

Cats and Dogsīuild a wire mesh fence at least 3 feet in height and anchored with sturdy posts. Our favorite fence for deer:The 4-foot x 8-foot Crop Cage is completely enclosed at the top, providing the ultimate protection for your garden veggies and berry bushes. Keep the fence snug to the ground, because deer can also wiggle under fences. It will make them think twice about jumping.

Because deer can jump, the fence needs to be constructed tall (8-10 feet) and set at a 45-degree angle at the top. By understanding the animal, you can choose the right fence for the job.ĭeer are probably tops on the list of many homeowners. Deer can easily leap over a 4-foot tall fence, while moles will head underground. Installation of a large, permanent fence may need to comply with zoning conditions or require a permit.


Wave used two-by-fours for his eight-foot slanted posts with five-foot long metal T-posts as the brace under the slanted posts. Wire strands are placed about a foot apart on the slanted eight-foot poles. He used barbed wire in his fencing only because he had some available, but said that high tensile wire works equally well. Electrifying the lowest of the seven wire strands and locating the strand a few inches above the ground can also keep out small animals if they are a problem. The hot wires teach young fawns at an early age not to touch the fence. Wave noted that growers should electrify the top of the seven wires and several in the middle of the fence. You can see by the tracks in the snow that they come up to it, but turn away.” “The deer doesn’t think that it can jump over the wires, even though it’s only five feet tall, because of all that slant,” he said, adding that the slant confuses the deer’s field of vision. Slant fences give the illusion of being eight feet tall. The fence is only five feet high, but has an outward slant of about eight feet in width.Ĭonventional deer fencing is recommended to be eight feet tall, using woven wire or polypropylene material to keep the deer out. Wave believes that the fence design, built from common materials, has application to other fruit crops, such as grapes, apples, and cherries.Determined to find a solution to his deer problem, Wave found deer fencing plans on the Internet, developed by the Virginia Cooperative Extension. But since constructing an easy-to-build, inexpensive, slanted fence, he no longer has a deer problem. Most of the usual deterrents are expensive or labor intensive, and, with the exception of the fencing, provide mixed results. Deer browsed on the tips of his bushes in the fall and winter, which caused explosive growth the following spring and resulted in no blueberries. Robert Wave of Kaleva, Michigan, endured damage from deer for many years in his blueberry acreage. This inexpensive but effective deer fence was built for about 40 cents per foot and can be lifted up at the bottom for mowing.Ī Michigan fruit grower has found an inexpensive way to protect his orchard from deer.
