Raintree Growing Guide

Wildlife Protection

Deer, voles, mice, rabbits, birds, squirrels, gophers, and bears. They each want something different from your orchard, and each requires a different defense. This guide consolidates the protection strategies referenced across every Raintree growing guide into one place.

The seven things to install or do at planting

8-ft Woven Wire The only deer protection that reliably holds season after season — 6-foot fences are cleared

Trunk Guards Vinyl or hardware cloth on lower trunk, installed before first snow, every year

Mulch Pulled Back 4–6 inches from the trunk at all times — mulch against the bark is a vole corridor

Vegetation Cleared 1–2 feet of bare or cleared zone around the trunk base

Bird Netting Installed BEFORE fruit begins to color, not after birds have started feeding

Gopher Baskets Hardware cloth root baskets at planting — installed later, never; this is now-or-never

Wildlife isn't one problem. It's seven or eight.

Every Raintree growing guide mentions deer. Most mention voles, mice, rabbits, and birds. Several mention squirrels, raccoons, bears, or gophers. The reason is simple: a young fruit tree or berry plant is, in the eyes of much of the wildlife around it, food or building material or both. Without protection, a healthy young tree can be girdled to death by voles in a single winter, defoliated by deer over a few late-spring nights, or stripped of an entire fruit crop by birds in a 48-hour window at harvest.

The mistake new orchardists make is treating wildlife as a single category — installing one protection (usually deer fencing) and assuming that handles "wildlife." It doesn't. Each species reaches for the plant in a different way, on a different timeline, and requires a different defense:

Deer browse foliage and shoots above ground; an 8-ft fence keeps them out
Voles and mice attack bark at the base of the trunk under snow cover; mulch management and trunk wraps are the defense
Rabbits chew bark up to 8–10 inches above ground in winter; trunk guards work
Birds strip ripening fruit; only netting reliably protects the harvest
Squirrels and chipmunks climb trunks to harvest nuts and fruit; metal trunk bands or netting work
Gophers attack roots from below; hardware cloth root baskets installed at planting work; nothing installed later does
Bears, raccoons, and turkeys appear at harvest in some regions; electric fences and sanitation reduce damage

This guide is organized by species, with the protection strategies for each. The reference card at the end summarizes which protections to install at planting, year one, before first snow each year, and at harvest. Read the species sections that match your site's pressure; ignore the rest. Not every site has every problem.

ℹ Pick your battles — honestly

Most home growers can't fence out every animal that might want their fruit. Triage matters: a young tree that gets browsed in May may recover by August, but a tree that gets girdled by voles in February is dead. Some protections — deer fencing, gopher baskets, vole guards — are worth the investment. Others — netting every cherry tree in a 20-tree planting — may not be feasible, and that's fine. Decide what you're protecting and from what, and let the rest go.

The layered defense framework

Successful orchard wildlife protection follows the same principle that secures any other valuable asset: multiple overlapping defenses, each addressing a specific threat, so that no single failure exposes the plant. Cooperative extension publications across the country (WSU, OSU, UMN, Penn State, NCSU) converge on roughly the same framework, organized here by what each layer is actually doing.

Layer 1 — Exclusion

Physical barriers

The most reliable layer. Excludes the animal physically from the plant or the planting area.

8-ft woven wire perimeter fence (deer)
Hardware cloth tree cages (young plants)
Hardware cloth root baskets at planting (gophers)
Bird netting at harvest
Vinyl trunk guards (voles, rabbits)

Layer 2 — Habitat

Removing what attracts

Makes the planting less attractive or accessible. Reduces pressure without excluding animals from the property.

Mulch pulled back from trunk (voles)
Vegetation cleared at base (voles, mice)
Promptly cleaning fallen fruit (bears, raccoons, rats)
Avoiding scents that attract (bears especially)

Layer 3 — Deterrence

Repellents and scare devices

Short-term and partial. Useful as supplements, never as primary protection. Must be rotated/reapplied to remain effective.

Commercial scent repellents (deer)
Reflective scare tape (birds)
Motion-activated lights/sprinklers
Trained guard dogs (variable)

Layer 4 — Acceptance

What you're willing to lose

The protection nobody wants to talk about: deciding what damage is acceptable so resources go to protecting what matters most.

