The neighbors put the wrong side of the stockade fence facing you, always thought the right way was opposite of what they did. I don't think that estate fence will keep determined deer out though.

First, I don't see why your neighbor was allowed to give you the 'bad side' of that fence.; not permitted in my town.

When we bought our teardown it had deer fencing on three sides of the back yard -- cheap, four-foot high wire on metal stakes. It's mostly disguised by arbor vitae and bushes. We added stockade to both sides to enclose the back. The stockade has wide gates to allow acces to landscapers' big mowers. I've had to open a gate to let deer *out* the few times they've jumped the wire fencing -- usually does in rutting season.

Deer don't want to risk breaking their slender legs jumping over anything, although they *can* clear much higher (and more expensive) fencing. They will choose to 'go around' most of the tme. What we have isn't pretty, but it works. You could add shrubs that would spread and grow to more than four feet.

You need a minimum of 8' to keep deer out. They can and do clear 6' easily. Could you do strictly deer mesh in the rear to keep your view of the trees? If the estate fencing isn't even yours, I would just put deer mesh on your side and leave the fence to be seen through the mesh. Or alternatively install a 4' fence with the additional 4' deer mesh on top of that. The mesh pretty easily becomes invisible when up against trees and bushes. Good luck. You have a beautiful yard!!

Murraysmom is right about the 8' minimum...unless it is a solid fence they cannot see over. Deer won't jump over something when they can't see what is on the other side. That said, deer around here are taller than four feet, so that on't work for you unless you go higher. Of course, it is all moot if the neighbor on the east keeps their fence. Your deer will just hope over from their property.

Keep thinking this thread is about the sport.

What Murray's mom said.

In my neighborhood, the deer are overpopulated, and so are more aggressive about getting over or through fencing. Twenty, even 15 years ago there was little problem.

I have old 4' chain link (which I hate, but replacing that with something more attractive is a problem because of large trees and shrubs right next to it). I have zip tied garden stakes and chicken wire to it, to increase the height to 8' (totally against local regs, but fortunately my neighbors don't complain). This has worked for years, but this past winter and even yesterday, I have found sections knocked down with obvious damage from deer browsing on trees and plants (all of the growing tips of my fruit trees eaten and even all of the leaves and flower clusters on one apple!)

I thought my planting of arborvitae was dense enough to keep them out of one corner, but they forced their way through.

If deer intrusion is a problem, you need to make sure that any netting/wire/mesh height extension is very sturdy, with the posts and extension able to withstand a large deer crashing into it. The "deer netting" sold in local big box stores really isn't strong enough. Other than that, go with the most attractive option! Black is usually the least visible.

One of my neighbors has put up fencing that is like a typical horizontal fence, but instead of fully filled in with horizontal planks, they have black wire mesh that fills in the gaps and is framed by the wood.

Consider fencing that looks good on both sides

I like the top. Gives added interest and height.

If the fence is only for deer you might want to consider a large scale grid fence that blends into the woods. That way you don't lose your view and the deer stay out.

If you have deer...do you also have bear?

A deer can jump over a 4 ft fence easily, wire or solid. Most people use the minimum 8 ft.

FWIW, I saw a tip that you can discourage deer from jumping a fence by laying wire mesh like chicken wire flat on the ground for several feet in front of the fence - that deer don't like walking on it. Not sure if it works or not. We have no deer here.

I saw this on the web and thought it might help. Interesting about laying wire in front of where you don't want the deer to go.

https://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/deerfences.html

One place said wire mesh fencing is better than chain link so you might want to check that out

To echo @ zalco - I thought this was about the sport, as well. I had a terrifying quarter of it in undergrad school and would never recommend it to anyone...

Here, the fencing on the ground, metal grating, does not keep the deer away from the apple trees and how does one mow or keep that area tidy then? One needs to think to the maintenance of a fix too.

Fencing advice? Say "En garde!", wear a white body suit with a mask, and don't let the pointy thing your opponent is swinging around touch you!

