Elec. fence

[Code54]

We are currently looking at fencing some apple trees in to keep the deer out of them and I am thinking of using an elec. fence instead of 4' of welded wire with another 4 feet of single line fence about that (mostly spaced a little over a foot apart)

Do the solar elec. fence controllers work very well? Do they last? I will be only be running 200' of fence but was thinking I would need about 8 strands so would a "2 mile" controller be enough? I was going to connect the wire together so it is all powered or is that overkill or a bad idea?

Do I only need one ground rod? thinking I would put in a gate, is it best to run it underground around the gate somehow? I never messed with elec fence before and am not sure if we should bother or just do a "regular fence" and be down with it.
THANKS

 

[randy41]

the only reliable deer barrier for me was a 7 and a half foot plastic deer fence. deer need a big zap to get their attention.

 

[jay3534]

I have had good luck with Parmak solar

Parmak Electric Fencing - Welcome to ParmakUSA

 

[riptides]

We are currently looking at fencing some apple trees in to keep the deer out of them and I am thinking of using an elec. fence instead of 4' of welded wire with another 4 feet of single line fence about that (mostly spaced a little over a foot apart)

Do the solar elec. fence controllers work very well? Do they last? I will be only be running 200' of fence but was thinking I would need about 8 strands so would a "2 mile" controller be enough? I was going to connect the wire together so it is all powered or is that overkill or a bad idea?

Do I only need one ground rod? thinking I would put in a gate, is it best to run it underground around the gate somehow? I never messed with elec fence before and am not sure if we should bother or just do a "regular fence" and be down with it.
THANKS

I would rethink your plans.

In the pic, this is three strands of "hot" wire. Two mesh and one braided.

All the deer move freely at their own pace, back and forth.

The horses however, will not go near it.

 

[wagne223]

Unfortunately any electric fence will only deter deer for a short time. Once they get used to seeing it, they will jump over it.

There are only 2 ways to keep deer out and they are both expensive.

First is a single 8 foot high fence.

Second is two 4 - 5 foot fences run parallel to each other with 4 to 5 feet between them. The deer can't judge the distance and avoid jumping.

Even with these, you will still get one occasionally.

Deer are amazing creatures!

 

[newbury]

the only reliable deer barrier for me was a 7 and a half foot plastic deer fence. deer need a big zap to get their attention.

Yes, they need a big zap but once you get their attention they remember. My cousin in law had a 1/2 acre garden for watermelons that the deer had routinely decimated over the years. Then someone told him about a "single wire and peanut butter" solution.
String a high power (I don't know diddly about power levels on e-fences) fence, about waist high, as normal. Then take peanut butter and coat the wire. I think they just took a handful of peanut butter and ran the wire through their hand as they walked the fence. You want a decent coating.

The deer love peanut butter, they would lick the fence, get a hefty shock and not come back.

 

[Spindifferent]

Do the solar elec. fence controllers work very well? Do they last? I will be only be running 200' of fence but was thinking I would need about 8 strands so would a "2 mile" controller be enough? I was going to connect the wire together so it is all powered or is that overkill or a bad idea?

Do I only need one ground rod? thinking I would put in a gate, is it best to run it underground around the gate somehow? I never messed with elec fence before and am not sure if we should bother or just do a "regular fence" and be down with it.
THANKS

I've had the Premier solar energizers now for several years, and they work very well. Batteries will eventually need to be replaced, even with regular maintenance. Yes, they need a grounding rod.

Lots of good info here:

Fence Energizer Kits - Premier1Supplies

Electric Fence and Netting for Deer - Premier1Supplies

I use an electric fence around my orchard and large market garden. Orchard has a 7 foot high fence that has both electrified and non-electrified wires. Garden has a 3-D fence like this:

Anti-Deer Fence (3D Scented 3 to 5 Strand) for Deer - Premier1Supplies

Good luck! It is a constant battle.

 

[motownbrowne]

Call premier one in Iowa. They have very good products that they actually test and they have great customer service. They suggest a 3D electric deer fence. One stand about 4' high and then 4' inside of that two stands, one at 2' and one at 5'. If I had deer problems I'd probably go that way. I've had one of their dollar chargers for about 7 years and it works great. It packs a serious punch. I energize 4 160' chicken mesh fences at a time.

 

[motownbrowne]

I've had the Premier solar energizers now for several years, and they work very well. Batteries will eventually need to be replaced, even with regular maintenance. Yes, they need a grounding rod.

