not seemed to deter the problem. This past spring when I called you, my expectation was not overly optimistic. However, after having spoken with you, and since the deer were already feasting on the plants, we decided to give your Plantskydd Deer Repellent a try.
The application was put down in mid June. Surprisingly, we saw no deer or tracks thereafter.
We put down another application in early August. We had a great crop of raspberries this year.
I certainly would recommend Plantskydd to others. It worked for us!
Gordon W. St. John
Livonia, Michigan
October 2013
 We had a great crop of raspberries this year. I certainly would recommend Plantskydd to others. It worked for us! |
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Deer wiped out a 3 acre corn field by pulling them out of the ground at emergence until the crop was completely destroyed.
I am a fifth generation farmer in Oxford, Georgia. The last few decades have presented a new challenge to our operations that generations before didn’t have to contend with: deer damage.
Until the 1960s, this area was basically void of deer but the herds have progressively grown since and we now see deer in the middle of the day. Last year was the worst year and, for example, deer wiped out a 3 acre corn field by pulling them out of the ground at emergence until the crop was completely destroyed. Nothing was left behind. We could no longer afford to hope to grow more and faster than the deer can eat. We allow hunting on some of our properties and we have applied for depredation permits in the past but new deer just keep coming in.
This year I began using Plantskydd on my corn and peas and have had very good results. Your product didn’t work 100% but it kept the deer out of the fields. I saw one track close to the peas but I saw no damage. Not like before, when the whole herd were in there eating everything up.
What’s worth noting is that we had more rain here in Georgia this year than I have seen in 30 or 40 years and we had heavy rain after each time that I applied. I applied it on the first few rows: 2 times on the corn and 4 times on the peas just to be sure and that seemed to provide good control.
I have attached these pictures so you can see for yourself.
Tommy Mitcham
August 7, 2013
Mitcham Farms
Oxford, Georgia
 Mitcham Farms, Oxford Georgia No more deer damage to corn field and pea plantation. |
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I recommend Plantskydd to any farmer who will listen.
I am pleased to provide written testimony to your products effectiveness. NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT!
My family has been growing organic apples on 150 acres for over 100 years. Flushing Michigan is a sprawling suburbs of Flint and we are surrounded by housing developments.
Over the years, we have seen a nearly non-existent deer herd grow to enormous populations. The deer are quite comfortable in open spaces, people’s back yards, and make a home of my orchard.
I have been using Plantskydd Organic Animal Repellent for 6 or 7 years, but I have not made such heavy use of it until this year. I’ve always believed that it took an assortment of strategies to keep the deer ‘on their toes.’ I was wrong. I used Plantskydd exclusively on my orchard this year and had the best control we have ever experienced—despite a burgeoning deer herd!
I wish I would have known this years ago. I always thought caging young trees, in combination with hanging soap, was the most effective way to keep the deer from getting at my trees. I thought that one day, I would be able to afford a deer-proof fence around the whole farm. Plantskydd is proving to be far more cost effective than any other method of control, and I recommend it to any farmer who will listen.
Jim Koan
Almar Orchard
Flushing Michigan
July 2013
Note to reader : Jim Koan was presented (2013) with a Distinguished Service Award by the Michigan State Horticultural Society. ALMAR ORCHARD — is a 500 acre farm, which includes 150 acres of organic apples; as well as corn, soybeans, wheat, and barley.
20 acres of newly planted OLIVE trees—zero activity from deer !
I am just thrilled with your Plantskydd product. I followed your recommendations and increased the dilution rate to 20 gallons of water per 1 kg bag of Plantskydd. It takes me about 4 hours to spray my 20 acres of newly planted olive trees. Since spraying, I have seen zero activity from deer and normally we would have a number of animals roaming the area.
It has been 2 months since the last application and the trees have put on healthy new growth, so I am set to spray again this weekend. I feel really good about spraying frequently during the growing season because the trees clearly like the fertilizing effect.
Thanks again for all your help!
John Krueger
Hawkinsville, Georgia
June 2013
Zero activity from deer!
Olive Tree Plantation – Hawkinsville, Georgia
I harvested 20,000 lbs sweet corn on my 2 acres after using Plantskydd !
I have been growing sweet corn on 2 acres next to a wooded area in Pennsylvania for a number of years and deer cause a great deal of damage to the crop. Last year, I learned of Plantskydd Animal Repellent from a friend with tens of acres of rhododendrons that were getting continuously damaged by deer until she began using your product. She urged me to try it and I only sprayed a perimeter of about 10 feet into the corn rows when the ears began forming.
I normally harvest 5 or 6,000 lbs of the corn every year but I didn’t know how much I was losing until I harvested 20,000 lbs of sweet corn on my 2 acres after using Plantskydd last summer. And that’s with a single application.
