Evaluation of two mammal repellents applied to browse species in the Black Hills

Published source details Dietz D.R. & Tigner J.R. (1968) Evaluation of two mammal repellents applied to browse species in the Black Hills. Journal of Wildlife Management, 32, 109-114.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Use repellents that taste bad (‘contact repellents’) to deter crop or property damage by mammals to reduce human-wildlife conflict Action Link

Use repellents that taste bad (‘contact repellents’) to deter crop or property damage by mammals to reduce human-wildlife conflict

A replicated, controlled study, in 1962–1964, on shrubland and a forest area of South Dakota, USA (Dietz & Tigner 1968) found that applying repellents to trees reduced browsing by white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus and mule deer Odocoileus hemionus. Treated aspen Populus tremuloides shoots suffered less browsing than untreated shoots (zinc dimethyldithiocarbamate cyclohexylamine (ZAC)-treated: 3% removed; tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD)-treated: 3%; untreated: 12%). The same pattern applied for wild chokeberry Prunus virginiana shrubs (ZAC-treated: 0.7% removed; TMDT-treated: 6.8%; untreated: 28.9%). On trees transplanted from nurseries, there was less browsing on ZAC-treated than untreated chokecherry (ZAC-treated: 0.1% removed; untreated: 6%), American plum Prunus americana (ZAC-treated removed: 0.1%; untreated: 19.8%) and caragana Caragana arborescens (ZAC-treated: 0.8% removed; untreated: 4.5%). Herbivory on naturally growing Aspen and chokeberry was compared between groups of ZAC-treated, TMTD-treated and untreated trees (10 trees in each case). Chokecherry, American plum and caragana were transplanted from nurseries to two sites where they were either treated with ZAC or were untreated (total ≤64 trees/species). Herbivory was assessed as the proportion of shoot lengths removed. Aspen and wild chokeberry trees were assessed over winters of 1962–1963 and 1963–1964. Transplanted chokecherry, American plum and caragana were assessed in winter of 1963–1964.

(Summarised by: Nick Littlewood)