Mowing parallel to cattle fences

[Mousehunter]

Current trend arround here is field fence (mesh) rather than barbed wire. (Ok, in addition to barbed wire, as a strand of barbed is at ground level to prevent digging and 2 strands are on top to limit reaching and climbing over.

Anyway. Mesh to the ground does not allow for mowing under, likewise I fear that long term mesh will have issues with the weight of weeds growing through it, necessitating frequent poisoning

People are going to mesh due to the wild hogs

 

[EddieWalker]

I also have a hog problem and my goal when fencing my land will be to keep them out. From what I've seen on other peoples land, hogs and coyotes will dig under a woven wire fence to get in. It doesn't take much for them to get enough under it to get through. Some people lay down predator fencing flat on the ground, outside their fence and hog clip it together to stop the digging. I'm told it's very effective, but then the coyotes learn to climb the fence. Not all of them, but there are some that will.

My current plan is to install my fence about six inches off of the ground and then run a hot wire between the fence and the ground. I've had VERY GOOD results at stopping coyotes and hogs with electric fencing. I think that once a coyote gets zapped, it loses interest in what's behind the fence. Works on racoons too!!! Hogs hate electricity more then any other animal. They are super sensitive to it!!!

Another bonus to this plan is that I can spray round up and not worry about the salts rusting out the fence. Being off of the ground should extend the life of the fence significantly.

I will spend the extra money for the most powerful charger that I can get. My current one is rated for 2 joules and sends out electricity in burst, which allows it to deal with wet grass or a branch falling on it and grounding it out. I'm also thinking about connecting my ground wires to the fence itself and using the T posts to act as ground rods. While they are not deep enough to be ideal, they will help with maxing out the zap the animals get out far away from the charger. I will also ad multiple copper coated ground rods to the fence to make sure I'm getting the strongest zap possible. I will also use the thickest, heaviest gauge wire for this. Off the top of my head, I believe 12 gauge is the thickest available.

I'm really tired of dealing with wild hogs. I'm bored shooting them, and would just as soon never see another one!!!

 

[two_bit_score]

Welcome to TBN as a poster Mousehunter! :welcome:

Not sure where exactly you are and as you know the geography changes dramatically from one side of I35 to the other.

Guadalupe County has started paying a bounty of $5 per tail for feral hogs.

Guadalupe County will pay people to hunt feral hogs to curb...

I think it's an attempt to be seen as 'doing something' no matter how useless it may be.

So, if you are going to put in net wire fence you will almost have to spray it instead of mowing it.

Until then your JD D100 should do just fine.

 

[4570Man]

A walk behind has a narrow cut and would likely require 2 passes up both sides. That’s 5.3 miles of walking. That’s not something I’d want to do on a regular bases. I’d look for a mower with a good off set in one side. My F series Kubota and grasshopper do a lot better job on fence than my other mowers.

 

[Mousehunter]

I am about 40% to Houston from San Antonio, a little south of I10. I can shred, just not as close as I would like. Sounds like I should try to make things as smooth as possible and mow with a heavy lawn mower with a good offset.

Likewise I can imagine other useage of the 2 wheeled tractor, so might get one for those and just try it on the fence. The front is less than 1/2 mil round trip. I have not measured how far I walk mowing my current yard (stopped bothering with the zero turn), but quick math came out to 4400 (65 yards x 15 yards/24 per pass)

 

[Mousehunter]

Heard a different solution yesterday that is probably worth posting. When the fence line was cleared, small part of neighbors grass was damaged. I had already planned on overseeding the fenceline to fix this...

Well a helpful neighbor called with a suggestion to plant buffalo grass. It only grows about 6 tall, no mowing necesssry.