Lower branches that get browsed
Some fruit lost to birds
A percentage of nuts to squirrels
Wildlife-fed plantings (elderberry, etc.)

A typical young Raintree fruit tree in a deer-prone area benefits from layers 1 + 2 from day one: an 8-ft perimeter fence or individual cage (exclusion), plus mulch management and vegetation clearance (habitat). Layer 3 — repellents — is added selectively where needed and never relied on alone. Layer 4 is the orchardist's honest assessment of what they will and won't try to defend.

Deer

Deer High — primary threat in most regions

Whitetail and mule deer are the most damaging single category of wildlife for North American home orchards. They browse young shoots and foliage in late spring, strip leaves through summer, rub antlers on saplings in fall (often killing them in a single night), and continue browsing through winter wherever they can reach. The damage pattern is consistent: leaves and shoots stripped from the lower 5–6 feet of the canopy, with a clear "browse line" above which no foliage remains.

The fence question

The single most-asked question about deer is "how tall does the fence need to be?" The honest answer, repeated across extension publications and confirmed by every commercial orchard operator: 8 feet of woven wire is the reliable minimum. A 6-foot fence is what most home gardeners install. Deer clear 6-foot fences easily. The same 6-foot fence is fine for vegetable gardens because deer are reluctant to jump into enclosed spaces they can't see well into — but a fruit orchard is large and visible enough that the visual barrier doesn't work, and a 6-foot fence becomes a minor inconvenience to a deer that wants the apples on the other side.

Most reliable

8-ft woven wire perimeter fence

The standard. Galvanized woven wire fabric on metal or wood posts spaced 8–12 feet apart. Initial cost is substantial, but a properly installed fence lasts 20–30 years and protects every plant inside it.

Pressure-treated wood or T-posts driven 2–3 feet
Bottom of fabric flush with or buried slightly into soil
Gates wide enough for the equipment you'll bring through
One walk-through gate plus one wide gate is the standard layout

Effective alternative

Individual cages

For small plantings (3–5 trees) where perimeter fencing isn't practical. A hardware cloth or welded wire cage around each tree, 5 feet tall and at least 3 feet in diameter (4-foot diameter is better as the tree grows).

Heavy-gauge wire (14-gauge minimum) on T-posts
Cages must be wider than the canopy at all times — expand as the tree grows
Remove when the tree's first scaffolds are above browse height (~6 feet)

Variable effectiveness

Electric fence (3-D fence)

A three-dimensional electric fence — two strands of electrified wire at 3 ft and 5 ft, set 3 ft apart on offset posts — confuses deer's depth perception and can be effective in moderate-pressure areas. Requires consistent voltage and vegetation management at the base; loses effectiveness if power fails.

Minnesota Extension and Penn State Extension both document successful 3-D fences
Lower cost than 8-ft woven wire
Requires monitoring; deer learn quickly if voltage drops

Last resort

Repellents

Commercial scent or taste repellents (Plantskydd, Deer Off, Liquid Fence, etc.). Short-term deterrence only, must be reapplied after rain, and deer habituate to any single product. Useful for bridging the first weeks of a new planting before fencing is up, never as a primary strategy.

Reapply every 2–4 weeks and after significant rain
Rotate products to slow habituation
Effectiveness drops sharply in winter when alternative food is scarce

Special situations

Antler rubbing in fall: Bucks rub the velvet from new antlers on saplings in September–November, often killing young trees in one night. Individual tree shelters or sturdy stake-and-cage protection through the first 3–5 years prevents this. The vinyl spiral-cut trunk guards used for vole protection are not strong enough to prevent rubbing damage.
Browse pressure varies by season: Most severe in late winter when other food is scarce and in late spring when new growth is most palatable. Plan protection for both peaks.
Deer-resistant plant lists are largely wishful: Some fruits (currants, gooseberries) are less preferred than others (apples, hazelnuts, goji), but hungry deer will browse almost anything. Don't rely on plant choice as your deer strategy.

