How To Make a Modern Deer Fence for Your Garden
Anyone who has a garden knows how frustrating it is to work day in and day out only to find that deer have eaten your tomatoes, nibbled on the squash and peas or ripped the bark off the trees.
Certainly, we’ve tried all sorts of methods to deter the deer, from human hair to Irish Spring soap, but to no avail.
After much research we decided that the best method would be to install a deer fence, like those available at www.deerfencing.com to enclose the garden.
When you garden in deer country, growing vegetables can be a real challenge.
To keep out high-jumping deer, many gardeners surround their crops with tall fences that have the look of a maximum-security prison.
How Tall Should a Deer Fence Be?
After trying many methods that claim to keep the deer out of our vegetable garden, last year we installed a fence around the perimeter of our garden.
It was a temporary fence, which was only 5 feet tall.
Clearly, it did not work!
They were still having a feast nightly in my garden.
Apparently deer can easily jump a 5 to 6 foot fence. To really keep the deer out, we would need an 8 foot fence.
With this in mind, we began to come up with our design.
Not only must it keep the deer out, but also it had to look good!
This fence would also been seen from our front yard.
Install Footer and Top Rail
Once all of the posts are installed and the concrete has cured, install the footer and top rail boards.
Measure the distance between each post and cut the 2×4 boards to length.
We installed our footer boards level and about 9″ from the ground.
The top rail board was installed 60″ above the footer board.
This is the height of the hog panel we used.
We installed our rails using our Kreg jig to create pocket holes for each screw.
If you do now have access to a jig you could also toenail them in or use brackets.
Install the Trellis
To complete our 8 foot height requirement for our deer fence we decided to install a trellis.
Not only would this create that 8 foot barrier for the deer, but also it would add beauty to the fence.
In addition, I have been wanting a place to grow wisteria and this will provide the perfect trellis for it.
To create the trellis we install 2×6 boards on each side of the 4×4 posts.
The Finished Deer Fence
Not only has it prevented the deer from munching my veggies, but it has created a beautiful spot to enjoy my garden.
I love that we are still able to enjoy the view, as we can see directly through the fence.
And soon the Wisteria will be draping over the trellis.
A few weeks back I wrote a post about slugs in my garden.
