A novel fence to keep out the critters

16 years ago

It is simple but defies logic.

It consists of two wires about 6" apart. When a fellow co-worker told me about, my first question was how could it work as deer and rabbits could easily get over it!

Well it seems all critters are curious and the first thing they do ia sniff this strange object. One zap and they avoid it!

And there might possibly be some field around it that they sense.

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Comments (7)

r-tist
16 years ago
If you mean an electric fence, it doesn't work at my house. We have it across one end of a horse pasture and deer not only run right through it, but they drag it about 10 feet into the pasture with them. Good luck.
karenforroses
16 years ago
When we lived along the river, deer were a real problem. Someone told us to try running an electric wire fairly low to the ground (only about 8 or 9 inches off the ground - just high enough to get the lawn mower under it). We thought that was silly until the guy explained that deer tend to travel with their noses down, grazing, and that a zap to the nose does the trick. Sure enough, once we put in the low wire, we never had deer in the garden again. It did work for us.
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Hi neighbor ! I've been lucky the last couple years and have avoided offering a buffet to all the woodland creatures in my neighborhood. In addition to the critters you mention we also have raccoon, possum, woodchucks & deer. So far... so good. The link goes to a site where they're making "Bone Sauce" to keep deer away from saplings. Might work for you as well. It seems that when i put in the ground to grow they're more likely to get eaten. When mine have been in containers there's no problem. If the problem persists I'd consider an electric wire. I started my tomatoes from seed & under lights for the 1st time this year & will have my first ripe tomato before June 1. Best wishes ! Here is a link that might be useful: Bone sauce video
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We used to have friends who had their pet rabbit loose in the back yard during the day. They took 3ft wide chicken wire, 1" mesh, and folding down the middle, laid it along the fence line (1/2 up, 1/2 down on the dirt), wrapped it around the trees and shrubs they didn't want bun to eat. It wasn't beautiful, but it worked nicely, and it didn't need to be so tight that the plant could not grow. I think the only place it was really fastened was along the fence line, where they stapled the top (vertical) half of the chicken wire to the fence so the rabbit couldn't pull it down. What I've done in the past to keep cats out of garden beds was to lay down concrete reinforcing wire flat on the dirt. Again, not beautiful, but quite functional. Alas, the first time I did it, I paid $35 or so for the roll, and when I priced it at HD a few weeks ago, it was $103 for the same roll. 15 years of inflation in steel prices....
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bettym_grow
16 years ago
r-tist,

Lol! I can visualize that! A lone deer standing there at midnight with electric fencing trailing behind his hooves...

So much for your fence huh?

Betty
jean_ar
16 years ago
Electric wire didn't work for me.O had it about 9 -10 inches off the ground and they got in it at least twice a week and drug it all over the place,and even lost the insulators that held it,and I hunted everywhere to find them.Kept the Racoons out that use to come get in my goldfish pond and catch the fish and eat them..didn't work for the deer/

Jean
bettym_grow
16 years ago
Jean,

Racoons did you say? Now I know where some of my goldfish are going. I just put in a new pond & could not figure out why some of them are disappearing.

The rabbits are my true bane. The ones around here are monstrously big. They bounce around all over my garden and trample & eat my roses! BOO HOO! I've almost given up trying to do anything anymore. My garden is full of rabbit poop pellets & I have to make my kids wash their feet every night before bedtime since they go barefoot outside.

Betty
brandyray
16 years ago
Two things I have not had to worry about are squirrels and rabbits- I have 10 cats! While the birds take some risks, their food has never been disturbed by any squirrels. As for deer, SO FAR, they have not been a problem. On the very rare occasions that my son has seen them in the yard, he has fired his BB gun at them (w/ my thanks). It would be a big problem though if the deer began eating up my yard. An opossum, on the other hand, took up living under the house there for awhile and I was feeding it as well as the cats (I suspect it was making itself free of the house by coming in through the kitty door). I'm sure there are raccoons too but I haven't seen any yet. Wildlife, I love it but only in its proper place- the woods. Brandy
jim_w_ny
Original Author
16 years ago
The person who told me about this has 9 children and relies on it for their vegetables. It works for him. I think the key is the spacing and the use of two wires.

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A novel fence to keep out the critters

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r-tist

karenforroses

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A novel fence to keep out the critters

Comments (7)

r-tist

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