Hello, all: It's been an especially harsh winter here in Toronto and, for the first time I've ever seen, some deer (2) have been coming up the ravine into my backyard and have eating all the needles off my yew trees. My question is two-fold:
- Even though the damage is done and the deer aren't returning (there's nothing left on the trees to eat), is there a way to deter them from coming into my yard and nibbling my trees? I have a huge raccoon problem, too, and have just given up on that.
- More importantly, the deer have left the branches, but all the needles on the bottom three feet of the tree are GONE. Will the tree recover and replace its needles? Or is it a goner?
I'm grateful for any information or advice!
David