question on best deer fencing
Hi all, I hope I am not wearing out my welcome with all these questions but when I have so much gardening knowledge at my finger tips I like to utilize it. I have to install a deer fencing of some sort around my garden and do not want to get to fancy or expensive this year so was thinking of the deer mesh available at the big box stores to get me by this year. Will this suffice or is there something better? Hopefully next year I can go a little better if needed. Thanks all.
- rainbowgardener
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Deer netting works well. If you are fencing in a large area, like your whole yard or a big garden patch, you will need it to be 8 feet tall. But I garden in raised beds and I put deer netting around each bed individually. Then it can be 6' or even 4' tall (just enough so deer can't reach their heads over it to graze while standing outside). That's because even though deer can pretty easily jump a shorter fence, they won't do it when that would put them inside a small enclosure.
You can buy these metal stakes at big box stores that have hooks on them. You just hook the netting onto the stakes. To work on the enclosed garden, just unhook the netting. If you have small critters like groundhogs, raccoons, etc, use earth staples to fasten the netting down at the bottom.
You can buy these metal stakes at big box stores that have hooks on them. You just hook the netting onto the stakes. To work on the enclosed garden, just unhook the netting. If you have small critters like groundhogs, raccoons, etc, use earth staples to fasten the netting down at the bottom.
- Gary350
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It is interesting how some people have problems with deer and some don't. I have about 40 acres of wilderness land behind my house, lots of tree, brush, and a very large stream that is knee deep at the moment and 20 deep 90 ft wide after a flash flood rain. I see deer 30 feet from my garden all the time but I never have a problem with deer eating my garden. Sometimes after dark deer come into the yard and set off the motion detector lights but they still do not eat the garden. Deer don't eat my, tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, melons, potatoes or the greens. The neighbor up the road said, only things deer eat in my garden is lettuce.
When I lived at a different house there was a forest 400 feet away deer ate my corn only when it was ripe but never ate anything else. Deer can jump over a 4 ft fence easy and jump a 6 ft fence if they want to. I had a 7 ft tall electric fence, wire spacing 12" only around the 12'x12' corn patch that kept the deer out. Electric fence is easy & cheap to put up. Farm supply stores sells metal fence posts in many lengths about $4 each last time I looked. Solar fence charger and wire too. The fence Rainbow is using will probably work for you too it might need to be 2 layers high to keep deer from jumping over.
When I lived at a different house there was a forest 400 feet away deer ate my corn only when it was ripe but never ate anything else. Deer can jump over a 4 ft fence easy and jump a 6 ft fence if they want to. I had a 7 ft tall electric fence, wire spacing 12" only around the 12'x12' corn patch that kept the deer out. Electric fence is easy & cheap to put up. Farm supply stores sells metal fence posts in many lengths about $4 each last time I looked. Solar fence charger and wire too. The fence Rainbow is using will probably work for you too it might need to be 2 layers high to keep deer from jumping over.
- webmaster
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An electric fence is overkill.
Deer fencing will do just fine. DeerFencing.com produces fences that are designed and manufactured in the USA and are reasonably priced. Their deer fencing can be virtually invisible, too.
I prefer to support American manufacturers and businesses so I'm thinking of getting some from that company in order to keep my dog from straying into the forest that abuts my property.
Deer fencing will do just fine. DeerFencing.com produces fences that are designed and manufactured in the USA and are reasonably priced. Their deer fencing can be virtually invisible, too.
I prefer to support American manufacturers and businesses so I'm thinking of getting some from that company in order to keep my dog from straying into the forest that abuts my property.
- rainbowgardener
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Rabbits and deer are my garden's biggest pest problem. About ten years ago I was able to find enough used picket fencing to recycle around my 50'X50' plot. To keep out the rabbits, chicken wire was installed all around the bottom. For deer, at the posts I attached 1"X1"x 6' boards and to that deer fencing was stapled and zip tied into place. So there is a seven foot deer fence surrounding the garden. In the photo you can see the white rags that are placed at deer eye level so they won't jump through the netting which is almost invisible at night.
I started with some cheapo bird netting like stuff and learned it is better to spend a little more. The thin net lasted a year. What I got was a thick plastic netting from the cheapest source I could find several years ago (I think five or six) There is no sign it will need replacing. Tenax C Flex Deer Fence, 6 by 100-Feet. Put up the good stuff and no deer problem. They avoid the vegetable garden and snack on my wife's flowers in the yard instead.
I started with some cheapo bird netting like stuff and learned it is better to spend a little more. The thin net lasted a year. What I got was a thick plastic netting from the cheapest source I could find several years ago (I think five or six) There is no sign it will need replacing. Tenax C Flex Deer Fence, 6 by 100-Feet. Put up the good stuff and no deer problem. They avoid the vegetable garden and snack on my wife's flowers in the yard instead.
this actually works pretty well to keep away all kinds of critters not just deer.
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywo ... b40ywyv0_p
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywo ... b40ywyv0_p
- rainbowgardener
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