Deer, Rabbits and Other Critters.
It's fall time in Winnipeg and as I looked out my front window this morning I am reminded it is soon time to apply Skoot
to our trees and shrubs to repel deer, rabbits and other critters like mice. The reminder is the huge buck that is standing
in my front yard eating my Hostas. There must be a large population this year because the deer in my neighbourhood don’t usually
venture across the street. The forest area along the Seine River is usually enough of a food source for them. But this year I
am seeing them up on the road and down the Streets leading off Egerton Rd on a daily basis.
Skoot is a repellent that was developed to taste bad to the animals, after one taste they won't come back for more. It is can be
applied once the trees and shrubs are dormant. But before it gets below zero during the day time.
You can apply Skoot by painting the undiluted product directly on the bark or by diluting it with equal parts of water and
spraying it on the plants using a pump sprayer. This is the easiest way by far.
For shrubs, you want to apply a light spray of Skoot starting at the base of the plant and going approximately four to five feet
high. You have to picture how high up can a rabbit reach when it is sitting on top of the snow in mid winter.
For trees you want a light spray on all sides of the trunk and on the lower branches again in the 4-5 ft range. Make sure that
you get all sides of the trunk.
SKOOT Repellent for Rabbits, Mice and Deer concentrate when applied, will protect on an
average the following number of plants, according to size:
Age Approx. Height Trees/litre
1yr. 0.3-0.5 metres 250-400
2yr. 0.5-1.0 metres 125-200
3yr. 1.0-2.0 metres 60-100
4yr. 1.0-2.5 metres 40-60
5yr. 2.0-4.0 metres 20-40
Animals tend to like younger trees and once your tree goes to the point that the trunk is 4-5" in diameter (caliper) there is a less
likely chance that the deer and rabbits will harm them.
shrubs of all ages can be vulnerable.
You can apply Skoot to the following types of plants that tend to be animal favorites:
- Apple , Plum, Cherry, Pears
- ash
- elm
- birch
- poplar
- Rosyblooms
- Lilacs
- roses
- Hydrangea
Basically Skoot can be applied to most deciduous type of trees and shrubs. But apply Skoot to the plants once they are dormant.
Skoot tends to dry quite quickly thus you want to full your sprayer out immediately with warm water. Make sure you also flush out the nozzles
as well. Skoot will dry in the nozzle and hose parts clogging the sprayer.
Happy Spraying
Susan Jensen Stubbe