Deer Control in a Wood Lot / Coppice (AKA attract deer to avoid deer)

Greetings. This is my first post here.

I am working with one of my partners who shipwright and green casket builder.  She has come into roughly 8 acres of land.  I am helping her start several hundred feet of coppiced willow and other perennials suitable for weaving  for the casket making, and a timber production focused polyculture that will be focused on exploring the use of tree species not typically used in the manufacture of small watercraft.  Deer damage is a concern.  It is not feasible for us to keep them entirely off the property.   I am exploring a multi-faceted deterrent approach included a  living fence using several species typically used in that capacity, strategically placed motion controlled sprinklers, spray repellent and judicially arranged electric tape. I am also considering converting the back 1/4 of the property into a habitat that is meant to feed the deer and draw them preferentially away from the things we would rather they not eat (and provide us with some meat from time to time).  I have looked over quite a few thread on this site and seen that big fencing works (too expensive for us), electric tape, especially when baited can work, and gnarly hedgerows may work.  What do you think is the merit of dedicating some space specifically to attracting deer to a place designed for that purpose as part of strategy for protecting our trees and coppiced plants?

Welcome to the forum!

For recommending plants it might help to know what part of the world your friend is in or maybe the growing zone.

Smelly plants are left generally alone by deer.

A living fence of rosemary would be an excellent deterrent.

A lot of folks have had excellent results from double fencing, electric fencing, etc.

Deer usually only like the young leaves so if those can be protected until the young trees get established.

I am looking forward to hearing how her planting goes.

Of course. I am in 5b. I am not sure I can plant enough repellent plants and I am not sure I would expect it to work very well. So far as repelling, I was going to use a spray repellent to protect the densely planted young sapling and shoots. I am more interested in if people have been able to protect marginally interesting plants on one portion of the property by planting deer favored plants another portion. Essentially inviting them to browse elsewhere.

Welcome to permies.
I am curious if baiting them away would work, as there seems to be a never ending supply of deer, as long as it's not hunting season.

Look into bone sauce  for long term scent based deterrents.

Agreed. There are always deer. But in general there will only be a set number in a given area and they are creatures of habit and convenience,,,

Here are some threads to the bone sauce recipe:

https://permies.com/t/1805/Sepp-Holzer-recipe-animals-trees#11336
https://permies.com/t/20618/Mark-Shepard-dealing-heavy-deer
https://permies.com/t/71424/Sepp-Holzer-bone-salve-sauce

Here is a thread that talks about the double fencing:

https://permies.com/t/63411/Permanent-deer-fence-building-assistance#542199

My deer would just eat the stuff I plant for them and then also eat the stuff I didn't want them to eat :(

Deer fencing doesn't have to be expensive.  Here's my approach: Wavy Deer Fence

I've got willows and lots of deer.  If the deer could keep the willows under control I would be very grateful.  In 30 years it hasn't happened!  The willows are way ahead of everybody.  Even if a buck comes along and scrapes his antlers on the trunk, the willows don't even blink.  They even eventually  fall over and keep growing.  

I occasionally make bent willow furniture as a hobby and garden trellises, and there's always....always plenty of shoots on 5 trees.  

If you need to keep them away from the trunks, you can wrap the trunks in a breathable fabric or netting with at least 1"-2" spaces, loosely wrapped.  Be careful that the birds and bats don't get caught in the netting, which they could if it's the small stuff.  I've also had to cut out a large gopher snake that went through the 1/4" holes, believe it or not.  Took me an hour, down on the ground with manicure scissors, to free it.

And I found out not too long ago that the growth hormone in new willow shoots makes an excellent tea to saturate garden soil with, makes everything grow like crazy.

This episode of a way to garden is a discussion with a biologist who worked with Cornell on a longterm deer study in an experimental garden (though some techniques studied were not organic and I would not endorse):

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/margaret-roach-a-way-to-garden/id370801678?i=1000551532065

After years of difficult experiences with deer, and ever higher fencing (and deer caught by their antlers hanging up in an 8ft fence, btw - lots of deer accidents) , we finally learned the double-fence method (or anything similar) worked best.  

The double fence method works with the nature of how deer function.  Basically, deer jump by getting right up close to a fence and leaping over - it's sort of like a pole vaulter.  They don't jump like trained horses will, like over two obstacles at once.  If the two obstacles are very close to one another, the deer won't typically get in between them to jump over the second one.

So our garden fence that finally worked involved placing it so there there was a second, outer obstacle all the way around. On one side, that was actually a rocky ditch. On another side, a creek. On another side, a very thick wall of salmonberry.  And on the last side was our neighbor who had an outdoor dog.

Now the easier, cheaper way to do it if you don't have natural obstacles to place your fencing near is have flat ground to work with looks like this, found at this website:
Snyder Research & Extension Farm, Rutgers University

Snyder Research & Extension Farm-initiated deer crop loss demonstrations at three farms utilizing two rows of hot tape 6 feet apart and 42 inches high on sites approximately 1/2-acre in size showed reduced deer damage compared to a non-fenced "control" area. It is theorized that using a double row of hot tape at least six feet apart creates confusing depth perception for deer. See hot tape graph/photo below:

And the results of their "hot tape" trials:



They also make these recommendations:

Portable Electric Fences

In some instances portable electric fencing can be a temporary effective and economically feasible approach for farmers protecting high-value crops from damage. There are two basic types of portable electric fencing: electric netting and hot tape. These fences can not only repel deer but also can have benefit reducing small mammal damage including groundhogs, foxes, etc. ([electric netting only). Management of these fences are a key to maintaining their effectiveness and in some instances this lower-cost option will not be effective.

Here are some tips farmers can implement to enhance the effectiveness of portable electric fencing.

- Do not use portable electric fencing on large acreages. Generally, areas of one acre or less are best. The smaller the area the more effective these fences are.
- The portable charger to electrify the fence must produce a consistent and significant electrical shock. Be sure the charger is sufficiently effective in maintaining a high-voltage charge of the fence.
- Maintaining a trap crop such as young soybeans to drawn deer away from high-value crops may enhance the effectiveness of portable electric fencing. In other words, having an unprotected low-cost crop deer prefer to eat situated a distance from the high-value crops with the portable electric fencing. It is advantageous to have the trap crop someplace closer to the daytime deer habitat.
- Use colored Mylar tape hanging from the fence and other devices such as Mylar balloons to create a varying visual impact.

I can't stand that mylar tape, but I think the point is to make sure the fencing is very visible for them.

They also offer an interesting tip in the accompanying PDF they provide:

Helpful Hint: Growers and home gardeners have had success “baiting” Hot Tape by dabbing it with peanut butter. The strategy encourages deer to inspect and taste the bait. The deer receives an initial shock, thus insuring the animal is frightened by the fence, with no permanent injury to the deer.

Honestly,  I would be concerned a bait crop would attract deer.

Fencing need not be strong or expensive, just a visual one.

It can simply be fishing line every 2 feet that is flagged so they see it.

Great advice above about double fencing, which is also fabulously effective.