Electric Fence (Around Garden) Qestions

[bjamison]

Anyone using an electric fence around their garden to keep deer and other critters out?

What is you fence construction like and what kind of charger are you using?

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[mfrade]

We use an electric fence to keep our horse in.. Fence is constructed of wood poles and galvanized wire. Insulators at the poles keep the circuit off of ground. It's not a charger, but really a "discharger"... Like an auto coil a high voltage is discharged into the wire fence. We buy ours from the local Farm Bureau store. the oldest one is better than 20 years old! HTH...

 

[mgonitzke]

My parents have one on their garden. Steel fence posts with plastic insulators, and only one wire about 3 or 4" above the ground. That seems to keep everything out. Start looking for fencers at auctions and stuff...they seem to get struck by lightning more than once in awhile.

 

[tturner]

Bill- I rigged up a fence for my good friend a few years ago. Worked great. Really simple to do... Just buy the 6' or 7' steel T posts and go around the perimeter of your garden. Be sure to incorperate a gate in your construction so you can get your tiller in and out. I went with a 3 wire system putting a smooth wire at 6" 30" and about 5 or 6 feet on the high wire. I went with the cheapest charger they sell because youre only dealing with a couple hundred feet to charge. In my case it was a constant charge not a pulsating charge. IT WORKS GREAT! The constant current makes the small animals get stuck to the wire and unfortunately kills them... Hes killed countless birds, rabbits, squirrels... All the things that destroy your garden. But it really was a great $75 investment having zero animal damage to deal with.

 

[lhinds]

Bill on my garden i use a constant charge fence box from TSC and a smooth wire about 12 inches above the ground. Dogs is my problem. Whatever you use just remember it only works with a good ground system at the box. At least one ground rod or dig a trench and lay some excess wire in it and connect to the ground terminal on the box.

 

[wshytle]

I have an electric fence around my garden but it didn't do its job last summer. My corn was totally destroyed by coons. I was so mad I would have used land mines if possible.

I don't care to kill the animals, just make them wish they were dead. I hate buying/eating store bought corn.

 

[lhinds]

Wayne you probally need a better ground or go with a barbed wire. Some animals fur will not conduct electricity very well.

 

[mpatterson]

You guys are lucky you can keep things out with electric fence! I am up to cedar posts that are currently about 12 feet tall. Had what they call "invisible fence" on it up until last year when the ice rain in the winter took it down. It worked well at keeping the deer out. You couldn't see it until you were about 15 or 20 feet away from it. It was a nice black mesh, very light, but did the trick. Before that, I had a regular page wire fence around it, looked great, but didn't keep them out. Then I added the 3 foot electric posts to the top of it and electrified them. NOPE! The dirty, rotten, S&%$##! still got in there. Would strip my beat tops off and lettuce like there was no tomorrow. Well, I'd have to say I was ticked! A lot of work went into the garden each year, and I was the one doing it all. So honestly not sure what I will do this year, I guess put up electric fence on my cedar posts I have in the ground and light them up in hopes of keeping them out! Will see I guess. I have to add more posts and some braces if I use regular fencing wire, there will be too much sag in it if I don't and then the post will be leaning too. That just wouldn't look good.

 

[mpatterson]

Here you can see where I added more wire to the posts. Yep it was electrified too! That is almost 7 feet tall to the top and the still jump it!

 

[mpatterson]

Here it has the "invisible fence", only draw back is the ribbon you have to put on, so the deer can see it and not go through the fence.

Forgive the weeds between the rows, I'd say I was lazy that week.

 

[mpatterson]

 

[dtanner]

Mike Patterson
It has been awhile since you posted.I mow a property that have a motion sensor connected to a sprinkler that will spray water. Dang I all-ways forget about it and get a soaking. You could kill to birds with one stone with that lol.

 

[junderwood]

Mike,

This is what I put up last year. http://www.critterfence.com/ . Similar to your invisible fence, but maybe a little heavier. We'll see how it fairs after the first winter. I'll try to get some pics of it before the snow melt it shows up better against the white snow. I tied yellow ribbon tape to it so they would see it and also had to put 24" tall chicken wire at the bottom to keep the rabbits out. They chewed right through the plastic fence. So far I am happy with it. The other thing I did to keep the smaller critters out was spray the ground at the fence line with the liquid repellent a couple times through the season. So far I have kept the deer out and even the bear. My guess is a bear would just tear it down, but who knows. Chance I take for living up here I guess.

 

[eblake]

maybe im missing it but im pretty sure yall need gates to keep em out.....they just walk thru that big hole in the fence....

 

[bjamison]

Mike P - that's a mighty fine looking garden you got there.

 

[mpatterson]

Thanks Bill, as you can see, I spend a little bit of time in it! Hope to have a bunch more strawberries and raspberries this year. Plan was to plant 3 or 4 apple trees at the end of it when I planned it out. Haven't quite got that far yet though.