Deer will go under a fence. You need to secure the bottom. Also, I found the cheap netting sold in most hardware stores was not strong enough to keep the deer out. I bought the heavier kind used in national parks and forestry projects and am glad I did.IT will last a much longer time and actually save you money. We used earth staples to secure it at the bottom, and added rebar extensions to the fence post, with 2 rows of wire above it.

Perhaps, if your doggies are smaller then deer you can put a framed doorway into the fence for their access. I think most dogs would learn to use it quite fast.

Thanks lizalily, I was hoping you would say no they won't go under the fence. Thanks for letting me know how you constructed yours. My beagles go at everything full force so they would probably run smack dab into the fence. You just never know about them. Thanks for your help, Judy

My beagle knows exactly where she can get under any fence or she can dig her own escape hatch in 30 seconds or less!

From my experience, I wouldn't put any kind of possible entry at the bottom of the deer fence. If a doe's fawn gets under the fence and into your yard, she will virtually tear the fence down to be with them.

Last year I went after a doe with a broom, of all things, making a noise that sounded like a rabid goose to scare the doe off. It worked on the fawns, but the doe went THROUGH the fence. Then I had to spend the rest of the summer securing any and all possible entry points to my back yard to keep the critters out. I'd block one way in and they would find another. They even jumped up from the carport under a chain blocking the opening onto the higher yard level. They had to be acrobats to pull that one off. Now I have lattice covering that entry point.

They were rentless once they discovered the roses. They even found a way through my neighbors deer fence and made it into my yard from his supposedly proctected yard.

All is secure for now.

I wish you the best of luck.

Lyn

Deer can definitely get under a fence! Our (then two year-old) horse watched the deer and learned how to crawl through the electric wire fence. He saw them flatten themselves out and wiggle under the bottom. Now that he's grown, he's too large to do it. Thankfully he only did it in the same area as the deer, so ended up going from the winter pasture to the summer pasture, where the creek is located.

If you have dogs, you may want to re-think the deer fence option. I don't know how effective it is, but some people over on the vegetable garden forum swear by some kind of approach that uses fishing line strung around their beds. I'm sure you'll see more information if you check over there.

And 6' may not be tall enough. I tell people here to make them 8' minimum.

I do have a friend who uses the fishing line technique. Tied at 1' (I think, I'll check) intervals on rebar up to 7' high. Use the "invisible" line, the deer can't see it in the dark, and it startles them when they run into it.

Let me tell you a very very good alternative of fencing that will keep dears away but your dogs will go in and out happily

Here you go :-

Black plastic, newspaper or mesh fencing laid on the ground around your garden perimeter is excellent method used to keep deer, raccoons and skunks away. These animals don't like to walk on slippery or unfamiliar surfaces and deer dislike getting their hooves caught in the wire mesh.

Dogs don't dislike meshes that much..They won't mind it at all ..

I agree that determined deer can get through almost anything if they really want to - we have a 1/4 acre garden at my mother-in-law's house that is completely fenced. Last Fall there were several does trying to get in. They couldn't, so they went and got the big buck with a full rack of antlers (it was rutting season, which probably encouraged him), and he used them to break down the fence for them. (I presume he was suitably rewarded.)

You have to have a fence, and then keep a constant eye out for deer sign inside the fence. They get into the garden I am speaking about about 2-3 times a year. Then we have to do a perimeter walk to see if we can figure out where. A few days ago we realized that there was a place where they were climbing in UNDER the fence. So, I think the key is constant vigilance, no matter what kind of fence you have.

Jackie

Thank you everyone for responding. I was so hoping they wouldn't be so determined to get to my roses. I will definitely check out the vegetable forum and read about the fishing line theory. I might could do one row of the fishing line and a second line of the mesh either on the ground or attached to the many trees we have. I was thinking if I put the mesh on the ground it would get covered up pretty quickly with weeds or leaves or such. I would just about try anything. Thanks for all your help, Judy

Some of this depends of your geographic area. In a wild area, the deer are wilder and more spooked by structure, choosing to stay away from fencing, gates, and all things human. In suburban areas where the deer are accustomed to living in the urban interface, you need to have fencing tall enough to exclude them. We've found that deer don't want to get inside our 6 foot fencing in both locations, but then California mule deer aren't very large. We have some areas where the fencing is only 4 feet tall, topped by two strands of wire about 12 inches apart. The deer don't come in that area, either. Of course I have a pack of dogs inside those fences, and the deer know it.

Prettypetals- (great name) how much problem have you had with deer? Are they into everything, or just snacking on your roses? I have a few deer that come around, because they're curious, but they have plenty of food in the surrounding pastures and fields. If they find a rose away from the house, they'll snack on it.

Last summer I planted a few roses too close to the horses' pasture and a doe found them and thought they tasted great! The next day, I switched out the roses and put blueberry bushes in their place. I moved the roses to the front of the house. A day later, I saw where the deer had tried the blueberry bush and spit it out on the ground. She hasn't been back since and obviously doesn't like blueberries as well as roses :)

This won't work if you have really hungry deer. So far, I've put the roses in front of lilacs, butterfly bushes or blueberries, which the deer seem completedly uninterested in eating. I have also used lavender and other herbs and flowers in front of the roses which the deer don't seem to like and the roses have not been bothered again. If the deer find the roses after all, I may try the fishing line technique.

Berndoodle, The deer don't seem too spooked because they will walk right by us just 100 feet or so away and act like we aren't even there. Our dogs will chase them and they stare them down and make our dogs run the other direction. Its really funny to watch. I think they have learned no one in our area is going to hurt them so they stayed huddled in about a twenty five acre area. I just hope the fence works.

Hi Lavender lass. I think if I don't spray the Liquid Fence at least every 2-3 weeks they start to munch away. They can really eat up a bunch of my roses in no time flat. They do seem to come around at any time day or night. Not sure if they do attack them at night or if I just don't get outside in the morning until after they have already eaten them. They also eat my phlox and my lilies. I really don't think they should be starving because there is plenty of other green vegetation for them to munch on. I tell you what, they LOOOOOVE Disneyland. I moved it and they walked right past about 15 other roses and munched away on my Disneyland. I have alot of roses planted on the side of my house where the most sun is and its also where a patch of woods are so they have a daily routine and walk through there each morning and head back each evening. I somehow need to distract them from their routine. I have found when they munch after spraying with Liquid Fence they seem to spit it out. So I know the stuff works but I get lazy and don't spray it all the time. I guess I will try some of the fence techniques and see how it does. Thanks a bunch, Judy