Deer fence for April (pic heavy)

Ridgerunner

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April asked about my deer fence. Ill start a new thread to not bog that other one down with photos.

6180_post_sides.jpg

This one shows the basic idea. I set a post in the ground and attached 2x4s to the posts. The posts are treated so I used the 3 screws especially made for treated wood. I put a 2x4 on each side of the post, thinking the deer may not see the wire and try to jump the regular fence and I wanted the extra strength. If I were doing it again, Id only use one 2x4 with each post, except corner posts. The intermediate posts are 8 posts I got from Lowes. You could maybe get then cheaper from Tractor Supply.

6180_hole.jpg

I drilled 1 holes through the 2x4s at 6, 8 and 10 off the ground and pulled brace wire through them. I was surprised at how easy that wire actually pulled. The brace wire came from Tractor Supply.

6180_corner.jpg

This one shows a corner post with the braces. I used a treated 4x6 timber for the corners. I think its best to use 2 2x4s here, partly for ease of pulling the wire but mainly because you can get a lot of stress going around corners pulling wire.

6180_closeup.jpg

Here is a close-up of the 2x4s attached and the wire. On three sides I used this no-dig kennel wire that I got at Tractor Supply. Its 5 tall and I got 150 feet for $159 a few years ago. My TSC does not stock it any more but you may be able to get them to order it for you.

On the north side I used 5 high 2 x 4 welded wire. Partly because I had it left over so the price was right but I also plant cucumbers here and let them climb the fence. With that kennel fencing, the cucumbers would grow in the wire and cut themselves in half. With the 2x4 wire the openings are big enough thats not a problem as long as I dont let the cukes get too big. When the cukes get too big, the chickens get them anyway.

This has stopped deer and dogs, which was my goal. Did I need to go 10 high? I dont know but I did. This will not stop rabbits, groundhogs, raccoons, many other things. Even a big fat groundhog has no trouble pushing under the bottom wire if there is a tiny opening and many things can climb over. My gates are another potential weak spot for them too.

April, if you have any questions just let me know.
 

MontyJ

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Awesome fence! I wish I could put a permanent fence around my garden.
 

Ridgerunner

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We have coyotes here. You can hear them every night. We still see deer all the time, a lot of deer. I even saw a coyote a few days ago where the deer normally hang out.

Last summer I permanently removed 18 rabbits from my garden before they quit eating the beans to the ground as they sprouted. They delayed my fall beans so much I barely got two decent cannings out of them. I blame that on the drough though. My garden was the only place they could find anything green and growing. I still saw a lot of rabbits around this winter so I didn't cut into their population that much.

I think even more frustrating with the deer than them eating out of my garden or even eating some of my fruit and nut trees practically to the ground was when I came home from a trip to see my mother in early December a few years back and found where a buck had rubbed the velvet off his antlers on my young trees. He killed two apple trees to below the graft, hurt another but I had some sprouts above the graft so that one recovered, severely damaged a couple of peach trees, and damaged a cultivar red maple. I now have cages around most of my trees to keep the deer off of them.
 

April Manier

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So correct me if I'm wrong:
You went up 5' high with kennel fence and then just ran the wire for the remaining 3 feet?
 

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