Pacific Northwest tip — elk are the bigger problem

Across western WA and OR, growers routinely list deer as their top wildlife concern — but in the Mt St Helens / Lewis County region where Raintree Nursery is located, Roosevelt elk are the bigger and more destructive pressure. A 700–1,200 pound bull elk damages an orchard in ways a deer cannot: shredding bark with antler rubbing, breaking entire scaffold branches by leaning on them, and grazing on a scale a herd of deer cannot match. WDFW has advised affected orchardists in central WA to build elk-grade fencing.

Elk routinely jump or push through deer-grade fencing. Sites with active elk pressure typically require taller fencing (10 ft is a common recommendation for elk-grade exclusion), heavier-gauge wire, and stronger posts and bracing than a typical deer fence. If you are in elk country, contact your state Department of Fish and Wildlife or local extension office about elk-specific exclusion before designing your fence — building once and right is dramatically less expensive than retrofitting a deer fence after elk damage starts.

Voles, mice, and rabbits — the winter girdling problem

Voles, mice, and rabbits High — winter, dwarfing rootstocks most vulnerable

Voles and mice chew bark from the base of the trunk at ground level, working under snow cover or dense mulch where they are invisible. Rabbits chew bark up to 8–10 inches above ground, often in plain sight. The damage pattern is the same: a band of missing bark circling the trunk, called girdling. A complete ring kills everything above the damage. This is the single most common cause of unexpected winter death in young orchards (UMN Extension, Cornell Cooperative Extension).

The damage progression

Vole and mouse damage is usually discovered in March or April as snow recedes. The grower walks out to inspect the orchard expecting to see swelling buds and instead finds a young tree with bark chewed completely away from soil line to several inches up the trunk. The tree may push some growth from below the damage on the rootstock, but the named variety above is gone. For grafted trees on dwarfing rootstocks — where the trunk is thin and the graft union is close to the ground — a single winter of vole pressure can be fatal.

Vole, rabbit, and deer damage zones on a young tree

Three damage zones, three different defenses required. Vole damage hides under snow at the base; rabbit damage is visible above ground; deer damage starts at 2 feet and works upward.

The four-part defense

Every published vole and mouse protection program for orchards uses the same combination of practices. Skipping any one weakens the others.

Keep mulch pulled back 4–6 inches from the trunk at all times. Mulch piled against the bark is a winter highway for voles — protected from predators, insulated from cold, with fresh bark to chew on directly. This single practice prevents more vole damage than any other.
Clear grass and vegetation 1–2 feet from the trunk base. Tall grass and weeds at the base of the trunk provide cover for voles year-round and especially in fall before snow arrives. A bare or short-mowed ring around the trunk removes the habitat without requiring trapping.
Install trunk guards before first snow. Vinyl spiral tree guards or hardware cloth cylinders prevent direct contact with bark. Guards must extend from the soil line up above expected snow depth — voles climb readily through snow. In heavy-snow regions, guards 18–24 inches tall are appropriate; in mild climates, 12 inches may suffice.
Inspect in early spring as snow recedes. Partial girdling caught early can sometimes be repaired by bridge grafting (a technique that bridges the damaged section with new scion wood). Complete girdling above the graft union is unsalvageable, but trees damaged below the graft may regrow from the rootstock — useful only if you are willing to graft the original variety back onto the surviving rootstock.

Hardware cloth vs. vinyl trunk guards

Type	Best for	Pros	Limitations
Vinyl spiral guards	Mild-winter areas, moderate vole pressure	Inexpensive; expand with trunk growth; easy to install and remove seasonally	Sun degradation over 2–3 years; rabbits can chew through; not adequate for heavy snow
Hardware cloth cylinder	Heavy vole pressure, snow regions, rabbit pressure	Permanent; rabbit-proof; lasts decades; one purchase covers many years	Must be expanded as trunk grows or it will girdle the tree itself; more labor to install
Aluminum window screen	Vole and mouse only, where rabbits aren't a problem	Very inexpensive; flexible to install; lasts many years	Not strong enough to deter rabbits; provides no protection against larger animals
Tree shelter (5-ft tube)	Young trees in heavy-pressure sites (deer + rabbit + vole)	One product addresses three threats; accelerates trunk growth in some conditions	Cost; must be staked; can create unhealthy microclimate in hot regions

⚠ Guards must be expanded as the tree grows

A hardware cloth cylinder installed at planting and forgotten for ten years becomes the problem it was meant to prevent: the trunk grows into the wire mesh and is girdled by the protector itself. Inspect trunk guards every spring. Expand or re-form them annually for the first several years. Vinyl spiral guards expand naturally; hardware cloth and rigid plastic guards must be physically reformed or replaced as the trunk thickens.

