I wonder if any mesh keeps out unwanted pests like leaf eating beetles

Now is probably the time of year to put bud caps on

I looked into Plantra tubes & they make so many different height tubes it is hard to know which ones to buy

The quality of Plantra tubes look at least as good as anything I've seen in my research

We have planted 700 apple trees at home. Also some peach, cherry, and pear.

For young fruit trees, use spiral wraps as in the photos above to protect the trunk from damage.

Mice will also tunnel and eat the roots over winter. In the spring the ground thaws and the tree falls over. We use a tractor mounted 3 point implement called a tunnel bait applicator to apply rodenticide below ground in the root zone.

Tree tubes are better for other types of trees. Fruit trees you need to manage / train the small limbs with clothespins. Also need to prune.

For deer habitat and in areas of many deer, build a cage as shown above. If not, just scrap the tree because deer will eat the small limbs and rub the whip - great fun for them.

I'll consider that. I was thinking you are a tree tube fan, Willy.

I'd never heard of a mouse eating tree ROOTS. I suppose it's possible mice behave differently as frozen soil conditions vary around the country.

I am a fan of tree tubes, just not on fruit trees.
Different trees require different attention for maximum results.
Or at least for them to somewhat produce the desired results.

Spend time in a young orchard and the attacks on the trees will be devastating.
Experiencing limb shatter was quite a hoot!
Cicadas and some other insects (can’t remember which) will lay eggs in the small wood and when the eggs hatch and the larvae come out it looks like the small limbs have shattered.
Many “WHAT NOW?” moments!

One spring the mouse damage was devastating. We had trees that had been in the ground 4-5 years just falling over. I pulled one out and what had been sticking in the ground was sharpened like a pencil.

Actually, we probably planted around 1100 or 1200 trees. Some were lost to drought, deer, insects, mice, walnut tree toxin translocation, and I cut off at least 2 or 3 turning tight corners when mowing with a brush hog. In a drought we lost a few hundred young trees even though I hauled multiple loads of water in a 300 gallon tank trailer every night. One September a couple young bucks were in the orchard every night for about 2 weeks beating trees with their new hard antlers. In that time they killed / deformed at least 50 small apple trees. In some places only the stub of the rootstock was sticking out of the dirt because they broke it off at the graft.

I am about 12 years in on a tree planting of oak trees but have no experience with fruit trees. However, I started with weed mats which was a huge mistake and waste of money. While the weed mats did keep weeds and grass down and preserved moisture, the voles/mice loved to dig and nest under them and then girdle the trees.
I am a big fan of 5' tree tubes. They are just tall enough to keep the deer browsing to a minimum. I do make sure to put the bottom of the tube in the ground maybe a half inch. This seems to help keep the mice out. Stakes are pvc. The flexibility helps develop stem strength.
As the trees grow, I select the ones I want to protect most and make a remesh cage around them. This keeps the bucks from working over the tubed trees.
I will add that the deer do not like to rub on trees staked with rebar. However, the rebar does not flex enough to promote enough stem strength.

For future plantings, I will plant less trees and spend the money on tree tubes and remesh. Of the hundreds of trees originally planted, the tubed trees are 12-20' tall with trunks that have split the tubes. There is not one non-tubed/protected tree that is over 2 tall. Those that have survived look like a bush due to constant deer browse.
My 2 cents.

Thanks. This seems like interesting & sound advice

Orlando - I would like to see photos of the trees that you describe. I do not doubt you at all. Would enjoy seein the results of trees planted at the same time with and without tubes. Plus, your rebar cages sound interesting.

Using tubes in the dirt an inch or so makes it safe to spray herbicide to eliminate weeds taking water and soil nutrients that the tree could use. I use a side mounted spray boom that extends away from the tractor int the row to just touch the tree with a rubber finger. It has a pattern of nozzles so it sprays as much as 4 feet. Go down one side and up the other. The boom is hydraulic so it can be raised vertically when turning or any driving.

Not bragging, but proud of our accomplishments. Our place is a Certified Tree Farm and is in the Federal tree farm system. I am a master tree farmer. It has been fun work.

