I've never seen any browsing on young ailanthus. We've got a patch right on the edge of a field, and it's never looked like it's been hit.
I've discussed deer use of Tree of Heaven on that defunct forum and I don't want to jack this thread, but I assume that you may not be the only one that's trying to eliminate it from your property. I'm not trying to convince anyone to promote the stuff, but if you're gonna cut it or kill it, there's a better way than to cut it and treat the stumps at this time of the year.
Here's my take on ToH...
My deer, like your deer, don't browse any part of
young ToH, but they go absolutely nuts for the leaves (and only the leaves) of
mature ToH when the tree is cut
in late summer.
I learned this several years ago when I dropped a ToH at the edge of my yard because it was blocking the satellite signal to my dish. I intended on cutting it up and hauling the dropped tree away when I had time within a day or 2 after I fell it. But the very next morning after I dropped it, I noticed that the leaves were 90% eaten and within another day the cut tree was 100% free of all leaves due to browsing.
It's become my practice to wait until September to cut Tree of Heaven while the leaves are still lush. Not a single leaf of a dropped ToH will go uneaten.
100% Guaranteed! At least that's what's happening here with deer and my ToH.
Yes the tree will stump sprout the following year, and I'll repeat the process, but I'm finding that ToH can only endure that for a few years and then it will die-out, but at least it provided desirable tonnage for a few years.
And those stump sprouts of ToH are extremely easy to cut. A fast growing 1 or 2 year old stump sprout will be 2 or 3 inches diameter and is very brittle. Just a couple of strokes with a hand saw will score the trunk and it can easily be snapped off. I routinely break smaller trees with just hand pruners. If the tree fits into the pruner jaws, it will break with just a little pressure...bend the trunk with one hand, while making a minor cut with the pruners and it snaps like a toothpick. it takes literally seconds to put small ToH on the ground with little effort. And the deer walk through clover plots and past pears to get to the cut ToH.
I understand that ToH is not necessarily a welcome species in a lot of habitat schemes and it does need to be kept under control, but I see no reason to choose to cut it at anytime other than late summer when it can provide some deer candy. And I see no reason to treat the stumps, either. I'm happy that they re-sprout. After a few years of late summer, repeated cutting, the tree will die-off anyway. Meanwhile, I've provided a few years of highly preferred food.
Heck, a stand over a newly dropped ToH would be a great early season doe stand until the leaves are eaten. It's almost like sitting over bait.
Here's the before and after pics of a small ToH in my yard a couple years ago. This was stump sprouts from the larger ToH that was blocking my satellite dish...
Before...
18 hours later
. When I say I, I mean the guy who's going to help me drop the big ones...I'm not good enough with the saw to be comfortable with splintery leaning stuff. But I'm good at clearing, if the weather would let me!
