Tree Shelters, Guards & Hedge Protection
Official Vigilis distributor. Trade quantities delivered UK-wide, alongside the trees and hedging they protect.
Browsing by deer, rabbits and voles is the single biggest cause of losses in new planting. As official Vigilis distributors we supply the full range of shelters, wraps and guards to protect your scheme through the establishment years — in a standard recyclable finish, or a plastic-free version that breaks down in the soil and never has to be collected.
Because we grow and supply the trees and hedging too, you can order plants and protection together: one supplier, one delivery, one point of contact. Every product below is available in trade quantities with volume pricing for schemes.
Tree Guards
Mesh Shelters
Hedge Wraps
Shrub Shelters
Voleguards
Plastic-free, soil-biodegradable range
Every family is available in a Vigilis Bio version: tree shelters, vented shelters, wraps, shrub shelters, vole guards and mesh guards. They give the same protection through the establishment years, then break down naturally in the soil — no end-of-life collection, no retrieval labour and no plastic left in the landscape. Specify bio where access for later collection is difficult, where planning or funding conditions call for plastic-free protection, or simply where you would rather not come back for the tubes.
- Same heights and stem ranges as the standard range
- No collection or disposal cost at end of life
- Suited to rewilding, woodland creation, BNG and mitigation planting
- Recyclable standard range still available for schemes that collect
Which guard for which pest
| Pest or situation | Specify |
|---|---|
| Voles and field mice | 20cm or 25cm vole guard at the base, inside the shelter where both are present |
| Rabbits and hares | 60cm shelter, wrap or mesh guard |
| Roe deer | 1.2m shelter or mesh guard |
| Fallow, sika and red deer | 1.5m to 1.8m shelter or mesh guard |
| Hedgerow and bushy transplants | 60cm or 75cm shrub shelter (XL for wider stems) |
| Exposed, windy sites | Vented shelter to harden trees off as they grow |
Not sure? Send us the species mix, site and the pests you are seeing and we will specify the right combination.
Related ranges
About the Vigilis range
Vigilis tree shelters and guards are used across forestry, woodland creation, conservation, rewilding, farm and estate planting, biodiversity net gain schemes and amenity landscaping. The standard range is manufactured for strength and UV stability through the establishment period and is fully recyclable where a scheme plans to collect its tubes at the end of life.
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The Vigilis Bio range is manufactured from a bio-based polymer derived from potatoes, wood and corn. It has been developed and independently tested through the UK's largest biodegradable tree shelter field trial, backed by more than £360,000 of Innovate UK R&D funding, and is tested to ISO 17556 for soil biodegradability and EN 13432 for non-toxicity to soil. It delivers 3+ years of functional protection and then breaks down over a further 3+ years in suitable soil conditions, leaving water, biomass and minerals — with no microplastic residue and no retrieval cost.
Choosing the right guard is mostly a question of the height of the browsing pressure on site and the form of the plant. Voles and field mice girdle stems at ground level and need a vole guard at the base. Rabbits and hares are dealt with at 60cm. Roe deer need 1.2m, and fallow, sika or red deer need 1.5m to 1.8m. Bushy, multi-stemmed transplants such as hawthorn, blackthorn and hazel need the wider diameter of a shrub shelter rather than a tube. On exposed or windy sites a vented shelter increases airflow and hardens trees off as they grow. Where a solid tube is not wanted — for light-demanding species, or where the tree needs to be visible for inspection — a mesh guard gives free air movement and full visibility.
We hold trade quantities and deliver UK-wide from our nursery in Fife, alongside the cell-grown trees, bare-root whips and hedging the guards protect. Send us your plant schedule and we will quote plants and protection together.
Tell us the quantities and heights you need, or send your plant schedule and we will quote plants and protection together. We reply within one working day.
Ingrie Farm, Glenrothes
Fife KY6 3HS