Willy,
The attached photo is from 2019. All trees were planted at the same time in I believe 2010. The trees that were tubed are much bigger now. Those in the plastic mesh sleeves are the same height but a little "bushier".
Staking the tubed trees was a bit of an issue. Keeping the tubes in place when the trees were first planted was sometimes an issue due to high winds, deer, and coons. Staking with 3/8 rebar initially worked better than PVC. However, once the trees start coming out of the 5 tube, they had a tendency to break off. So, I eventually settled on a short rebar stake with about 2' out of the ground, and then slipping a 5' piece of pvc over the stake to hold the tube but give it some flexibility.

Bucks sometimes get a little too aggressive with the tubed trees. I put remesh cages around the trees I identified as growing the best and that I wanted to make sure would survive. The cages are not free, take some work to install and maintain. But, they are a difference maker.

The trees not in tubes were put in plastic mesh . The mesh protects them very little and the deer browse off whatever is sticking out. I would not plant trees again without tubes. In hindsight, I would not plant near as many trees, but would spend the money protecting those I plant. My goal is acorn production for habitat/wildlife and not timber. I have left some rebar on the trees. If someone after I'm gone decides to cut the trees for wood, well, they're going to have to earn it.

The other day my dad was deer hunting on our property and watched a fawn walk from oak to oak eating the top. None were fenced or tubed.

I should have had bud caps on the prime trees.

Maybe it keeps insects out too

I have used tubes similar and they maybe Plantra tubes. My take on them is they are better than the ones with small round holes down at the bottom.
The small round holes (about 1/4-3/8 holes) are just places that mice exploit and chew out to a larger size so they can move in and live inside the tube.
I have had this happen on several Oaks and the mice generally don't chew on the bark of the Oaks much if at all. But when I find one that has been enter by mice I use 1/4 hardware cloth and wrap the bottom foot of the tube with it.
This stops the mice issue completely.

I have used tubes on fruit trees and lost all the trees to mice gnawing in and girdling the trees. To be honest I really don't care as much about the fruit trees as they were planted in a open area that is burned regularly and so are pain to deal with when doing a prescribed burn. So I am glad they are gone.
I do have some Burr Oaks planted in the open that I do the same with but I guess it comes down to the fact that I value the Oaks much more than apple trees.

I have maybe 50-100 White Oaks that are in tubes but they are planted in openings in a more wooded area so grass is less of a concern.
I have used landscape fabric mats around the Oaks planted in the open and then mulched over the top of the mat to keep the grass down.
I make sure to have my tubes at least and inch or two buried in the ground and this seems to have stopped mice from coming in.
I use 5ft tubes. I have not had a deer gnaw at the trees as they poke out the top and grow beyond.

I do not use any mesh on the tubes.

I use a wooden stake for mine. The stakes that come with most tubes are too small.
I buy treated wood for my stakes. Either deck boards or 2 x lumber. I rip them down to about 1 1/4 width so I end up with at a minimum a 1 x 1 1/4 or at max a 1 1/4 x 1 1/2 treated wood stake. I buy my wood at the local home depot. They always have a cart of reject wood that is on sale for 70% off. They are usually warped or what not but it doesn't matter for a stake. I cut my stakes to 6ft long and cut a sharp point on end that I then drive into the ground.

Many of my Oaks have grown out of their tubes and some are on their 2nd or even 3rd year of growing above the tubes.

I have had issues with just a handful of the Oaks. It seems that there is a disease or virus that they get. The leaves are deformed and much smaller in size. It seems to stop their growth the year it shows. But the next year its gone and they grow normally.

Just my experience with tree tubes and Oak trees.

yes, deer are THE most destructive animal out there in my experience. I can not grow Oaks without a tree tube. The only way one can survive is if its planted in the middle of a blackberry patch where the deer don't travel if possible. But even then its 50/50 if it lasts.

All this plus the lack of proper management in woodlots (not just thinning) is why members of the White Oak family will continue to disappear from the landscape in the future.
I can't ever recall seeing a woodlot with small White Oaks in it besides the first year seedlings that are doomed to deer in the winter/spring.

Anyone have luck with deer spraying?

I have been planting some trees in the bottom ground the last few years. I use old sheep fence that is junk or anything that has some cover and seems to work pretty well. An electric fence one strand will do great for big game.

No, I always figure that'd be too much expense & time. Maybe it'd work for a tree in ones front yard.

The federal guy told me he won't fund oak tree planting if people don't tube them. He did not have a specific suggested tube type though.

Wouldn't deer be just as lkely to eat up members of the red oak family?

Sometimes I consider bud capping a possible alternative to tree tubes