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Bedding cover

Sgt Fury

Sgt. Spellchecker
My backyard is mostly oaks (huge oaks over 100 years old) along with small oaks and laurel. My neighbors house sits far back and he has real thick cover in his front yard that the deer bed in. My other neighbor has a field that has some alfalfa (10 acres) and either corn or soybeans (50 acres) every year. The deer typically return from the fields in the morning and pass through my property on the way to my neighbors thick bedding area. It’s not uncommon for me to see 40+ deer in the mornings. My problem is that when I had more laurel, it used to hold some bigger bucks...now I’m only seeing smaller bucks with the occasional big one coming through at night looking for does. For some reason, the laurel is slowly dying off. I’d like to plant something that is fast growing, provides a good bedding cover, but also something that isn’t going to be too invasive. If I can create a good bedding area on my place, combined with the bedding on my neighbors place, I’m thinking the bigger bucks would hang around more...like they used to 10-15 years ago. I tried planting white pines (6-10” plants) but something was eating them...I’d see where they were snipped off with only a 2” stub remaining...and I had planted around 200 of them. I do have some hemlock that I planted and they are doing well, but they are slow growing and I only have about a half dozen. I guess I’m looking for seedlings that I can plant that will grow fast, but something that I can keep under control. May have to get some of those small tubes that will protect the plants until they get some size to them.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,762
274
North Carolina
@CJD3 whats that proper name of that red brush? Red twig?
Stuff grows hearty and tough to get through as it matures. Deer love it around here.
 
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CJD3

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
14,630
201
NE Ohio
@CJD3 whats that proper name of that red brush? Red twig?
Stuff grows hearty and tough to get through as it matures. Deer love it around here.


That’s all I’ve ever called it. Lol
Got the name from gramp. I’m sure there is a proper name one of us will figure out.
 

CJD3

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
14,630
201
NE Ohio
Best bedding areas I’ve ever known are 20-60
year abandoned apple orchards. Tall grass, out of control black berry groups with thorns the size of bear claws. Random hardwood saplings (read future rub/sent trees) and of course, red brush.

So plant a few Apple trees in the thick stuff.
(At least 3 in a group) and let nature take it’s course. 5-10 years from now along with those big oak trees, you’ll be golden. If you
Can keep the doe’s with a food, social and bedding area, the bucks will come.
 

triple_duece

Ragin Cajun.
9,126
159
Try blue stem grass. It grows 6’ tall. You can also plant different fruit trees and cedar for thermal cover.

I will go out on a limb and say you have too many doe. Remember it’s all about balance. No reason for a big buck to hang when he can grab a doe anytime or anywhere. Too many mouths when food is minimum will result in poor deer when they should be growing bone instead of putting on body weight. There is no perfect answer.
 
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Sgt Fury

Sgt. Spellchecker
Try blue stem grass. It grows 6’ tall. You can also plant different fruit trees and cedar for thermal cover.

I will go out on a limb and say you have too many doe. Remember it’s all about balance. No reason for a big buck to hang when he can grab a doe anytime or anywhere. Too many mouths when food is minimum will result in poor deer when they should be growing bone instead of putting on body weight. There is no perfect answer.
There is plenty of woods around but a lack of cover. The deer have plenty of food between the acorns and farm fields. They’ll bed in the fields and open oaks in the summer but after being harassed by hunters and after the leaves fall from the trees, they’ll seek out thick cover. My neighbors place is the only thick stuff close by...the nearest thick stuff is about 1/4 mile away. The bigger bucks simply won’t bed in that cover with 30 or so does. I get where they’re coming from...with that many girls in one spot it must sound like a chicken coop with all of that clucking going on!😂 Thermal cover is a good idea but I need to find something fast growing...even if I have to use the quad and run buckets of water to them every couple of days until it becomes established.
 

Bowkills

Well-Known Member
2,577
85
Nw oh
Some aerial views would be interesting to give folks a better idea as well. I tried to make my property into a bedding area for 8 yrs now with hinge cuts making parts jungle like. weedy grassy clearings but didn't take into consideration the neighbors property has me beat for what deer want in my area. Lack of humans (except one week a year), highest dryest ground with great views to see danger. Good luck with it but think hard whatever you do so u aren't wasting time or money.
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,691
177
Ohio
red twig is Red Osier dogwood. if it does well, you can cut some of the straight shoots and make top notch primitive arrows with them and kill some of the deer hopefully hiding in it. :D Injuns loved it for arrows.
 

Bowkills

Well-Known Member
2,577
85
Nw oh
image.jpeg
this area I hinged/cleared 6 years ago or so . Many trees I cut r still alive. If u have an area of unwanted timber ,if you don't want to log, u can have head high weeds and new growth over one summer by letting nature do its thing after getting sunlight to the floor. A four wheeler sized trail can almost collapse in one growing season. It's crazy to watch grow year to year.