Rabbits — the above-ground vole equivalent

Rabbits damage trees in the same way voles do — by chewing bark in a band that can girdle the trunk — but they work above the soil line, typically up to 8–10 inches above ground (cottontails) or higher with deeper snow (snowshoe hare). The defense is similar: trunk wraps that extend to at least 18 inches above ground, expanded as needed to accommodate trunk growth. Hardware cloth is the most reliable material for rabbit protection because rabbits can chew through vinyl.

Rabbits are typically active year-round but cause the most damage in winter when other food is scarce. Inspect for damage in early spring and again in midsummer; a partial girdle caught early can sometimes be saved with grafting.

Birds — the harvest-day problem

Birds High — concentrated at harvest, 24–48 hour window

Birds cause less total damage than deer or voles but their damage is concentrated and dramatic: a single flock of starlings, cedar waxwings, or robins can strip a cherry tree, a row of blueberries, or a goji bush in a day or two. Different bird species target different fruit. Starlings and waxwings hit cherries, blueberries, and serviceberries. Robins and thrushes target softer berries. Blue jays time their arrival to peak ripening of nuts and stone fruit. Crows raid corn and larger fruit.

Netting is the only reliable defense

Across extension publications and commercial growing experience, the same conclusion appears: bird netting installed before fruit begins to color is the only protection that reliably preserves the harvest on a serious fruit planting. Visual and audio deterrents — reflective tape, scare-eye balloons, predator decoys, propane cannons — provide partial deterrence at the start of a season and rapidly lose effectiveness as birds habituate. They work better as supplements to netting than as substitutes for it.

Most reliable

Bird netting

Polyethylene or knitted netting (3/4" or smaller mesh) draped over the plant or a frame, secured at the base so birds can't enter from below.

Install before fruit begins to color, not after damage is observed
Secure the base completely — birds will find any gap
Drape over a frame for larger plantings; over the plant directly for small ones
Remove promptly after harvest; leaving netting on traps and kills wildlife

Effective for small plantings

Individual fruit/cluster bags

Organza or fine mesh bags tied around individual fruit clusters at first color. Used by orchard hobbyists for cherries, peaches, and apples where netting an entire tree is impractical.

Each bag protects one fruit or one cluster
Time-consuming but very effective
Also excludes some insect pests (codling moth, apple maggot)

Partial only

Reflective scare tape

Iridescent mylar tape flashes in sunlight and wind. Provides several days to a couple of weeks of deterrence at the start of a season. Birds habituate quickly.

Best used in combination with other measures
Move/replace every few days to extend effectiveness
Holographic eyeball or hawk-silhouette devices have similar limitations

Acceptance strategy

Frequent harvest, intentional sharing

Harvesting daily as fruit ripens minimizes the window birds have to feed. Some plantings — elderberry, aronia, serviceberry — are deliberately grown partly for wildlife; sharing the crop with birds is part of the design.

Pick fruit at first ripeness rather than waiting for peak
Plant decoy varieties (mulberries) that birds prefer to your main crop
Accept some loss as the cost of unmanaged growing

Netting practicalities

Mesh size matters. Use 3/4" or smaller mesh for berries and small fruit. Larger mesh lets small birds through; very small mesh (1/4") can also trap pollinators if installed too early.
Frame netting on permanent plantings. For long-term plantings (blueberry rows, dwarf orchards), a permanent frame structure with netting attached annually pays back over decades. PVC, EMT conduit, or wood frames all work.
Secure the bottom edge completely. Birds walk under loose netting and become trapped inside. Anchor netting at ground level all the way around with stakes, rocks, or burying the edge.
Remove netting promptly after harvest. Netting left on through fall and winter traps wildlife — snakes, songbirds, small mammals — and creates a real welfare issue. Roll it up and store it for next year.

