I won’t use netting cause it ends up rotting over time and doesn’t hold up to my brush hog etc. I’ve caged a hundred trees or more over the years and just sucked it up and bought metal. You can also reuse metal fencing which is also cost saver. I’d say don’t go cheap. Your trees deserve it.


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Would rather spend the money on fence than posts.

 

That's a whole nother issue. T posts are running $5 each and up depending on size.

 

I need to cage 20 trees this spring. Looking for ways to reduce costs so can invest more in trees and less in caging materials. Has anyone used any of these products with success? One is netting and the other is chicken wire. These alternatives are much more cost effective than welded wire fencing.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/hanes-geo-components-7-ft-x-100-ft-multipurpose-netting?cm_vc=-10005

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/garden-zone-72-in-h-x-150-ft-w-hex-netting?cm_vc=-10005

I use welded wire but I have seen snow fencing used and it looked like it was holding up fine so I might try that in the future

 

Steel T-posts are overkill to hold up a tree cage. A short piece of rebar can accomplish the same thing as can any number of McGuyver solutions from scrounged materials.

I put out a set of cages this year with no posts at all and they are still all standing there the same as day one. I simply cut the horizontal line of wire off, which creates a set of 4” prongs every 2” all the way around the circle and stuck those in the ground. Worked perfectly.

I would have my doubts on using netting for round cages. Chicken wire feels like a better idea but would actually need more post support than welded wire.

I am strongly considering using a roll of snow fencing and some posts to plant a long row of shrubs though. Haven’t really started pricing the idea; maybe that netting will be good there.

 

I thought I was safe after a bunch of my Apple trees became somewhat mature with 5-6” trunks so I took the caging off around them last summer. Also I didn’t want the apples inside the cages where they were worthless to the deer. What a mistake! It was like every tree had a rub bullseye on it. Last week I had to go back and cage every one them just to deter the bucks from rubbing. SMH. I guess I could be upset over worse thing. [emoji16]


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I thought I was safe after a bunch of my Apple trees became somewhat mature with 5-6” trunks so I took the caging off around them last summer. Also I didn’t want the apples inside the cages where they were worthless to the deer. What a mistake! It was like every tree had a rub bullseye on it. Last week I had to go back and cage every one them just to deter the bucks from rubbing. SMH. I guess I could be upset over worse thing. [emoji16]


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Could you have just wrapped the trunk in hardware cloth?

When I remove the cages from mine I figure I'll have to keep the trunks protected for quite a while.

 

Im lucky and have access to make posts. wire though i search old farms and fence rows for rolls of old wire. It works fine but can be labor intensive to get. Guess im cheap but thats been discussed here before.

 

That looks like hat track. Great idea!

 

 

How well did this method hold up? Do you plan to use this for specific species of trees?

 

Yes it's a hat section, rollformed

 

Been using chicken wire for my small cedar trees. After a couple years ,deer finally just plowed over and chewed down to nubs. The larger trees have been safe so far , but I just beefed that cage up w added post and phone wire strung tight. Come spring I'm putting in 5/6 ft metal fence. These trees are like candy for deer.

 

In theory (I haven’t done it) one could stop Buck rubs with just a trio of stakes/posts around the stem after cage removal.

 

Without salvaging it looks like rebar is the most cost effective, followed closely by EMT and hat track was double the cost of T-posts. I work in the building trades so old rusted rebar should be easy to come by as well as some sticks of EMT for salvage. Going to stick with 12.5' sections of welded fencing that makes 4' cages. I liked the idea of 4' high fence raised up 1' or so as needed. Just cant run the risk with $500 invested in trees and high deer density. Thank you all for your help.

 

The advantage of Rerod, you can make Game Camera holders using a 1/4-20 bolt. Now your stakes have a double use.

 

I just completed caging these this weekend I used my aforementioned method. It's not for everyone though

 

I like to use 1x2 8ft lumbar. I have to use a ladder to start them. They are cheap. After a couple years the bottoms rot so I just pound them in a couple more years. One board will last until the tree is ready for the cage to be removed,

 

I use a wider galvanize fencing 4 x 8 and tree wraps. The wider fence is about half the price of 2 x 4 wire.

 

I have posted this before somewhere here but... if you can look on local marketplace or craigslist for some old horse fence woven wire you would be happy. I can use mine on flat ground without stakes and they hold up fine. Bought 2 huge roles and several bundles of T-posts for $125 and have been repurposing them on different trees. I make them about 3.5 feet in diameter and they work great for my apple and spruce trees.

 

Here's a pic from today. Looks good.

 

I use wood pallets, 4 screwed together, cheap , with 4 inch tile around the trunk for apple trees . once they get 7 - 8 ft high get rid of pallets and keep the tile on for a couple more years

 

Pallets.....new idea to me. Should keep the deer back, however I prefer hardware cloth to 4" tile for the mice & rabbits.

L & O