Fence, Defense , Deer , And Alibies.

[Gardeneer]

Fence, Defense , Deer , and Alibi.

There has been a discussion in one of Worth's threads on the subject of deer damage and how to deal with it humanely , legally , ecologically and economically.

Being in the situation to possibly garden in an environment where there are lots of deer, I am studying the subject.

Here are possibilities:

1- Single Fence.
2- Double Fence
3- Wide Fence
4- Electric Fence.
5- DOG

Here is a figure showing a single and wide fence.
I like the idea of wide fence.
What do you think ?

deer fence.jpg


Gardeneer

[friedgreen51]

Hi,
We had a bad deer problem in our garden a few years ago. After some research we found that if you used a fence inside of a fence the deer won't try to jump it because of their poor depth perception. Ours is electric, but we have had one at rental property away from our home and it worked too. It was made from catfish fishing line.
Here are a few pics of our electric one at home. We often unplug it while working in the garden and forget to plug it back in for several days. Have not experienced a problem now in several years.

[nancyruhl]

That has worked for me also. They can jump high but not high and wide. It can be as simple as a single board 3 feet inside the main fence and at the level of the main fence. At my cottage the deer pressure is very great and they eat all kinds of things one the deer resistant plant list.

[Gardeneer]

Thanks guys.
I know that I can make a 12ft high fence but it is costly. So the idea of WIDE fence is interesting.
Nancy's way is real good one. How tall is your main fence, Nancy ?

Gardeneer

[Worth1]

That slanted fence thing looks like a cruel trap for a deer to get hung up in and break its legs.

Worth

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Worth1

That slanted fence thing looks like a cruel trap for a deer to get hung up in and break its legs.

Worth

The reason for slanted fence is that deer won't attempt to jump over ir because of being two wide in their perception. . '
There is a better way to trap deer. : Build a shorter fence before the man. They will jump the short fence. But because of short distance between them they cannot jump back out.

Gardeneer

[Johnniemar]

Slanted fence looks like normandy beach on d day to me.

[nancyruhl]

My fence is only 4 feet, by the terrain on the other side is tiers and steps. I would think 6 feet with the next row 3 feet in would do it.

[Nematode]

All that fencing baloney pushed me to a tunnel, just need to get it done tho.

[Gardeneer]

My next question is COLR.
What color/s is readily seen by deer ? Can they see fish line in the dark of night ?

The aim (in my mind ) is to discourage them to try to jump by visual effect not just by high physical barrier.

Gardeneer

[Urbanheirlooms]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

My next question is COLR.
What color/s is readily seen by deer ? Can they see fish line in the dark of night ?

The aim (in my mind ) is to discourage them to try to jump by visual effect not just by high physical barrier.

Gardeneer

My neighbor used fishing line with orange ribbon ties to it and they would jump into it and break it and eventually got into his garden.

[Gardeneer]

After taking care of the deer issue. need to address smaller garden thives.
I am thinking about a 24" wire rabbit fence. Part of it has to go deeper in the groung so they won't tunnel under it. .
Forget the squirrels. They cannot be deterred.

[bower]

I have nothing good to say about chicken wire fences to keep out rabbits. At least the hares here only took it as a challenge to be struggled with again and again, in every way possible. No gap too small, when my fence was at its best, the mother rabbit came and pushed her little ones to come inside and live where the grass is greener. And a safe place!
Last couple of years I have clipped or tied row cover around my vegetable beds. The can't see what's inside, and they don't know what is this white stuff, they stay away. Even the squirrels. When I was out planting they started to cheer and gloat - you know. Totally excited squirrel racket believing "it's for us"..... They kept this up all while I was putting in the veggies, then I got the row cover and started to put it around the bed.... suddenly SILENCE. And you don't need to cover the veggies, just tie it around the sides. There were gaps where a rabbit could easily get in, but they didn't try.
Last year I even grew sprouting broccoli and enjoyed all summer long, and the moose that passed through never touched it. I removed the row cover in the fall and within a week, moosey had taken the remaining plants to a stump.
Somewhere I have video of a moose using its mouth to pull wire off a hazelnut tree I had tried to protect. Maybe the problem is, our animals have a long history with wire barriers and they are not afraid to push back.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by bower

I have nothing good to say about chicken wire fences to keep out rabbits. At least the hares here only took it as a challenge to be struggled with again and again, in every way possible. No gap too small, when my fence was at its best, the mother rabbit came and pushed her little ones to come inside and live where the grass is greener. And a safe place!
Last couple of years I have clipped or tied row cover around my vegetable beds. The can't see what's inside, and they don't know what is this white stuff, they stay away. Even the squirrels. When I was out planting they started to cheer and gloat - you know. Totally excited squirrel racket believing "it's for us"..... They kept this up all while I was putting in the veggies, then I got the row cover and started to put it around the bed.... suddenly SILENCE. And you don't need to cover the veggies, just tie it around the sides. There were gaps where a rabbit could easily get in, but they didn't try.
Last year I even grew sprouting broccoli and enjoyed all summer long, and the moose that passed through never touched it. I removed the row cover in the fall and within a week, moosey had taken the remaining plants to a stump.
Somewhere I have video of a moose using its mouth to pull wire off a hazelnut tree I had tried to protect. Maybe the problem is, our animals have a long history with wire barriers and they are not afraid to push back.

Thanks, Bower.

Last couple of years I have clipped or tied row cover around my vegetable beds. The can't see what's inside, and they don't know what is this white stuff, they stay away.

I don't quite picture how you use the bed cover around the beds. Do yo use it standing up like a fence ?

With the rabbits, the fence material has to be WIRE with NO gap, going in the ground deep enough so that they cannot tunnel under it.
Some years ago I used plastic mesh. The rabbits chewed it and got in.

Gardeneer

[Urbanheirlooms]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

After taking care of the deer issue. need to address smaller garden thives.
I am thinking about a 24" wire rabbit fence. Part of it has to go deeper in the groung so they won't tunnel under it. .
Forget the squirrels. They cannot be deterred.

I use a 6' high metal fence with 2" x 3" holes. I used landscaping timbers for posts (I got them on sale for $1.97 each). I was fortunate enough to find two 150' rolls of 24" chicken cage fencing at an estate sale ($10 per roll) which I put at the base to keep the groundhogs & rabbits out. I am fortunate not to have a squirrel problem currently. I have not had any problems with this setup. The bunnies can get through the 2" x 3" fencing, so make sure to have something at the base to keep them out.