⚠ Loose, abandoned netting is a wildlife hazard

Bird netting that's left up after harvest, or that's draped loosely without secure anchoring, regularly traps and kills snakes, songbirds, small mammals, and even amphibians. This is a real and documented problem, not a theoretical one. Use the smallest mesh that excludes target birds; secure all edges; remove the netting when fruit is off the plant; and replace any netting that has obvious holes or sagging sections.

Squirrels and chipmunks

Squirrels and chipmunks Moderate–High — region dependent

Tree squirrels (gray, fox, red, and Douglas squirrels) and chipmunks climb trunks to harvest nuts and fruit, often beginning slightly before peak ripeness when they can detect filling but the fruit hasn't yet attracted competing wildlife. They are smart, persistent, and capable of defeating most defenses given time. Nut trees (hazelnut, walnut, chestnut, almond) suffer the most consistent squirrel pressure; fruit trees (especially apples, peaches, pears) lose individual fruit but rarely the entire crop.

The hard truth about squirrels

Squirrels are the wildlife problem most home orchardists eventually accept rather than solve. They can climb anything they can grip, jump 8–10 feet horizontally between trees and structures, and figure out how to defeat most netting and barrier systems given a few days. There is no single reliable exclusion method for squirrels in a typical home orchard setting.

Effective on isolated trees

Metal trunk bands (squirrel guards)

A smooth sheet metal band 2 feet wide, wrapped around the trunk at 4–6 feet above ground, prevents squirrels from climbing up the trunk. Works only on isolated trees with no overhanging branches from nearby trees or structures.

Aluminum flashing or galvanized sheet metal
Wrap around trunk loosely with overlapping edges
Hold in place with bungee cord or wire (not nailed; allows expansion)
Useless if a squirrel can jump in from an adjacent tree or fence

Partial

Netting (modified for squirrels)

Tight, securely anchored netting on small fruit trees can deter some squirrels for some of the harvest. Squirrels can chew through standard bird netting; 1/2" hardware cloth or heavy-duty netting is more effective but harder to manage on a large tree.

Habitat management

Clean up promptly

Pick fruit and nuts as soon as ripe and pick up fallen produce daily. Fallen fruit and nuts left on the ground feed squirrel populations and concentrate activity in the orchard.

Plant more

Acceptance / overplanting

For nut trees in squirrel country, the practical strategy adopted by most growers is planting enough trees to share. A mature hazelnut or chestnut produces dramatically more nuts than a family will use; conceding a portion to squirrels still leaves a useful harvest.

Chipmunks are smaller versions of the same problem and respond to roughly the same defenses, with one addition: they can fit through 1/2" mesh hardware cloth, so any exclusion for chipmunks needs 1/4" mesh or smaller. Ground-level chipmunk damage to strawberry plantings and bulb crops is best addressed through habitat modification — removing rock walls and dense brush within 50 feet of the planting.

Gophers — protection installed now or never

Pocket gophers High — regional, install protection at planting

Pocket gophers (Geomyidae family) attack roots from below ground, working through tunnels that can extend hundreds of feet across a property. They eat fine feeder roots, larger structural roots, and occasionally the entire root crown of small trees. A young tree can be killed without any above-ground sign of damage — the grower sees the tree wilt suddenly in spring or summer and discovers when they pull on the trunk that the root system has been entirely consumed. Gophers are a regional problem: severe in much of the western U.S. (California Central Valley, Pacific Northwest east of the Cascades, intermountain west), variable in the Great Plains and Midwest, generally absent east of the Appalachians.

The window of opportunity is at planting

Unlike every other wildlife protection in this guide, gopher protection has a hard deadline: it must be installed when the tree goes into the ground. Retrofit installation on an existing planting requires lifting the tree, which is impractical on anything older than a year or two. If you live in gopher country and you skip this step at planting, the tree is vulnerable for its entire life.

Hardware cloth gopher basket installation at planting

Hardware cloth gopher basket lining the planting hole and extending 1–2 inches above grade. The basket prevents gophers from reaching the root system from below or the surface.

