Deer Fencing

[William Schlegel]

Wondering about putting deer fencing around 4/10 of an acre. Thoughts on how best to do?

Thought is year round protection to use silage tarps for soil prep. Otherwise deer walking on tarps would puncture constantly.

[reed]

We just have white tail deer which aren't as big as yours might be but solar electric works pretty good. I have 3 foot chain link mixed with four foot woven wire and chicken wire at the bottoms around the gardens themselves and then out farther  is the electric. I dangle pieces of old garden hose off the trees and the electric wire hangs loosely from it, multiple strands 2 -4  feet off the ground. If the area around lacks trees of course, you'll have to buy or make some kind of posts and insulators.

[Woody Gardener]

I fought deer for years in my woodland garden before finding my fencing solution. I discovered that deer are smart, much more intelligent than horses. Once they've tasted beans or other delectables in the garden they will keep probing till they get in. I tried electric fencing and that worked most of the time. Smearing peanut butter on strips of aluminum foil and hanging it on the wire was fun. I didn't know how far deer could jump backwards! Unfortunately they seem to know when the battery is dead or a limb has fallen across the wire.

The fence that has worked for several years: I made posts from 6 ft. metal stakes from Lowe's and drove them about 14-18 inches in the ground. I used a drill to attach them to 2"x4"x8' boards that had long screws angled upward at 6, 7, and 8 feet. I ran 5 ft. green metal fencing from the farmers co-op around them and also a few tree trunks and secured it with nails and screws. I put up barbed wire at 6, 7, and 8 ft. I had to replace a couple of broken 8 ft. boards where the deer broke them in testing the fence the first year. I've had no problems since. As I said deer are smart.

[spacecase0]

I get one or 2 deer wandering by about every other year.
the damage they do is huge when they do show up.
I got away with a 4 foot tall chicken wire fence with bamboo threaded into it about at about one foot increments. the bamboo goes up at least 5 more foot and 20 or more in some spots. but then again, the deer don't already know what is inside.
I used the chicken wire to also keep out the bunnies, dogs, racoons, and other small animals.
in the same place my garden is now, my grandfather used something like what Woody Gardener is telling of, only he used metal posts wired together to make them taller and regular fencing up to about 8 to 10 foot tall

I have also seen another farm in my area use the bamboo in the fencing to make it taller, but they did about every 6 inches.
and I would not have used it had I not had an infinite supply for free.

[reed]

We have lots and I do mean lots of deer. For the most part my passive defense works well enough. When one does get a little too comfortable I deal with it in a different and more permanently effective way. Seems like the others get the message and don't push it a while.

[William Schlegel]

Back of envelope calculations deer fence for 4/10 acre could be pretty variable in price. I kind of lean towards building it right. However, I also wonder if I should go smaller. A 100 by 50 foot fence for a 100 by 50 foot silage tarp would let me test the concept. Maybe less likely to be vetoed.

[spacecase0]

calculations really depends on how long you want the fence to last
not sure about where you live, but water is rare where I live. any sort of living fence costs way more than metal.
if you have water, living fences are fantastic. Cactus is one of my favorites.
deer don't like waling through squash leaves...
but they will do it if there is nothing else green to eat around.
it is all about what you have to work with,
so many ways to do it.
as an example, dig a deep trench and line it with rocks for just labor and no money at all.
it all depends on what you have to work with