Lots of good info here:

Fence Energizer Kits - Premier1Supplies

Electric Fence and Netting for Deer - Premier1Supplies

I use an electric fence around my orchard and large market garden. Orchard has a 7 foot high fence that has both electrified and non-electrified wires. Garden has a 3-D fence like this:

Anti-Deer Fence (3D Scented 3 to 5 Strand) for Deer - Premier1Supplies

Good luck! It is a constant battle.

Guess we were responding at the same time. Great minds think alike, I guess.

 

[KYErik]

I have several remote electric fences for cattle- the 12 volt DC fence chargers will run off a car battery for 3 weeks between charging cycles (a fairly short run of fence)- they can go 4-5 weeks but you will shorten the life of the battery (sulfation from a long deep discharge). They might be a little more economical than the solar chargers. One can find 12 volt car batteries on sale at farm stores for $40 in this area- around here, once a 12 volt battery has trouble starting a truck/tractor, rather than junking it, it gets to retire as a fencer battery. Even a 12v riding lawnmower battery can power a fencer for 2+ weeks (less than 1/4 mile fence and fairly free of weeds).

 

[EddieWalker]

I have 11 acres fenced in with three rows of electric fence to keep my horses in, and the wild pigs, coyotes and racoons out. The deer just jump over it like it's not there.

If you go with electric, the number of ground rods you need will be based on your soil type and how much moisture it holds. Your wire is the positive, the soil is your ground. For the fence to work, the animal, or person, needs to be standing on the soil and connected the circuit by touching the wire. If there isn't enough current in the soil, nothing will happen. This might not be technically correct, but it's how I think of it.

If there isn't enough current going through your soil, you will need more ground rods. I have three ground rods that are ten feet apart and connected to each other with a bare copper wire to the tops of each ground rod, one after another. This works well for my red clay soil.

If you need more, then you have to run a ground wire to the half way point of your fence and install more ground rods there. You need to carry the current to the soil with the ground wire, and then into the soil with the ground rods.

 

[TheMan419]

I have 11 acres fenced in with three rows of electric fence to keep my horses in, and the wild pigs, coyotes and racoons out. The deer just jump over it like it's not there.

If you go with electric, the number of ground rods you need will be based on your soil type and how much moisture it holds. Your wire is the positive, the soil is your ground. For the fence to work, the animal, or person, needs to be standing on the soil and connected the circuit by touching the wire. If there isn't enough current in the soil, nothing will happen. This might not be technically correct, but it's how I think of it.

If there isn't enough current going through your soil, you will need more ground rods. I have three ground rods that are ten feet apart and connected to each other with a bare copper wire to the tops of each ground rod, one after another. This works well for my red clay soil.

If you need more, then you have to run a ground wire to the half way point of your fence and install more ground rods there. You need to carry the current to the soil with the ground wire, and then into the soil with the ground rods.

That is why you can also run a ground wire. We have 3 wire for the horses. The middle wire is ground. That way if the horse is touching top/bottom and middle wire they will complete the circuit and get a zap. Also if they are grounded to the actual ground they will get a zap. Having a ground wire helps the odds they will be grounded and get a zap.

Most companies that sell the wire and/or charger will tell you what you need for grounding wires. The drier the soil the more you need. You may need to put them at various places around the paddock if you are running a long long wire. We currently have 3 spaced about 10 feet apart as well and connected to each other via copper wire. The wire is insulated and then buried between the rods as is the wire that goes out from the charger to the fence and ground rods.

Deer go in and out of the fenced area at will. Other animals seem to stay away. The deer, at night, drink out of the water trough the horses use during the day. It is always full and heated during the winter.

 

[Code54]

Wow - lots of info, thank you all.
I am concerned that the Deer are going to ignore the fence and that would be bad.....
We have a lot of deer problems but they seem dumb. My current garden fence is 4' of welded wire, then I stuck those cheap fiberglass push in posts into the top of my regular wooden fence and ran string (yes -string - colored survey string) between them. Did this when the garden was smaller for years and it worked, no more deer at all. I explained the garden this year and did the same thing again and it worked great again. Well now we are thinking of fencing in a bunch of trees and making an orchard - this is where we thought it maybe easier and less expensive to do an electric fence but now I am thinking it may not be. Again I am only looking at about 200 or less feet of fence so I am not wondering if I should just do it the same way and be done with it?
The night I started fencing in the new garden it got raided by deer. The fence was down for 20 hrs and they already figured it out and attacked my wife strawberries so I know I need something to keep them from Apple trees.
Here is the current fence system and the new one will be to the right

You can also see all the little oaks and ornamental trees have to be caged to protect them from the deer.

 

[newbury]

commercial version of the PB fence:Deer Peanut Butter Fence - Wireless Deer Fence | The Wireless Deer Fence (R)