Installation

Buy or form a hardware cloth basket sized for the mature root system — typically 18–24 inches in diameter and 18–24 inches deep for a fruit tree. ½-inch galvanized hardware cloth is the standard mesh. Pre-formed gopher baskets are commercially available and worth the cost on multi-tree plantings.
Dig the planting hole oversized to accommodate the basket plus normal hole-width recommendations from the Unboxing & Planting guide.
Set the basket in the hole with the open top extending 1–2 inches above the final soil grade. The above-grade extension is essential — gophers can also work along the surface and need to be excluded from above as well as below.
Plant the tree inside the basket following normal planting procedures. The basket should not interfere with root spread; roots will eventually grow through the mesh, but by that time the tree is established and substantial root loss to gopher activity has been prevented.
Backfill and complete planting as you would normally; the basket is now permanent.

ℹ Use galvanized hardware cloth, not regular wire

Untreated steel hardware cloth rusts away in soil over 5–10 years — by which time the tree is large enough that gopher damage may have already done its work, but well before the gopher pressure ends. Galvanized hardware cloth (steel coated with zinc) lasts 15–20+ years in soil contact. The cost difference is small and the protection lifespan dramatically longer. Always specify galvanized for buried applications.

Existing trees in gopher country

For trees that were planted without gopher protection in heavy-gopher areas, the options are limited:

Trapping in active tunnels — labor-intensive but the most reliable control for established trees. Macabee, Cinch, or Black Hole traps are standard. Many state extension services publish guides specific to local gopher species.
Underground barriers — installing a buried hardware cloth wall around the drip line of an existing tree provides partial protection, but requires substantial excavation and damages some surface roots in the process.
Accept the risk — if the tree is mature and the gopher pressure is intermittent, established trees often tolerate gopher activity better than young trees, and active trapping when damage is detected may be sufficient.

Larger wildlife — bears, raccoons, opossums, turkeys

Beyond the routine pressure from deer, voles, and birds, some regions face periodic visits from larger wildlife at harvest. The strategies differ from what works for smaller animals.

Black bears Moderate — depends on region and population pressure

Bears damage fruit and nut trees in two ways: by climbing or breaking branches to reach ripe fruit (most common) and by raiding compost or fallen-fruit piles near plantings. In bear country, prompt removal of fallen fruit is non-negotiable. Bears that learn an orchard contains reliable food return year after year and teach their cubs the same. The single best preventive isnot letting bears find food in your orchard in the first place.

Sanitation: Pick fruit promptly and remove fallen fruit daily during ripening. Don't compost orchard fruit on-site if bears are active.
Electric fence: A properly powered 5–7 wire electric fence is the most effective bear exclusion for a small orchard. Specifications vary by region — contact your state wildlife agency or extension office for local recommendations.
Don't feed accidentally: Bird feeders, pet food, garbage, and BBQ grease are all bear attractants that put your orchard in the same scent zone. Remove these during ripening.

Raccoons, opossums, turkeys Moderate — at harvest

Raccoons climb trunks and shake branches to dislodge fruit. Opossums are slower but persistent at harvest, particularly of grapes and lower fruit. Wild turkeys feed at ground level on fallen fruit and can dig into berry plantings. None individually cause the damage that bears or deer do, but all three concentrate at harvest and can substantially reduce yields in some years.

Same sanitation principles as bears — clean up promptly
Metal trunk bands deter climbing raccoons on isolated trees
Bird netting that goes to ground level also discourages turkeys from ground-feeding
Sturdy electric fence (4–5 wires) excludes ground-walking animals where bear-grade fencing is overkill

Seasonal protection timeline

The protections in this guide are installed at different times in the season. Missing the window means accepting the damage that follows. This timeline pulls together what to do and when, drawn from the per-species recommendations above.

