What animal damaged my trees?

[superdave336]

We went on a farm tour years ago and they had deer fence, basically just a rope with a couple strands running along at different heights and then inside that fence was another with more ropes. Nothing major but deer can’t judge distance and depth good and it messes them up. They won’t jump or cross it. Another farm that was much smaller had a fence about 10’ high!

 

[grasshopper]

I had this all figured out and then I went back again.... Look at the tearing... that's no squirrel or opossum. It's something with the weight to pull down hard on those limbs...

While I highly recommend a trail cam so you know what you're dealing with... I would say it's may be a deer.... if you're lucky. But I would fear you have the worst of all furry, mammal fig thieves... Raccoons. I've had raccoon damage that looks very similar to yours. Think a 15kg (33lbs) mammal on a branch... I would recommend you get the cam so you know what enemy you're fighting...

I'm thinking deer might not hang out like that but seems you're on top of it.

This is my go-to for strategy on battling raccoons

The Art of War - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Joe has a point about the camera. Any camera would work.

But you can also make some educated guesses.
e.g. Were there any ripening fruit on the branches/trees that were broken? Were any fruit taken off those trees? You can find out easily by checking the fruit stalks. If no fruit taken, then it is more likely to be deer rubbing than coons snacking.

Forgot to mention I used homemade spray by mixing yogurt with water instead of fox urine(actually egg products) for a few years to mark my territory. Together with net fencing, I was able to protect my crops. You can't use fox urine with even slight wind or you'll smell like that for a while.

If it is really rubbing deer, then scent would be useful because they are pretty scent sensitive during mating season.

 

[grasshopper]

We went on a farm tour years ago and they had deer fence, basically just a rope with a couple strands running along at different heights and then inside that fence was another with more ropes. Nothing major but deer can’t judge distance and depth good and it messes them up. They won’t jump or cross it. Another farm that was much smaller had a fence about 10’ high!

Yeah, I read about that years ago. Only 2 strands to match their height so they know something different is there. I have never tried that though. Also, the foraging deer are different from the rubbing deer during mating season. The latter is a bit hot headed.

 

[9ah-figlet]

I was thinking about the cables at different heights as a visual deterrent like @superdave336 and @grasshopper mentioned. I have leftover 6.5-ft T-posts and 12-gauge cable from when I installed my trellis system that I could install this weekend. There would only be 2-3 ft landing space between these cables and my fig trees. These cables aren't going to stop a deer--just be a visual deterrent that leverages their fear of confined areas to keep them out of the patch.

I ordered some tree guards and trail camera to see what I'm dealing with. I really don't want to install the tree guards because it will just make it easier for the raccoons to climb. I guess I should clear all the fruit at the same time if I install the guards.

@grasshopper I still have fruit on my trees. Some were taken, but I couldn't tell if it happened before or after the branch was taken down. The fruit is bitten off through the stem (kinda like the Janet Unk below but more cleanly). All the branches that broke off stuck out into the path. the trees with the most trunk scratches didn't have any branches that weren't tied down to the trellis.

Has anyone tried coyote urine? I read it would help with squirrels too. I have foxes in the area already so I need to take it up a notch.

 

[grasshopper]

I was thinking about the cables at different heights as a visual deterrent like @superdave336 and @grasshopper mentioned. I have leftover 6.5-ft T-posts and 12-gauge cable from when I installed my trellis system that I could install this weekend. There would only be 2-3 ft landing space between these cables and my fig trees. These cables aren't going to stop a deer--just be a visual deterrent that leverages their fear of confined areas to keep them out of the patch.

I ordered some tree guards and trail camera to see what I'm dealing with. I really don't want to install the tree guards because it will just make it easier for the raccoons to climb. I guess I should clear all the fruit at the same time if I install the guards.