All the corn I grow is for the Second Harvest Food Bank, so I was leery of spending money to get a marginal improvement in yield. Not only did the product protect the corn, but the plants I sprayed at the perimeter were visibly healthier, bigger and yielded more due to foliar fertilizing. I am so taken by the results we experienced with Plantskydd that I am telling everyone I know. And I am glad I invested the time to try it.
Furthermore, I was amazed to find that the ornamental shrubs we treated in fall were left completely alone all winter except for the one azalea I didn’t treat. I will now begin growing tomatoes again.
Keep up the good work!
Jim Renshaw
Fairview, PA
May 2013
We have been using Plantskydd Deer & Rabbit Repellent on our farm for many years with great results.
We have been using Plantskydd Deer & Rabbit Repellent on our farm for many years with great results. Although we believe our deer pressure to be not as high as other fellow farmers, this product has certainly proven to be an indispensable tool for preventing crop loss from deer and rabbits on our farm.
A little goes a long way. We normally mix 1/2 a package ( pkg. = 2.2 lbs.) to 5 gallons of water and spray the vegetables directly, and the outside perimeter when we don’t want to spray the foliage. When the deer pressure is higher, we use a full package ( 2.2 lbs) to 5 gal. At this dilution rate, we can expect it to provide protection for 4 or 5 weeks, depending on how much it rains and how much we irrigate.
We spread the granular Plantskydd around our blueberry bushes to protect them from rabbits and deer, and when spraying the bushes to protect the new growth, we increase the rate.
To manage the problem effectively, one has to be involved. We keep an eye on all of our crops, especially strawberries, spinach, beets, and lettuce, but our sweet potatoes are their favorite. When the deer return, we spray again and then as needed. It is a valuable product for our farm which we recommend highly!
Sandy and Paul Arnold
Pleasant Valley Farms
Argyle, New York
April 2013
350 acres sunflowers protected for $5./acre
We have used Plantskydd Deer and Rabbit Repellent for the last three years on 350 acres of sunflowers in an area of South Dakota with high rabbit numbers. The plant is very succulent to rabbits when the first two leaves emerge and large groups can migrate into the field and cause unacceptable damage overnight. The plants needed protection for 4 or 5 days, 1 week tops. After that initial period, the plants are less palatable, get little damage and still yield a good crop.
We began using your product on the advice given from Alaskan friends who have used it for years against voracious moose.
Because of the short period of protection required, I experimented by diluting Plantskydd powder concentrate in 10 times more water than the label suggested and sprayed a 100 foot perimeter band directly on the plants.
Users should take care to mix the product thoroughly in a bucket before pouring into the tank. Also, plan for a thorough cleaning after applying.
Factoring in equipment and product costs, but not my labor, I estimate my costs ran around $5/acre. Well worth the investment.
Joe Weinert
Gettysburg, SD
February 2013
100 acre citrus grove protected for 7 years, and counting !
We have a 100 acre citrus grove and our resets (young replanted trees) used to get eaten heavily by deer. We’ve been using Plantskydd Deer Repellent for about 7 years now and it’s become an indispensable tool for our operations. Even with all the sun, dew and rain we can expect it to last 6-8 weeks in the winter and we spray a little bit more often during the growing season.
We love your product, it really works.
Robin & Marvin Johnson
St Cloud, FL
Feb 2013
Frank-ly Organic Inc. treating vegetables with Plantskydd® prior to planting
We have a good population of deer in and around our apple orchard and vegetable plantings. The deer cause unacceptable damage to our crops.
We began treating with Plantskydd® Deer Repellent: tomato seedlings, peppers, egg plant, zucchini and squash, in their flats, prior to planting and have seen little or no damage since. Just one application.
Although I am sure other growers will need to use the product more frequently, spraying the seedlings prior to planting seems to have changed the deer’s habit. Although we still saw fresh tracks —trails in fact—through the property, we have had good yields.
I highly recommend Plantskydd® and welcome any questions about my usage of it. We are ‘certified organic’ and this product meets all specifications for that certification.
Frank Stanek
Frank-ly Organic, Inc.
Mansfield OH
Feb. 2013
70 acre farm business saved by Plantskydd
Our 70 acre farm is 40 minutes from Manhattan in an area infested with urbanized deer.
After a herd of deer decimated 2,200 new tomato plants over a 4th of July weekend, we began using your Plantskydd Deer Repellent product. We sprayed them in the flats prior to planting. We have a achieved nearly 100% deer damage control by using a dilute solution of your product, and spraying 3-4 times from emergence to flowering. The last application before flowering seems to protect the fruit until harvest.
Now we are also spraying the outermost perimeter of our sweet corn fields and monitor for any breaches. And sometimes we will spray inside this perimeter in areas where we can see the deer damage.
We also have a 4,000 tree apple orchard and replace approximately 50+ new saplings every year. Starting about 10 years ago, we could not get new trees established without unreasonable deer damage. We usually harvest 15 or so animals with the help of bow hunters and have also used physical barriers, but these methods did not give us the control we needed. Deer love to eat the tender growth and hit the young trees hardest. During the rut, deer can destroy a sapling overnight. Deformity and mortality rates were so high, we considered ceasing regeneration efforts.
