Creative or cheap deer fencing?

[Claudia]

I just found this thread....we have a small area and after they raided our plants earlier this week we put up 5ft chicken wire for now. Next year we will plan ahead!! Our theory was that there is no landing area for them so hopefully they will go else where....as in next door to eat!!

[kevn357]

I use the cheap deer netting/mesh that's $18 for 100 feet long and 7 feet tall. I keep it loose on wooden stakes so it can't be climbed by other pests. This is my 2nd year using it and the deer are still confused by it. It's funny to watch them test it as they don't seem to see it and then run away or jump back when their noses hit it.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Easy-Gard...2#.Udon4JwyiMA

[kevn357]

Btw, we had a 5 foot chain link fence on our other property and they jumped it like nothing. You need height more than strength sometimes.

[Claudia]

We know the height will not keep them out. They often jump our 4ft. our yard fence to get in the backyard. Our thought is that since our area is only about 6 feet wide and it is full of plants, cages and stakes that just really is nowhere for them to land. That was also stated in the article that JerryL linked.

[crazyoldgooseman]

A few strands of electric have worked for me for deer, but now I use 4 ft fencing plus electric fence due to groundhogs.

I hate groundhogs!

[Mr. Greenjeans]

This is a more expensive option, but long lasting and aesthetically pleasing. Lint the outside of your garden beds with smooth river stone or beach pebbles. When the deer step on the stones, they will shift under their hooves. They don't like it at all & will seek more stable ground. Also, planting herbs in amongst your tomatoes (especially mints) will deter deer as well (they don't like the smell). If you use mints, you may want to isolate them in a container so they don't take over your garden!

[Emeoba69]

Originally Posted by kevn357

I use the cheap deer netting/mesh that's $18 for 100 feet long and 7 feet tall. I keep it loose on wooden stakes so it can't be climbed by other pests. This is my 2nd year using it and the deer are still confused by it. It's funny to watch them test it as they don't seem to see it and then run away or jump back when their noses hit it.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Easy-Gard...2#.Udon4JwyiMA

This is the quick solution I went with. Honestly I didn't think I had any time to doddle and a night or two more and I'd have been down to nubs. Probably lost 3/4 of all my first set fruit (probably 30+ tomatoes). The deer haven't touched them since.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Emeoba69

So I'm at a loss of how much my tomatoes have been wiped out by deer. They had first been just pruning them back heavily. Since the fruits started to set they've been stripping those as well all my hard beautiful work is being ruined on a near nightly basis now.

Ive tried the rotten egg/garlic/hot pepper sauce (using dried bhut dust), coyote pee, my dog and my pee. All to no effect. I've resigned myself to the fact if I want to see even a single tomato I'm going to have to fence.

I am wondering about cheap thrifty ideas people have come up with. Ive thought about maybe some sort of chicken wire structure or hanging netting from the top of my stakes.


Any suggestions would be great.

You have a dog, put him to work doing his duty. Deer will typically stay well away from an outside dog at night. They will eventually learn to ignore the dog's pee, but they typically won't ignore the dog.

Another possibility is an outdoor security light with a motion detector. Another option is electric fencing of this type:3D anti deer But it isn't that cheap.

[kadumbrampton]

Originally Posted by JerryL

I agree a deer will jump fences. But what I have read/found is they won’t jump a fence that requires them to land in plantings. Deer can’t jump high and any distance at the same time. So if the fence is close to the plants they won’t jump the fence. This is the setup I have and it seems to work.

Read the 4th paragraph under Fencing in the following article.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/docs/gardening_in_deer_country.pdf

Hey, I'm really feel very bad about you,,
I know how it feel when we plant our vegetable, fruit in our farm and its just wipe out by some one without any reason, but I would like to suggest you something that would definitely help you with your problem like have you heard about an "Electric Fence"?? If not just have a look
click here
I had installed this to my nearby designer office furniture as my office is in my home itself, but believe me after installing this you really free,, just try for it!!

[Jaysan]

I use the 7 foot netting too. Works great and is cheap. Just hang it on T posts although I do bolt a short T post to a longer to get to 7 foot.

[nctomatoman]

Well, the water scarecrows continue to work great - best 50.00 investment ever! You just need to remember to change the battery every month or so.

In Raleigh, everything else tried (and I tried everything else, believe me!) worked for only brief amounts of time. Our deer are so tame that they stand within a few feet of us on front lawns when we walk our two chocolate labs each evening.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

Well, the water scarecrows continue to work great - best 50.00 investment ever! You just need to remember to change the battery every month or so.

In Raleigh, everything else tried (and I tried everything else, believe me!) worked for only brief amounts of time. Our deer are so tame that they stand within a few feet of us on front lawns when we walk our two chocolate labs each evening.

Yep, those 9V batteries wear down quickly depending on the activity level. Mine will go for 2 months +/- a couple of weeks. I only wish they'd work on the rabbits! But it may be
that they aren't aimed enough toward the ground....

Lee

[kevn357]

Originally Posted by Emeoba69

This is the quick solution I went with. Honestly I didn't think I had any time to doddle and a night or two more and I'd have been down to nubs. Probably lost 3/4 of all my first set fruit (probably 30+ tomatoes). The deer haven't touched them since.

That's great news! They still haven't touched my crops either. I used some of it around my chain link fence to give it a higher height and they haven't got back in. I know deer can be a pain in the a** but they have no idea how to get around something so simple and I enjoy watching them try. We literally have deer giving birth in our bushes since they have no where else to go and they can't figure that mesh out. I even tossed them ripe tomatoes last year to see if they would come at that fence and still, nothing. It keeps the squirrel and chipmunks out too if it is loose.