@grasshopper I still have fruit on my trees. Some were taken, but I couldn't tell if it happened before or after the branch was taken down. The fruit is bitten off through the stem (kinda like the Janet Unk below but more cleanly). All the branches that broke off stuck out into the path. the trees with the most trunk scratches didn't have any branches that weren't tied down to the trellis.

Has anyone tried coyote urine? I read it would help with squirrels too. I have foxes in the area already so I need to take it up a notch.

View attachment 15186

If fruit was taken, then it is a toss between the two. You would need a camera for this.

Fox urine is just a general term when you go to store to shop for the deer spray. They don't really use the real thing nowadays. The active ingredient is putrescent eggs, milk and stabilizer. The smell is strong enough to deter most animals including us.

I am thinking to use yogurt water because you may have it available right now without having to wait for the spray to arrive or when you have time to set up the fence.

Deer usually come around dusk and dawn and sometimes at night. Coons are mostly night animals. The timing itself also gives you a clue.

If you have ripe fruits on the trees, that would attract them as other food sources become scarce when winter is coming.

 

[TorontoJoe]

If fruit was taken, then it is a toss between the two. You would need a camera for this.

Fox urine is just a general term when you go to store to shop for the deer spray. They don't really use the real thing nowadays. The active ingredient is putrescent eggs, milk and stabilizer. The smell is strong enough to deter most animals including us.

I am thinking to use yogurt water because you may have it available right now without having to wait for the spray to arrive or when you have time to set up the fence.

Deer usually come around dusk and dawn and sometimes at night. Coons are mostly night animals. The timing itself also gives you a clue.

If you have ripe fruits on the trees, that would attract them as other food sources become scarce when winter is coming.

I like how we can all just hang out and talk about shopping for urine... like it's totally normal!

 

[Figless]

The only time I used Fox urine was when our 15 year old cat became totally deaf. The old Kitty just couldn't be kept inside LOL it had an adventurous kitten heart. So we used the fox urine to try to dissuade the Predators from snatching her right off her porch. It actually worked she died of heart failure at 17 years a good long Kitty life. Looking at your branches I am a bit perplexed some are just screaming deer to me, but not all look like deer... like TJ suggested better get that trail cam, and soon before whatever it is really set you back.

 

[grasshopper]

If you got coons, try this Looks like AI generated though.

 

[TorontoJoe]

If you got coons, try this Looks like AI generated though.

Doesn't seem like it's real... yet I feel compelled to go buy some cheap noodles tomorrow....

The sound literally made my cat jump. I'm hoping he'll pull his claws out of my thigh soon!

 

[superdave336]

The raccoon sounds like a monkey. The funniest are the ones with the Halloween decorations moving and scaring animals/people.

 

[grasshopper]

Doesn't seem like it's real... yet I feel compelled to go buy some cheap noodles tomorrow....

The sound literally made my cat jump. I'm hoping he'll pull his claws out of my thigh soon!

That is no ordinary cheap noodle. If you search for "Fire Noodle Challenge" on youtube, you will see a lot of crying faces.

There are 2x or 3x spicy noodles as well if you want to get some stress relief and your stomach can handle. Apparently, spicy food is a stress reliever.

Tips: water is not going to cut it even if you drink down a whole gallon.

 

[9ah-figlet]

I like how we can all just hang out and talk about shopping for urine... like it's totally normal!

The things we do for love…

 

[TorontoJoe]

I feel I have to challenge anyone who suggests that deer are more destructive than raccoons..... They are pure, concentrated chaos!

That is no ordinary cheap noodle. If you search for "Fire Noodle Challenge" on youtube, you will see a lot of crying faces.

There are 2x or 3x spicy noodles as well if you want to get some stress relief and your stomach can handle. Apparently, spicy food is a stress reliever.

Tips: water is not going to cut it even if you drink down a whole gallon.

Every season my kid and I grow a super hot for fun. None of us can handle them but we both try a sliver just to say we did. This years variety is called Brain Strain. Supposedly around 1.5M SHU. It was the worst! And we only tried a tiny sliver. I think I may start leaving out some peanut butter covered Brain Strain treats for the raccoons.

