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Electric Fence is the only thing that has worked for me. I have tried 7' deer fence, they just walk through it. My fence is patterned after one that zeedman has. He was kind enough to send me his design for me to follow.

I think I would handle to two animals separately.

Woodchucks are the most difficult, esp. because they don't travel far, so the den could be within the area you plan to fence. Have to locate the den first. Then decide how you will handle it.

Put on your reading glasses, lots of info to be found here and elsewhere on the net.

Of course, alot of it won't work but thats where the reading comes in.

I've had good luck with fox urine esp. because there are often more than one and it scares off the whole fam damily. But you still have to find and fill in any entrances to their den or you will just get more next year. Blocking the hole while they are in it will NOT work cuz they just dig around it.

Consider a dog, it may help keep both critters away.

Deer are also difficult but if you get rid of the woodchucks then maybe you can plan a strategy to keep the deer out. Any idea just how many? Perhaps a double layered fence will help. Or consider planting roses or raspberries, something with thorns on the perimeter if it fits into your plans. I have heard it said that putting out food for them to eat helps a lot. Not sure if you want to get into that.

Guess I am lucky, I saw a couple bambies just over the stone wall (about 100ft away) just the other day. But no damage to the garden, knock on wood.

In any case, I think education is the key to success.
Please know, we are rootin for ya.

Good Luck,
Gumby_CT

In the short term and for immediate relief, maybe try spraying everything with Liquid Fence? It is pricey, but it has really worked wonders on my rabbits and the few deer that wander through. I don't know if it would deter woodchucks or not.

Seconding that thought, I also have heard people having good results with "Liquid Fence". But, No idea if it will work for woodchucks.

Tho it does seem to be a bit pricey. It may be cheaper to buy veggies at the store.

Here is a link that might be useful: Natural Animal Repellents from Liquid Fence

I swear by that Liquid Fence stuff. I haven't had one thing eaten by anything this summer. I don't spray it on the plants, just directly on the grass around the perimeter of the garden once every other week. I bought the concentrated and mix my own.

Diane

If you find something that works, you are lucky. I got rid of my woodchuck problem, however, the deer are now destroying my winter squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers. Liquid fence has not worked, either has any of the scents I have dispersed. I guess next year I'll try some sort of fencing.

If you have deer...you have to have a fence...mine is tall and I have a dog inside..but believe it or not...they come to the fence at night while my dog is inside, and eat anything they can reach.....they ate all of my pepper transplants...I left them outside the fence...they are the worst varmits any gardener could imagine...

I would not mind if they only ate the leaves, but they have eaten all of the growing veggies as well, usually only a couple bites from each but enough to ruin them. I guess I'll be off to the farmers market to stock up on winter squash.

I moved to a new house and set up my garden after being there for two summers. Never saw a deer that whole time. I now see deer tracks in my garden. I told this to a friend and he told me to try using fishing line. I haven't seen this mentioned out here on the forum, so I thought I would. You take the fishing line and string it around your garden about 3 feet high. Make sure you are using strong line, maybe 17-20 pound test and good ground stakes. He said that they can't see it and when they bump into it, they get scared off because they don't know what is touching them. Something I am going to try. If it works, great. If it doesn't, oh well, it was a cheap thing to try. I will let you know how it works for me.......

Okay, I've had time to process this all. What do you all think of this. I've noticed that Mr. Woodchuck is doing over 90% of the damage. What if I put up my 4 foot white wooden picket fence but then used rebar or something like it in the corners and ran an electric wire around the garden? If I end up still with deer damage I can easily raise the electrical wire and use plain wire beneath it. It still wouldn't look as nice as a picket fence alone, but it would be a ton better in my area than a deer fence. Anybody think of something that wouldn't work in this situation? I do have children; maybe that alone would make me not use electrical current? I don't have any experience with this so I do not know :)

I have a four foot high fence. The woodchuck climbed it faster than my fat dog could scramble out of the back door.

Trap it. Kill it. Repeat. Only solution I know.

Electric fencing will keep out almost anything, if the wires are placed high & low enough, and weeds & grass are prevented from touching the bottom wire. For wide gardens, or rural gardens with dense herbivore populations, I believe that this is the only reliable option. It is also probably the cheapest in the long run (especially for large areas) although the initial outlay can be around $200 - $300. Remember, you only need to buy it once.

The fence needs to go up _early_, before the pests get a taste of something they like. It is most effective when used to discourage the animals from their first entry... once they get a taste, they might put up with the shocks to get back in. My top wire is only chest high - with cages or trellises on the other side, the deer won't jump over. For open stretches, I run a high line of bailing twine between the pole tops, with flags hanging down at intervals.

The majority of my garden is in a rural area, and I could not garden successfully without an electric fence. For me, it has kept out woodchucks, deer, and raccoons. Unfortunately, it is only marginally effective against rabbits; they just hop through the wires. Once the growth becomes dense, they like to raise their brood within the fence... I spend weeks chasing them around most years.

For narrow plots (such as raised beds) a high fence (5-6 feet), or perimeter of fishing line strung at multiple levels, will discourage deer. I have had some success with a row of construction remesh around an area, mounted _horizontally_, about 24" above the ground on stakes - the deer won't step through it.

Unfortunately, few fixed barriers will discourage a woodchuck; they will climb over, or dig under, almost anything. Nor are you likely to scare them away with scent. Traps are usually ineffective - there are scores of GW threads on this issue, and the failures outnumber the successes by a wide margin. Provided that such measures are permitted by local codes (and by your personal beliefs), baiting or shooting offer the best hope for a permanent solution.

I too have raised beds, 4x8. I had a little trouble early with deer and my resident woodchuck. I have had very good luck with a simple cheap solution. I took some nylon bird netting, push pins and 6 three foot long sticks per bed to cover over the beds containing the most popular animal food, lettuce, beans,peas, and carrot tops. It has worked suprisingly well. I'm sure a determined animal would have little trouble curcomventing my physical barrier, but most animals are oportunists and in my neighborhood they have found an abundance of other things to eat that I dont also enjoy.