jyoutz
Super Star Member
The only 20’ high chain link fences I’ve ever seen were at correctional facilities. No animal can jump this, including the human kind.
(Mule) Deer fence construction recommendations
- Thread starter kiotirocky
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Those humans inside the correctional fences don't try acause of the corner towers have armed guards!
Back in the 70's along NY17 SE of Liberty there would be a heard of deer on the hillside and highway, mabey 75-100 strong. They must have found a way around the fences that were put up to keep them away from the sweet grasses the highway department seeded along the shoulder.
Hey Rocky, What can you do with deer netting arched over the rows of the newer plants? On a much smaller scale I used deer netting around the 1/2 acre property in Irondequoit, NY to deter the critters from the flowers and garden in a residential neighborhood. I say deter as when one morning I found one in the yard, it ran straight through the netting (used fish line to mend the hole) to escape my wrath as a discharge would have had the IPD at my doorstep. I had streched wire from telephone pole to trees to 2 inch pipe set vertically with bird house mounted on top(town board couldn't think of a way to make me take down the birdhouses) to hang the fence. It did look strange to see tiny lines of snow suspended in the air after a light snowfall.
bob11x
Bronze Member
After doing a lot of reading we did a small test plot of 4’ fence. About 2’ inside we ran a string of blue pennant safety flags about 3’ high on t posts. Whitetail deer are sensitive to blue and the movement I think confuses them. Been a full year with consistent deer all around (camera) and no intrusions. They did eat everything outside tho…
Hopefully it works as we are expanding the area this year.
Hopefully it works as we are expanding the area this year.
workinonit
Elite Member
It will work until the first kamikaze deer jumps it then you can't keep them out. At least that's how it is here.
jyoutz
Super Star Member
Mule deer step over a 4’ fence. Only a 8’ fence deters them.After doing a lot of reading we did a small test plot of 4’ fence. About 2’ inside we ran a string of blue pennant safety flags about 3’ high on t posts. Whitetail deer are sensitive to blue and the movement I think confuses them. Been a full year with consistent deer all around (camera) and no intrusions. They did eat everything outside tho…
Hopefully it works as we are expanding the area this year.
bunchgrass
Gold Member
We've had luck with a 2 fence system. Inner fence was t-posts and cattle panels maybe 50 inches tall and outer fence is just a single hot wire using step in posts and a strand of poly tape (charged). Outer fence is placed about 3 feet from inner. Deer won't jump both fences at once and the space between the two is too narrow for them to easily land and jump again.
Also - a key thing is to not let deer get into the garden plot once. Once they've been in and gotten the taste, they will work a lot harder to get in again.
Also - a key thing is to not let deer get into the garden plot once. Once they've been in and gotten the taste, they will work a lot harder to get in again.
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bunchgrass
Gold Member
Second idea I saw (never tried) in Farm Show magazine was regular T-posts set in place and 10 foot lengths of 1/2" rebar driven into the ground and attached to the T-posts. They attached either woven wire or cattle panels (2 rows high).
OP
kiotirocky
New member
I'll come clean.
My first fence in 2017 was inspired by whatever I found on the internet. And what I found said "deer cannot jump up and out at the same time". So I put together something that was about 8' wide and 4' high.
In these 3 photos in series you can see the complete disregard this muley had for my "fence". From the crouch-and-spring in the 2nd photo to the sailing-over in the 3rd, this doe delivered humble pie.
Anytime I think I'm smart, I just look at photo 3.
Shblack
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White tail deer are a plague where we are in Tennessee. When we went to put in our orchard I started with a deer fence. It’s 8’ knotted wire with 10’ T-posts on 8’ centers that encloses about 4 acres. Fence is anchored to the ground with two rebar J-stakes between each post. I got the gate posts & gates from deer busters, wire & posts from our local Co-Op, shipping was prohibitive from deer busters. Used steel fencing because we were also trying to keep beavers out. Been up 4 years, no deer inside so far.
jyoutz
Super Star Member
Yep, been there, done that. I finally called Game & Fish Department to ask them what works. They said to build a solid 8’ high fence. It has worked for me for 8 years now.
klm
Silver Member
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Don't any of you guys have dogs?
TheEquineFencer
Member
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After reading several of these post, some crack me up. The deer jumping the 20ft fence was the best.
From personal experience, an 8ft fence is a great deterrent. Deer do not like trying to focus on two things at once. Try it, you can't. It's like skydiving, when the door opens, you only do one thing at the time, look outside at the ground or focus on the open door or where you're going to put you hands or feet. Give them two things to try and focus on.
If you put up a fence, be it mesh or High Tensile close spaced, put up two rows at least with flags or markers. If you're going with electric, make it hot the day it's put up. If they hit with it off before you get finished, they'll assume is off from then on no matter how many times they hit it with it hot. The cheapest you can put up is HT wire. If you put up a tall section, then in front put up 2-3 short sections, they get tangled before they can get off the ground to get over the tall section. A dog and/or gun will eventually get them to stay away.
From personal experience, an 8ft fence is a great deterrent. Deer do not like trying to focus on two things at once. Try it, you can't. It's like skydiving, when the door opens, you only do one thing at the time, look outside at the ground or focus on the open door or where you're going to put you hands or feet. Give them two things to try and focus on.
If you put up a fence, be it mesh or High Tensile close spaced, put up two rows at least with flags or markers. If you're going with electric, make it hot the day it's put up. If they hit with it off before you get finished, they'll assume is off from then on no matter how many times they hit it with it hot. The cheapest you can put up is HT wire. If you put up a tall section, then in front put up 2-3 short sections, they get tangled before they can get off the ground to get over the tall section. A dog and/or gun will eventually get them to stay away.
OP
kiotirocky
New member
Coyote food where we live. Locals tell many tales of big, brutish dogs (in pairs, even) being lured by female coyotes calling out like a lonely, pretty pooch, only to run up the hill after her and be mobbed and munched. Nobody's letting dogs roam outside on acreage from dusk til dawn here. These things kill for a living, and they're smarter than any dog. I dusted a couple when the kids were small and the coyotes had gotten to looking in the windows, and that's a fascinatingly long jaw for the skeleton it's attached to.
bunchgrass
Gold Member
I have 3 Pyrenees and the deer will kick their asses for food.
They'll chase and fight any coyote so we never have had any problems there. Deer, moose? Another story totally.