I just pick a final few cleaning up the garden earlier. I'm happy to send you some seeds

 

[grasshopper]

I feel I have to challenge anyone who suggests that deer are more destructive than raccoons..... They are pure, concentrated chaos!


Every season my kid and I grow a super hot for fun. None of us can handle them but we both try a sliver just to say we did. This years variety is called Brain Strain. Supposedly around 1.5M SHU. It was the worst! And we only tried a tiny sliver. I think I may start leaving out some peanut butter covered Brain Strain treats for the raccoons.

I just pick a final few cleaning up the garden earlier. I'm happy to send you some seeds

1.5M SHU - that is insane!!! Brain Strain, wow. Thanks for the offer. I grow raspberry, blackberry and they are not compatible with peppers, so I have never grown pepper. Besides, I can't even handle a hot jalapeno. I used to bury fish & fish parts in the soil and even in pots. I added chili peppers in it just in case some critters tried to dig them up.

And I tend to use critter's favorite food at the time to bait them. If they like figs, they get ripe figs in the traps and nowhere else. That tends to speed things in rounding them up.

 

[TorontoJoe]

1.5M SHU - that is insane!!! Brain Strain, wow. Thanks for the offer. I grow raspberry, blackberry and they are not compatible with peppers, so I have never grown pepper. Besides, I can't even handle a hot jalapeno. I used to bury fish & fish parts in the soil and even in pots. I added chili peppers in it just in case some critters tried to dig them up.

And I tend to use critter's favorite food at the time to bait them. If they like figs, they get ripe figs in the traps and nowhere else. That tends to speed things in rounding them up.

Raccoons really go after anything that I like so it's not difficult to find bait that works... The real problem is that the older ones are really smart and they recognize the traps now.

 

[9ah-figlet]

I took a 2nd look around, and I’m really suspecting deer rather than raccoons. There are figs chomped off high branches (not broken off), broken branches that didn’t have any figs ripening, more trunk gouging on the edges of the patch.

I went ahead and installed another line of cabling to keep the deer from gouging the trees on the edge. There’s two cables—one around 5.5-ft high and another waist high. Hopefully, it’s enough to keep the deer from getting a good angle to rub their antlers. I don't see any gouged trunks on the interior of the fig patch.
I put up tree guards where it didn’t make sense to run cabling.

I also installed a trail camera to confirm it is deer.

 

[grasshopper]

Raccoons really go after anything that I like so it's not difficult to find bait that works... The real problem is that the older ones are really smart and they recognize the traps now.

At the beginning of the season, I cover the snap traps with half clamshells for the rats(to block rain & slow their retreat). By mid season, they avoid anything with a clamshell. Then, I used the clamshell to protect the fruits because I see they are avoiding the clamshells. And removed the clamshells from the traps, so the traps work without clamshells and clamshelled fruits are protected. Also, I set traps in unexpected places along their climbing routes after realizing they avoided the traps on the ground.

The lesson was to adapt after learning what they were doing at each round.

I think the coons are too smart though so need to use a multi-entry trap to catch them all in one go to reduce the chance they evade the next trap.

 

[TorontoJoe]

At the beginning of the season, I cover the snap traps with half clamshells for the rats(to block rain & slow their retreat). By mid season, they avoid anything with a clamshell. Then, I used the clamshell to protect the fruits because I see they are avoiding the clamshells. And removed the clamshells from the traps, so the traps work without clamshells and clamshelled fruits are protected. Also, I set traps in unexpected places along their climbing routes after realizing they avoided the traps on the ground.

The lesson was to adapt after learning what they were doing at each round.

I think the coons are too smart though so need to use a multi-entry trap to catch them all in one go to reduce the chance they evade the next trap.

From early in the video, right up to about 14:45 where it's 100% clear they know the way in and that it's a trap. Trying to get to the bait without touching the trip plate