(Sorry I couldn't help myself)

If you want to keep deer out and invisibility is important then the deer mesh fencing would be your best bet....but if it's not all the way around, they'll just hop in from your neighbors anyway. One guy in our town put up deer fencing...the deer managed to get in but then couldn't get out and made a complete mess of his place.

https://www.deerbusters.com/kits/welded-wire-deer-fence-kits/8-welded-wire-fence-kits/8-x-100-welded-wire-deer-fence-kit/

Every time I see this I think like Annie.

When you fence and have a lot of deer pressure think of it from their point of view. If they are starving they will go over or under. I can deter deer with fish line strung around my beds but my deer and elk aren't all that hungry. Eight to ten feet is considered minimum for deer. That doesn't deal with going under the fence. They are heavy animals that can push up fencing so you have to deal with that as well.

For a less expensive solution, you could stake out ivory soap around the plants they like to eat. We do that and it works well.

Now I'm curious about why our low, cheap fencing has deterred deer for twenty years. On one side -- along the creek and a deerPATH -- there are arbor vitae (which they eat from their side). At the rear lot line, though, there are only some spaced bushes through which our lawn can be easily seen from the other side as a safe 'landing space'.

I used to stake bits of Irish Spring in my rose garden at our former home. The soap had to be higher than the buds to work. The soap had to be replenished when it melted in the rain, and it was certainly unattractive.

Chisue, it depends on the local food supply. Deer in different regions eat different things. Also deer don't like dogs, if you have one. Our last house had a higher population. The yards were the deers nourishment. My present home is rural and the deer will not come close to eat any foundation plantings.

^^^ this is what I am experiencing. I've been in my house 30 years, and it is only in the last 8 +/- that they have become fearless (I tried to chase a buck away this past winter, but he just looked at me and went back to munching the heuchera - which in past years the deer never touched!) and increasingly jumping even tall fences to get to small bites of anything that appeals to them. We simply have too many for the health of the herd or our gardens, but the city isn't inclined to try to control them because, so far, very few collisions with autos (there are always 1-3 every year.) They don't count close calls which happen a lot.

I suspect the absence of our former coyote pack has contributed to the overpopulation.

I think it's also a function of what else is available in the surrounds to eat. They get braver when they get hungrier.

When I saw the title I thought of the sport too. Regarding what fence to use, we put up 6ft deer/rabbit fence on T posts, which didn't work as well as hoped. We added two more feet to the top because our 2.5 acres has hills and valleys. We also planted trees and bushes close to the fence so they can't see where to jump. After 36 years all our efforts seem to have worked. That and mt lions have recently moved into the area.

Me too, I thought - what a wonderful way to get exercise. Foil or épée?

Oh no. The lengthy response disappeared when Houzz made me sign in even though I was logged in when I wrote the response. I will rewrite later. Just know that I appreciate your thoughtful helpful responses. Trying to figure out what fence set up works and looks best. And yes, titles of posts can be misleading.

We had an acre that bordered on watershed land. That land could not be built on so we had herds of deer. They caused so much damage, not only to the gardens but actually jumped in our in-ground pool and cracked the walls and the whole pool had to be replaced.

We put in a 8 ft chain link fence around the property. We had to get a permit to put it in. We used black chain link so it was hard to see with all the trees and shrubs. We did not put it in front, just the back yard which was about an acre.

It worked. It was expensive, but it worked well. We had 4 gates, with locks. It was almost invisible.

When we sold our house, 10 yrs ago, we realized that fence held up for over 30 yrs without any problems. The new buyers were thrilled because they had dogs.

Now, living in Florida, we put up a 6 ft stockade fence around the back of our property. I regret doing this. In 8 yrs it looks like crap. I'm debating pulling it out for chain link. Trouble with chain link, it doesn't give privacy unless you have lots of shrubs and trees growing along it. Florida is not NY.

Jane