If you live in an area where the local wildlife includes a proliferation of deer, you’ve probably encountered more than a few of them in your backyard or garden, nibbling away at your plants, trees, and shrubs. Rather than wait for hunting season, you can take immediate steps to deter deer from using your yard and garden as a buffet with the addition of fencing around your property.
There are a variety of fencing types, both permanent and temporary, that can be used to make your backyard edibles safe from doe-eyed snackers. The types range from electrified to netting-styled, and vary in effectiveness as much as they vary in basic construct.
Animal activists may picket your property if you use electric fencing to dissuade deer from venturing into your garden, even though the jolt administered by these fences is essentially harmless. However, human mishaps can also occur with electric fencing, especially if you have smaller children, so we will fore-go this suggestion and move on to less shocking alternatives.
Deer prefer to avoid obstacles when grazing, so any kind of fence will give them pause. If you’re opting for a single fence around your perimeter, you should go with one that is at least eight feet high and made of woven wire. An alternative to this is to place two shorter fences around your yard that are parallel to each other, since deer find it challenging to jump high and far at the same time. You can also use deer netting on evenly spaced posts, or a staggered layout of fencing that slopes away from your yard or garden.