Silly question, I know, but I’ve been using zip ties to attach my tree cages to t posts (to keep the deer off) and I hate cutting them off and throwing them out every time I need to take the cages off for maintenance or harvesting. does anyone have some ideas on what I could use instead? I was looking at reusable outdoor cable ties but didn’t see anything I liked yet. I like to get them on as tight as I can and don’t want anything that I can’t get tight enough for the nubs on the t-posts to grab the small spaces on the hardware cloth (like twisting wire). I’m using hardware cloth as cages so they would have to be narrow enough to fit.
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I mostly use zip ties for this kind of thing, but I use the very large ones, which you can more easily release with a small flat head screwdriver rather than cutting them. So they are reusable, but it definitely takes a bit longer to remove that way vs cutting.
There are zip ties with release buttons for re use. Have you tried those?
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/95FBEA4C-8F85-4C5D-89C5-5CCC47F97EEC
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have you used these before? I can google like the best of them but was hoping to find something someone has used before successfully
I wire my 4’-5’ tall cages to a T-Post to keep them from moving in the wind. You can find short rolls of electric fencing wire for as low as $6.50. I’m not sure I understand how they could slide off. If you can find a short roll of 14-gauge vs the 17-gauge wire it tends to hold up better to being released and re-tied / twisted.
saying they would slide off was incorrect. I meant to say that I can’t secure the wire tight enough for the larger nubs on the t posts to sufficiently grab into the small spaces in the hardware cloth so the hardware cloth shifts.
I got one on a fruit tree and loved it. It looks the same, but not that exact brand. It zipped down as tight as a regular one. Solid zip ties.
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I had the same issue with zip ties – just too inconvenient to open up the cage for regular maintenance – so I use a slightly different method that I’ve slowly developed over years, which dispenses with the t-posts entirely.
Imagine that the cage makes a circle with 0 degrees at the point where the edges meet. I secure the cage into the ground with three pieces of J-hook rebar driven in at 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees (see the blue arrow in the picture below). The ends of the cage at 0 degrees are then fastened together with three cheap aluminum carabiner clips (yellow arrows). Here is what it looks like:
It might not be beautiful, but it’s simple to set up, allows great access for maintenance (disconnecting the carabiner clips takes seconds and lets the whole front open like a door) and the whole setup can be dismantled swiftly. I’ve been using it for years and it is effective at keeping out the deer – and they definitely try to get through.
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I use plastic coated wire. Lasts for dozens of rounds of opening/closing
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looks beautiful to me!
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I take the cages off occasionally to clean and trim. I use these reusable zip ties:
Hose clamps from the plumbing department in the big box store!
I am not sure that the 1-3/4" to 2-3/4" diameter range will be large enough for your purposes, but they come in bulk bags at about $2.50 per clamp. Couple that with a handheld nut driver
so you don’t have to deal with a flathead screwdriver slipping, or even a bit for a powered screwdriver or drill, and things will move quickly for you. The clamps you are buying might need a different size than the 5/16" drive that I usually encounter, so double check yours.
The key is that when you back the drive off all the way the end will come free so you can slip it around everything
then restart the thread and snug things up rather quickly.
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Not knowing what the size openings are on your hardware cloth, you might need to do a little trimming of wires in order to slip the hose clamp through a slot.
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TreePro tree shelters used to (may still) come with reusable zip ties, kind of like these, with a tab you could depress to remove them…
But the damned hooved rats tend to chew on the extended end of the zip tie, making them all but impossible to completely remove, as the chewed-up portion of the tie would no longer traverse the channel.
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Fencing pliers might help you get the wire more snug. I would also 2nd @Audi_o_phile on the idea of hose clamps. They’re an invaluable tool to have around for different projects. I fell like t-posts and hose clamps are something you can never have enough of.
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The tree pro shelters do still come with the reusable zip ties. They’ve worked great for me, fortunately my deer have not nibbled on mine!
I think reusable zip ties would be the best solution for the op. I’ve had mine off and on several times without issue. Super fast and easy. The oldest ones have been on for 2 seasons, been fine with the UV (was worried they’d get brittle, but havent). I have over 650 tubes out there…
I have some of those ties from old TreePro tubes that have been around for 25 years. Still going strong; the tubes, not so much.
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Velcro ties work fine
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That’s what we use too. It’s typically labeled as cloths line. Also, poly baling twine. Cheap and holds up really well.
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