Yes: fence each orchard instead of each tree. I have seen black plastic netting sold specifically for excluding deer work well. It was stapled to tall peeler poles. Think the netting was 10' wide, resulting in a fence 10' high. Later visits to the site I noticed the apple trees across the street, behind a shorter (6'?) fence had heavy deer damage.

I've been chasing a doe out of an orchard and seen her clear barbed wire strands across the top of a fence that were strung well above above my head (I'm 5'10").

I have seen deer from a standing still position clear a six foot fence easily. Eight foot is the minimum height for a single deer fence. If you use a double fence with a four foot space between them it is possible to succeed with a four foot fence. Deer are very concerned with where they will land on the other side of the fence. Any wire or plastic fence will also need to be staked to the ground between fence posts as deer are quite capable of sliding under a fence. Al

Hi Bart. I have a fenced hobby orchard and here is my experience. I bought light mesh deer fencing at a local hardware store. It came 7 1/2 feet high and I attached it to 4X4 posts sunk into the ground at 8' intervals. I suspect the deer could jump the fence at 7 1/2 feet if they really wanted to, so I put in 8' posts (12 foot posts sunk 4 feet into the ground) and ran a single colored wire along the top of the fence that I'm pretty sure the deer see as the highest point they'd need to jump. The deer where I have the orchard are quite hungry and very distructive (but not starving) and they do not jump the fence. However, I've had them not see the fence at night and ram into it accidently while running and rip holes in it. So I added 5' high metal garden type fencing around the outside, partially to keep rabbits out better and the deer bounce off the metal fence and dent it but do not crash through. I also have to use tree guards at the base of each tree in the winter or the mice will rim the tree at the base when they eat the bark. So now all I have to fight is drought, bacterial and fungal diseases, insects, squirrels and birds.

My back yard is fenced with 8 foot black chain link fencing, which is surprisingly invisible. The black can barely be seen from a distance, unlike the green which stands out like a sore thumb. We have heavy deer pressure but this has been very effective. Our purpose was to keep out the deer and it has worked very well. Of course, I also have a dog who is outdoors part of the day. This is an added deterrent. We also put hardware cloth into the ground a foot to discourage digging. It is not deep enough to keep out the gophers and ground squirrels, but it does keep the dog in her place.

I have read that for complete deterrence you need either a 10 foot fence, or an outwardly angled fence, or two 4 foot fences no more than 4 feet apart. Deer can jump high or they can jump broad, but they can't do both at the same time.

(Hmm, this makes me think that a solid, broad border of caged berry plants might serve as an effective fence. Must think more on this.)

Rosefolly

Three years ago, before planting trees and garden I built a seven strand 5' high-tensile electric fence around the area. I baited it with peanut butter covered aluminun strips. The idea is to attract the deer to the bait, have them touch the aluminum, get shocked, and leave the area.

It worked for two years, but last year we had a drought and pastures and other food sources dried up. The deer went over the fence and into the orchard / garden a few times.

Very little damage, and I'll keep an eye on things to see what happens this spring. If they return, I'm considering two options: 1) putting a dog in the area, which will keep them out, or 2) attaching an angled pole to some of my existing uprights at 60' or so spacing, and putting a couple strands of wire on the higher end. This will raise the height to 7' or 8', and also increase the width. Unlike the diagram in the link below, I don't think I'll need to put wire on the lower end of the slant, but just on the upper.

Unfortunately, the fence does nothing to keep out the squirrels, which eat more fruit, and simply jump between the strands. The dog is the best deterrent for them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Angled fence diagram

Thanks everyone!

Does anyone have good sources of fencing material?

Thanks again,
Bart