For the last 3 years, we have sprayed the saplings throughout the growing season, and into fall with a dilute solution of Plantskydd Deer Repellent—until the trees mature to withstand deer damage.
Your Plantskydd product has saved our fruit business.
Although we operate a conventional farm, the fact that Plantskydd is OMRI Listed Organic puts everyone at ease. Environmental safety is a priority as we have 2nd graders picking apples from the bottom of trees they can now reach!
Jan and Niles Davies Jr.
Dr. Davies Farm
Congers, NY
January 2013
340 acre ranch and nursery in Oregon with deer everywhere !
I just wanted to thank you for your product. I found you through a nursery web link.
We have a 340 acre ranch / nursery in Oregon. We have deer everywhere and occasionally elk. We have tried a lot of different methods to keep the deer out of our nursery stock.
We are even in the process of rebuilding our perimeter fences to make them all deer fences. But we can never seem to stop them all. So when I found your advertisement that said you could apply it as a barrier for up to 6 months, I was interested in trying it for those spots where they keep getting in.
After a phone conversation with one of your sale people, I received a sample to try out. We picked three places where the deer had been getting through; a couple of small holes in the fence and between a gate and a post.
We used the ready-mixed Plantskydd as a barrier by spaying the ground and the fencing around the spot. We cleared out all the hoof prints that were there already. We then waited a couple of days before going back. I was pleasantly surprised to find a single set of hoof pints leading right up to the hole….and there they stopped. They didn’t continue on through the hole…they turned and headed back the way they had come.
Now, after three months, I still see no new tracks where we sprayed it the one time. I am very happy and plan on spraying more areas this spring.
We have decided to be a dealer and carry Plantskydd in our retail nursery in Sutherlin, Oregon.
Thank You,
Lisa Davis, owner
BR Nursery, Ekton, Oregon
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Sutherlin WaterGarden and Nursery, Sutherlin, Oregon
30 whitetail deer crossing my vegetable farm
Just wanted to say thanks for a GREAT product that made my life easier. And to tell you some success stories I, and others, have experienced using the new Plantskydd® Granular Repellent.
A couple of years ago I had a herd of 30 whitetail deer crossing my land. Their game trail went right through a field where I was planning to plant corn. Rather than put up a fence, I decided to use your new granular Plantskydd product. I dumped 40 lbs in a drop spreader to pull behind my garden tractor, and put down a 3 foot border around my field. Next, I rubbed out the tracks on the game trail so I could see how effective Plantskydd was. The deer always crossed during the night. Well, the next morning there was not a track to be found. And none for the rest of my growing season!
I have a small truck farm where I grow vegetables to sell at Farmer’s Markets as well as to supermarkets. Deer just love beet tops. I have had them eat a 100 foot row in one night ! Last year, when my beets came up, I put some granular Plantskydd in a spreader and applied the stuff down and around the outside row of the beets. The deer didn’t eat a bite. The key is to get the product down before the deer start nibbling.
Later in the spring, my pickers came and told me the deer had been eating the Zucchini. I took out the spreader and made one trip around the patch applying Plantskydd and the deer stayed out until after harvest.
We have such a deer problem in the valley that, when I tell folks in my garden seminars about your product, they jump right on it. Hooper’s Garden Center, in Kalispell, sent one of their customers to me desperate to see if I could help them save a $30,000 investment in flowers that were to be planted for a special event on a large estate (Two Totem Lodge, Ferndale, Montana). I sent them to the CHS Country Store (farm supplies, also in Kalispell), where they proceeded to clean all the Plantskydd granular off the shelf. The estate put in an order for fifty more 20 lbs bags this year.
The Plantskydd granular is my favorite repellent because: #1 it works, and #2, it is quick and easy to use. No mess, no fuss.
Sincerely,
Bill Clanton
Kalispell, Montana
NO deer or rabbits in the orchard !
We usually plant from 300 to 400 trees a year. Usually between the deer and rabbits, we are lucky if we have 50 of these trees alive by the next spring. I have tried most everything to keep the deer and rabbits out. Kathleen bought a one pound box of Plantskydd last spring. I would not try it as everything I had tried did not work. I had put soap on the trees and the deer ate to within a foot of the soap. I tried moth balls and that did not seem to deter anything. Finally, this fall, I decided to try this Plantskydd as we had it. Was I surprised. I sprayed most of the orchard until I ran out of spray. Then I put one fourth (1/4) cup of the granules on the rest of the orchard. NO deer or rabbits in the orchard. The rabbits will come into the yard where I didn’t spray, but not where I sprayed. The deer stayed away. We used to see deer in the orchard several times a day. Now we don’t see them at all.
William Eggers, Burr Oak Farm
Winterset, IA