Deer fencing options for the garden?

[trackman23]

I am going to have three gardens this year, each about 35’ x 70’ in size and am looking for suggestions on deer fencing. I have tried the fishing line method which worked OK but the turkeys got caught up in it and potentially injured so I am looking for other options.

one question I have is how high does it really need to be?

 

[woodman55]

A dog would be my choice.

 

[John T]

Tractor supply or any farm store sells Deer fencing. It's usually 6-7' tall.

Deer can jump very high If they need to.... But they are not gonna jump 8' just to eat your Rutabaga greens....

 

[ctfjr]

Deer are a major issue around here. The local farmers use 8' (or higher) fencing.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

I use galvanized farm fence wire (we call it sheep mesh but I know thats a real local term) stapled to 8' long wooden farm fence posts for the bottom 40" (half of post buried).

Then I screw U-Posts to the rnd wooded posts giving me another 4' of height and string through it at 8" spacing 14-gauge aluminum wire attached to a Patriot fence energizer.

So bottom 4' of mesh not energized but top 4' of wire is energized.

Not pretty but cheap and easy and works for me. Our garden is huge in rural area so fancy not in the cards just functional.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

put up 'ferrel hog fencing' then your freezer will be full

 

[Sidekick]

I put up strings of electric fence tape (unpowered) tapered outward to give depth over my 4 ft fence and haven't had a problem since. Old video and about 7 mins in you can see how I used fiberglass poles.

 

[jyoutz]

I tried many options, including several versions of electric fencing. I finally gave up and constructed a 9’ fence with field fencing wire. No more deer in the garden and orchard. I used pipe for the corners and 10’ t- posts along the fence.

 

[jimh406]

You don't have to use galvanized fencing. Synthetics work. Also, some people have had good luck with parallel fencing at low level. Apparently, deer can judge distances very well, so they are deterred by two low fences in parallel.

 

[ayak]

I put up a three strand poly wire on T-posts, between 6-7’ high in spots) and to take advantage of their lack of depth perception, strung another poly wire about 12” high on the outside on fiberglass pins.
For the first time, I was able to keep the deer herd (well over 50/square mile) out long enough to get the planted brassicas going, despite the drought we had.
I used a home-built solar panel/solar charge controller/battery to power a SPEEDRITE fence charger.

 

[ayak]

Here’s another plot where I had done the same fence thing, but had buckwheat in ahead of the clover and you can see what they did in one month’s time to the buckwheat once the polywire came down. The clover survived mostly because they likely kept getting stuck in the eye with leftover buckwheat sticks.

 

[jyoutz]

You don't have to use galvanized fencing. Synthetics work. Also, some people have had good luck with parallel fencing at low level. Apparently, deer can judge distances very well, so they are deterred by two low fences in parallel.

The parallel fencing is something I tried unsuccessfully before giving up and doing the 9’ fencing.

 

[trackman23]

Thanks folks! I think I will likely go with 7.5' C Flex fence, 10' t-posts and para cord at the top and see how well it works.

Tenax C-Flex P Premium Deer Utility Fence 7.5' X 100' Black 1A120386 | Tenax Fence

Live in an area with tons of deer? Our best deer fence is recommended for areas that experience heavy deer traffic. This extremely durable, versatile, long-lasting fence has endless applications.

tenaxfence.com

 

[jwmoss26]

I too have done the multi strand fence to keep the deer out. We put in a sunflower plot and pumpkin patch every year and it has kept them out every year so far.

One strand of polywire about 18" off the ground and another strand about 36" off the ground. 36" outside of that fence I put a single strand of 1" polytape 24" off the ground. Energize all 3 strands with a solar charger.

Like ayak said, it messes with their depth perception (and yours too when you look at it at the right angle).

Day after I take it down my sunflowers are lacking leaves from 3' down so I'm assuming it works well for me.

 

[Shawn T. W]

I just did three strands 24" - 44" - 64" then a second strand out 32" away, 32" high ... Time will tell if it works ...

 

[skeets]

I ran into a guy that raised Xmas trees as a side line. He said he trained the deer not to go into the trees. While I was laughing he said the electric fence did little to stop them, but he hit on the idea of hanging tin pie pans with peanut butter smeared on them and hung off the wire. He said the deer would lick the peanut butter off the pans, and when they got use to it, he baited up and turned on the fence charger. Now he claimed that after 3 or 4 zaps they never came near the fence again and his loss to young trees dropped. Now I know what its like to wizz on and electric fence by accident, I cant even imagine what it would be like to lick one!

 

[Shawn T. W]

I kinda did that when I was in Vermont protecting my garden from deer and raccoons ... I used a strip of aluminum foil and peanut butter, stapled to the webbing ... Balled up the aluminum foil with a tail sticking out and stapled that to the lower lines for the raccoons ... No more corn stollen!

I'm trying to protect some fruit trees now ... Not home enough to invite them to dinner!

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

My preference is a Carl Spackler wireless solution.

However in some cases we use an electrified wildlife netting from Premier 1. Stuff works great. Usually there will be a couple incidents where the varmint (deer) cong learn, mess the fence up, and that’s that and it is then left alone. But in a healthy heard there are some fence testers as well as fence respecters…the testers need to learn their lesson multiple times. We have both hard wired and solar. Solar set ups are a bit more flexible IMO.

A smart dog will only lift a leg on it once…it if does it more than a nice ask the breeder for your money back.