Tree Tubes for Deer Protection: Choosing the right height

One of the most frequently asked question by new users of tree tubes is:  Should I use 4ft or 5ft tall tree tubes for deer browse protection?
 
Tree tube suppliers have traditionally explained how to choose the correct tree tube height is by suggesting that tree planters use 4ft tree tubes to protect from "moderate" deer browse, and 5ft tree tubes to protect from "heavy" or "severe" deer browse.  (Presumably that means that newly-introduced 6ft tree tubes should be used for "super mega wicked bad" deer browse!)

This "moderate, heavy, extra heavy" deer browse approach to choosing the right tree tube height is based on the ridiculous assumption that the landowner can actually know - in advance - how bad the deer browse level is going to be a year or two down the road when the trees emerge from their tree tubes.  That is asking the impossible.  

So I gave myself the task of coming up with a more rational way to explain to new - and old - tree tube users how to decide which height of tree tube will work best for them.  Here is what I came up with:

​Basis:  All tree tubes provide some level of deer browse protection.

4ft tree tubes provide enough deer protection for successful establishment 75% of the time.

5ft tree tubes provide enough deer protection for successful establishment 90% of the time.

6ft tree tubes provide enough deer protection for successful establishment 100% of the time.


​Decision Tree:  ​There are three equally legitimate strategies for using tree tubes to grow trees past the deer browse line:

1) You can save money (or protect more trees within you budget) by using 4ft tubes.  There is a 25% chance that the deer will browse emerging trees heavily enough that you will have to either treat them with a deer repellent or add a 2ft "tube extender" to get your trees past the browse line.

Note:  Some tree tube suppliers state that 4ft tree tubes do not protect against deer.  That is patently absurd, since 75% of the time 4ft tubes provide enough deer protection, and the rest of the time a treatment of deer repellent or the use of  a tree tube extender get the tree past the browse line.  To say that 4ft tree tubes do not protect from deer is like saying LeBron James never makes a free throw since he misses once in a while.

2) Spend a little more up front on 5ft tubes.  That added 1ft of browse protection is an insurance policy,  leaving only a 10% chance that you will need to provide additional protection for your trees after they emerge from the tubes.

3) Go with 6ft tubes and remove all doubt.  


I believe that this decision tree provides a more logical framework for decision making.  As a tree planter you can protect more trees with 4ft tree tubes within your current budget, but you might need to go back and provide more protection in the future, or you can protect fewer trees with 5ft or even 6ft tree tubes and reduce the possibility that the trees will need supplemental protection down the road.

 Both are perfectly legitimate strategies for successful tree establishment in the face of increasing deer pressure - and both make a lot more sense than expecting land owners to predict if their trees will face "moderate" or "heavy" deer browse in the future.  All deer browse seems "heavy" to the tree that gets munched!