At planting Day 1, one chance

Gopher baskets for trees in gopher country — there is no retrofit option
Site fenced if perimeter fence is the plan, or trees individually caged from day one
First trunk wraps installed if deer/rabbit pressure is immediate
Mulch correctly applied — 4–6 inches off the trunk, never piled against the bark

Early Spring March–April

Remove winter trunk wraps once snow is fully gone and inspect for vole/rabbit damage
Bridge graft any partially-girdled trees promptly before bud break if damage is found
Clear winter-dropped vegetation around tree bases
Inspect deer fences and gates for winter damage; repair before active browse season
Inspect tree cages and expand if trunks have grown into the wire

Late spring / summer May - July

Apply deer repellents to new growth if perimeter fencing isn't in place
Monitor for new browsing damage and add individual cages where needed
Maintain 1–2 ft vegetation-free zone around each trunk
Renew mulch ring — pulled back 4–6 inches from the trunk

Pre-harvest 2–4 weeks before fruit colors

Install bird netting before fruit begins to color — not after birds arrive
Set up reflective scare devices as supplements
Begin fall cleanup of any fruit that drops early (bear / raccoon preventive)
Test electric fence voltage if used

Fall / before snow October–November

Install winter trunk guards on every tree before first snow — voles and mice begin establishing winter territory in late fall
Remove bird netting from completed plantings (wildlife safety)
Whitewash trunks in regions where sunscald is a risk
Pick up any remaining fallen fruit; do not let it overwinter near trees
Clear weed and grass growth at trunk bases one final time

Regional pressure varies

Wildlife protection needs vary dramatically by region. A grower in suburban Massachusetts faces different pressure than one in rural eastern Oregon or the Florida panhandle. Below is a general orientation; your state cooperative extension office is the definitive source for what's active in your specific area.

Region	Primary pressures	Notes
PNW (W. WA, W. OR)	Elk (in many areas), deer, voles, birds, slugs	Roosevelt elk pressure in the Mt St Helens region, Olympic Peninsula, and Coast Range can exceed deer pressure; elk require taller, heavier fencing
Inland PNW (E. WA, E. OR, ID)	Deer, voles, gophers, birds	Gopher country east of Cascades; cold winters increase vole-under-snow pressure
California	Gophers (severe), deer, ground squirrels, birds	Gopher baskets at planting are essential in most of CA; ground squirrels add a pressure rare elsewhere
Mountain West	Deer, elk, voles, gophers, bears	Elk add pressure that even deer fencing may not stop; bear pressure significant in many areas
Midwest	Deer, voles, rabbits, birds, raccoons	Heavy snow cover extends vole and rabbit risk season; whitetail pressure intense
Northeast	Deer (severe), voles, rabbits, bears, turkeys	Highest deer densities in country in some areas; turkey populations expanding
Mid-Atlantic / Southeast	Deer, voles, squirrels, birds, raccoons	Gray squirrel pressure on nut crops particularly heavy; deer densities very high
Deep South	Deer, squirrels, birds, raccoons, opossums, armadillos	Armadillos root in mulch and around bases; rabbit pressure year-round

For region-specific guidance — including the local rodent species causing damage at your site and which trap models work best — your local extension office is the right resource. Use the NPIC County Extension Office Directory (hosted by Oregon State University in cooperation with the EPA) to find your local office.

What doesn't work — and why

A surprising amount of wildlife-control advice circulates among home gardeners that has been examined by extension researchers and found ineffective. A short list of methods to skip:

Human hair, soap shavings, mothballs, urine. These have all been studied repeatedly for deer and vole deterrence. Results are inconsistent at best; deer and rodents habituate or simply ignore them in most field tests.
Ultrasonic devices. Plug-in or solar-powered ultrasonic repellents marketed for moles, voles, and gophers have failed every replicated field test conducted by university researchers.
Coffee grounds, eggshells, garlic spray. All have some defenders in gardening media. None hold up in controlled comparisons against the protections in this guide.
A single repellent product, season after season. Even effective repellents lose effectiveness as animals habituate. Rotation between products with different active ingredients extends effectiveness.
Predator urine without backup. Coyote and fox urine products provide some short-term deterrence but lose effect quickly once animals confirm no predator is actually present.
Decorative fences under 8 feet. Picket fences, split-rail fences, and 4-6 ft chain link are ineffective against serious deer pressure regardless of how robust they look.

The fundamental principle is that exclusion (Layer 1) and habitat modification (Layer 2) work; deterrence (Layer 3) supplements but doesn't replace them; and no product or technique substitutes for getting the basics right.