Erecting deer exclosures

How to assemble the wire cage

The welded wire is very springy, so I recommend unrolling it flat on the ground before you start cutting.

You may need a heavy object or another person to hold one end because the wire naturally wants to roll itself back up.

Measure out approximately 7 to 8 feet. I usually aim for about 7 1/2 feet.

When cutting the wire, leave alternating wire ends sticking out. Those loose ends can then be bent around the opposite edge when you form the wire into a circle. This allows you to fasten the enclosure together without buying separate clips or fasteners.

Once the ends are connected, the enclosure should be somewhere around 2 to 3 feet in diameter.

That is large enough to prevent deer from simply reaching over the wire and eating the vegetation in the center.

Next, weave the two garden stakes through the welded wire and drive the steel post into the ground inside the enclosure. Attach the mesh to the steel post with small pieces of wire.

The finished result is simple but effective.

What a deer exclosure tells you

The idea is straightforward.

Vegetation inside the enclosure is protected from deer browsing.

Vegetation outside it is exposed.

Over time, the difference between the two areas can reveal just how much deer are eating.

This is especially useful because deer browsing pressure is not always obvious when you look across an entire property. If everything is being browsed at approximately the same rate, you may simply assume the vegetation is naturally short or sparse.

The exclosure gives you something to compare it against.

What happened in a clover food plot

One of the exclosures in the video was placed in a red clover food plot shortly after it was mowed.

Within several days, the clover was already producing fresh growth.

Many clovers respond well to mowing because they are adapted to repeated grazing. Cutting them can stimulate new growth much like grazing does. In this particular plot, mowing at least twice per year was recommended.

Sixteen days after the exclosure was installed, the difference was much easier to see.

The clover inside the enclosure was noticeably taller.

Immediately outside the wire, deer had repeatedly browsed the new growth.

The protected vegetation provided a clear reference point showing how much plant growth the deer were removing.

Forest exclosures may take longer to show results

You may see results very quickly in a heavily used food plot.

In the woods, it can take much longer.

I also placed exclosures over woodland vegetation, including greenbrier.

Deer particularly like greenbrier, and individual stems often show clear evidence of browsing.

On one property, deer numbers had been reduced by an EHD outbreak the previous year. Even with fewer deer present, browsing was still visible on greenbrier throughout the woods.

I intentionally placed one exclosure over greenbrier that had already been browsed.

The expectation is that the protected plants inside the enclosure will continue growing while vegetation outside continues to be browsed.

That difference may take a full year, or even two years, to become obvious in a forest setting.

Deer numbers can affect the entire forest floor

One of the most useful things an exclosure can help reveal is the cumulative effect of deer browsing.

At another property in Coshocton County, there was very little vegetation growing across portions of the forest floor.

Deer browsing was visible on raspberry and other plants, and much of the vegetation within reach had been eaten.

This was noticeably different from another property in Athens County where deer numbers were lower and considerably more vegetation remained on the forest floor.

The difference can eventually become large enough that you begin seeing what is often called a browse line, where deer have removed much of the reachable vegetation.

That is information worth knowing if you are managing property for deer, timber, wildlife habitat, or forest regeneration.

Where to place deer exclosures

If your goal is to understand browsing pressure across the property, I recommend placing several exclosures in wooded habitat.

A food plot can certainly demonstrate deer use, but food plots are specifically designed to attract deer. Heavy browsing there does not necessarily tell you what deer are doing throughout the rest of the property.

Woodland exclosures can give you a better picture of how deer are affecting naturally occurring vegetation.

The more exclosures you place in representative locations, the better your overall picture will be.

You might place them around plants such as greenbrier, raspberry, young woody growth, or other vegetation you know deer commonly browse.

Then return periodically and compare what is happening inside and outside the wire.

Where not to put an exclosure

Placement matters just as much as construction.

Do not place an exclosure somewhere dominated by plants deer will not eat.

One example is Japanese stiltgrass.

Japanese stiltgrass is a highly invasive plant that deer generally avoid. If you put your exclosure in an area covered almost entirely with stiltgrass, there may be little or no difference between the vegetation inside and outside the cage.

In that situation, the exclosure will not tell you much about browsing pressure.

Choose areas containing vegetation deer actually use.

Use several exclosures and watch them over time

A deer exclosure is not complicated.

That is part of what makes it useful.

You are creating a protected sample of vegetation and comparing it with everything around it.

If plants inside the enclosure become noticeably taller, denser, or more abundant than plants outside, deer browsing is having an effect.

If there is very little difference, browsing pressure may be relatively light, or you may simply need more time before the difference becomes visible.

For the best information, install several exclosures in different parts of the property and check them periodically throughout the year.

Over time, they can help you see what deer are eating, how heavily they are browsing, and whether browsing pressure differs from one part of your property to another.

It is another simple tool you can use to better understand and manage your land.