Gall Berries & Deer

[Buck Dropper]

A large portion of our property is planted pines, with 4-6 foot tall gall berries all in them. I personally have never witnessed a deer browse on a gall berry bush or eat any of the berries. Is this something you guys would attempt to control/remove from the property? They have taken over and have been there my entire life. As best as I can tell, deer don't like them and they are preventing any other more favorable browse from growing. The only thing I can think that may provide a benefit to the deer is cover and bedding, but even then I wouldn't think it is ideal bedding.

We have also had a massive decline in our turkey population and I think thick gallberries in the pines could be leading to them to favor the neighbor's property that he keeps burned.

Anyone ever dealt with this before and have any recommendations?

If I should kill them, what would be my best method of attack? Keep fire through the pines frequently?

 

[Buck Dropper]

Anybody have any thoughts?

 

[XIronheadX]

Some quick reading says fire makes gallberry reproduce abundantly. Although effective if its recurring.

Also deer resistant as a shrub.

https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_ilgl.pdf

Here's how they did it in the 60's lol. I ran across it. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtqWZ6tTLyEC&pg=PT1&lpg=PT1&dq=killing+gallberry&source=bl&ots=B6lk_kbp19&sig=ACfU3U3l4thWMoKm5MsHF6aKFMdXxuNNKg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiSq8HYpannAhUOTN8KHbx4DHUQ6AEwD3oECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=killing gallberry&f=false


http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/sites/spb/pine2/Copy of Forest Herbicide for TN Notes 2001.pdf

 

[Iwannashoot]

Deer bed in gallberries on our property all the time. Turkey hens will nest in them also.

We try to burn about a third of our property every year. Deer love to browse in the new growth the year after the burn. Not sure if the are eating only gallberry shoots or the other plants that are mixed in with them.

 

[Buck Dropper]

Deer bed in gallberries on our property all the time. Turkey hens will nest in them also.

We try to burn about a third of our property every year. Deer love to browse in the new growth the year after the burn. Not sure if the are eating only gallberry shoots or the other plants that are mixed in with them.

Ours have never been burned. It has turned into a thick jungle in some places. I think we will benefit from fire. I have read other places as well that the deer will use them for bedding, but I think ours have gotten to the point that they are too thick and big.

 

[Dbender]

Ours have never been burned. It has turned into a thick jungle in some places. I think we will benefit from fire. I have read other places as well that the deer will use them for bedding, but I think ours have gotten to the point that they are too thick and big.

You need to be really careful burning thick gallberry in short pines. It burns easily and hot. Can jump up in the canopy quick in the wrong conditions and you'll be left with only gallberry. Fire doesn't phase it but will def control the height for aesthetic/hunting purposes.

 

[Iwannashoot]

Ours have never been burned. It has turned into a thick jungle in some places. I think we will benefit from fire. I have read other places as well that the deer will use them for bedding, but I think ours have gotten to the point that they are too thick and big.

Last year we were working on our place. Rode a 4wheeler and a tractor with a bush hog down a fire lane next to the thickest most overgrown gallberries around. Up jumps a doe and two yearnings after we drove by less than 25ft away. I never would have seen them had I not looked back. Moral of the story is that galleries never get to thick for deer to slip through and bed in.

They do burn hot so be careful the first time you burn them.

 

[jakebuddy]

Galberry is not real valuable for deer, except for cover and it does produce some hot fires. I have mowed, sprayed, and burned once it is really thick it’s hard to deal with. If you can mow it now then spray in the spring time that will help. But it does produce some great honey, just by the way.

 

[fishfryer]

A big emphasis on GREAT honey!