Don’t even think about getting a tall conventional fence (like a stockade or chain link fence) to keep out deer. You don’t need that. What you need is a light, low-visibility fence, one tall and strong enough to deter jumpers, and one suitably buttressed at the bottom to keep deer from nosing their way in. That’s what we offer here; nearly invisible fence to exclude deer and other wildlife.
Fence Height: Deer exclusion fences typically range from 6 to 8 feet tall. 7.5 feet is a good choice, because deer won’t jump a 7 1/2-footer just to get a meal. You might try a 6-footer if you’re planning a short garden deer fence (a 25x25 garden for example). Reserve the 8-foot choice for long fences in open areas or places with established deer paths. Year over year, the height of deer fences has increased in the field.
Fencing Material: We offer many kinds of fencing. However, the basic choice is between plastic (polypropylene) deer fences and metal deer fences (welded wire, woven wire or the older hex wire type of fences). The plastic costs less but often will need add-ons that raise the price. Also, because of the fundamental nature of metal vs. plastic, the various kinds of metal fencing tend to outlast their plastic counterparts. In short, poly is lightweight strong and less expensive- requiring farther apart post spacing – and in general great as a deer fence. Metal is more expensive, requires closer post spacing and is more stout – and in general is great as a deer fence as well as a fence to keep in or out other animals.
Polypropylene Deer Fencing: We offer all sorts of poly fencing. However, the ones used for deer fencing are typically our 700, 800 or 1100 grades. We also have a 1x1 opening 650 and 1050 along with a 1400 poly elk fencing. The lower grades are less strong deer fences, and the higher grades are more expensive but stronger (the numbers correspond to the strength per square foot of the material).
Poly fencing can sag over distances, especially under weight (like snow or ice) - so use our tensioning system to make it run straight, hold it up, and reinforce the poly against falling tree limbs etc. As a disadvantage to poly, rabbits, woodchucks and other rodents can gnaw holes in poly fences. Each of our different strength poly fence types now include our patent pending Bitterfence® anti-chew additive (check the description of each of the fence rolls to verify it’s included). This additive is the only anti-chew poly fence product on the market, pairing the positive attributes of poly fence (strong, lightweight, inexpensive) with an additive to counteract chewers – Bitterfence®.
Customers can also add a two or 3ft layer of 1x1 or smaller fencing to the bottom of poly fence (commonly known as a rodent barrier), folding 6 inches outward toward the deer (a bottom fold) and mounting the remaining footage vertically on the poly fencing, attaching it with nylon zip-lock ties or hog ring staples.
Woven Wire And Welded Wire Deer Fences: This consists of steel wires welded into a square or rectangular mesh and heavily galvanized over the weld, or wire that is woven together and or knotted at the joints. We offer a wide array of wire and mesh sizes, including graduated welded wire (where the opening size varies from the bottom to the top). Two offerings come without any coating other than galvanization, but all the rest are evenly coated with black PVC. All are approved for salt spray exposure and soil contact. Their expected life is 20+ years.
The types generally favored for deer fencing have 1” x 1” mesh with 19-gauge wires (most popular for gardens or fences less than 300 feet), 2” x 2” mesh with 16-gauge wires, and 2” x 4” mesh with 15.5-gauge wires. The 1” x 1” mesh is popular because it’s plenty strong enough to keep out deer but less visible than the others. The cost is about the same for all three products.
Steel Web Deer Fencing: This is the most economical and least strong metal deer fencing. Consisting of 20-gauge steel wires woven into a hexagonal one-inch mesh, it comes heavily galvanized and evenly coated with black PVC. Approved for salt spray exposure and soil contact, its expected life is 20+ years. However, like the poly fencing, it can to sag. Most customers use our tensioning system or other top support to look well and function at its best. This is an old fashioned type of fence and has become less popular over the years.
Fence Posts: We offer round black steel posts, galvanized with a black powder-coat finish, that have an expected life of 20+ years. To make installation easier and for strength, these posts come with sleeves. Put an anvil (drive cap) in the top of the sleeve to avoid damaging the top. Then pound the sleeve into the ground with a sledge hammer or gas powered driver. When an inch or less of the sleeve is above ground, remove the anvil and insert the post. That’s all there is to it.
We don’t recommend or suggest the use of T posts – T posts have great side to side strength, but not so good forward and back strength (as opposed to round posts with strength in a complete circle). If you choose to use wood posts, cedar or locust is suggested. Pressure treated will rot where it touches soil in 5-7 years and CCA posts (common fence framework) contain arsenic which will leech into soil over time.
Post Spacing: For those using our tensioning system, space your posts 8 to 15 feet apart depending on the type of fence (metal, poly and strength of poly) and if you are using tensioning or not.
Brace Posts: These protect against angled stress caused by falling branches, deer impacts, snow loads, and the weight of the fence. Get a corner brace post for each corner or sharply curving area and get an end brace post for each place where your fence butts up against a building, wall, or other fence. Our gates do not need brace posts, nor do fences less than a hundred feet long. Our braces use our patented no-dig EZ-Brace sleeve system to install easily.
The Bottom Fold: Deer love nosing under deer fences. To prevent that, fold 6 to 12 inches of your fencing outward (toward the deer) and stake it down with a foot-long kinked galvanized ground stake, using one stake every six feet. This fold can be also made towards the inside of your fence if you are mostly concerned with keeping animals in (like dogs – you want to keep the deer out, but also have dogs you need to keep contained).
Fence Ties: Plan on attaching your fencing to your posts with fence ties, using about one tie per foot of post. These are used if you are not using tensioning; with tensioning, the tension cable is attached to posts with hardware then the fencing is attached to the tension cable.
