New fence to keep people out

[harpoonalt]

Why not contract out to some people to pick all the mushrooms and make some money. If you get the right people, they would defend their area themselves. Post signs that the area is a mushroom "farm" if you will, and trespassing or harvesting mushrooms is theft. Be willing to call the police and soon you'll get the n\message across. The mushrooms will make you money, some people YOU choose some money and get you some allies in your quest to keep the property yours. Most people would understand better that it was a business rather than somebody who just is denying them access. Just a thought!

 

[ilex]

Cacti is not native, it's naturalized since Columbus came back, mostly agave and opuntia. It's on a list of forbiden things to plan in the area. Also, we get -5 F temperatures every year, about zone 6, and not many cacti which make good hedges will grow.

In another area, where I have the honey locust hedge, I've got opuntia/agave hedges ... wonderful, no-maintenance hedges. I'm also making austrocylindropuntia subulata hedges now. Nobody with a couple neurons will try to cross one of those.

 

[texasjohn]

hmm....no wonder there were numerous places where I thought..you know, this looks just like Texas Didn't know all that stuff that looked so familiar was IMPORTED. Thanks for making me smarter. Obviously, you know your plants... I looked up your cactus, found this

Origin: High elevations in Ecuador and Peru, 8000 to 12000 feet (2400 to 3600 m)
Growth Habits: Tree-like cactus, up to 13 feet tall (4 m), 10 feet in diameter (3 m); stems up to 20 inches long (50 cm); awl like leaves, up to 5 inches long (12 cm); 1 to 4 spines, up to 3.2 inches long (8 cm);


what I was suggesting was planting something with thorns that propagates easily right under the single strand of barb wire so if you roll under the fence, you get stuck. If you touch the fence, you get zapped and if you use a stick to hold the fence away from you you will either get stickers in your legs, caught on the barb, or very lucky and once inside will have to be just as lucky to get out.

I think you found the right plant!

I think you now have all the best ideas TBN has to offer.... now, as Yoda said: "don't try, DO."

 

[forgeblast]

What about a cold hardy Yucca. They are pointy but will still stand up to the cold. I am going to grow some from seed this year to try them out.

 

[ilex]

What about a cold hardy Yucca. They are pointy but will still stand up to the cold. I am going to grow some from seed this year to try them out.

Not native, so not an option.

I know what I can use for an hedge. The problem is that it takes quite some time to grow, and specially, that the place with more preassure is full of trees. Quite difficult to grow an hedge under trees in deep shade.

I think I have the hedge part quite clear.

 

[ilex]

Now that I've though about it with your help, I've decided it's going to be an electrified fence. There's a good place to put the charger so it won't get stolen.

I'll also put an hedge were I can (middle term).

I will also do my best to convince everybody to go someplace else and do my legal homework to solve this.

Regarding the fence itself, I've got doubts. Looks like the best is to use hot and ground wires to deliver max shock. I will rise current fence to 1.6 meters. Current height invites people to jump over, that can be painfull if it's electrified.

My initial thinking is leaving current barbed wire in place, maybe replacing top wire for a high tensile one (to make it more robust). This could be used as ground (metallic posts). The add 3 normal wires electrified + 2 electrified behind the barbed ones.

Barbed wires will be sown together every couple meters to prevent people moving them away to skeeze in between. I'll try to keep adecuate tension so they shouldn't be able to move them.

At what distance can hot and ground wires be?

Cutting an electrified fence shouldn't be easy.

If they put a wire between hot wires and ground, will the fence be nullified completelly?

If just one hot wire is touched, will it shock? I would think so.

Would it be better not to use the current fence as ground?

 

[ctgoldwing]

As for personal attention, I don't condone this, but a friend of mine was shot with rocksalt as a boy while stealing apples; this method has a VERY low recidivism rate.

Several years ago a local farmer shot (with salt) a group of teenagers stealing apples. I don't know how much it cost him in $$$ for taking an eye out of a 16 year old girl but I'm sure he thinks about it all the time.

 

[texasjohn]

Cutting an electric fence is easy.... just get bolt cutters or hedge trimmers with long wooden handles... done deal....wood is an insulator.

YES, if you simply manage to connect a hot wire and a ground wire with any sort of electrical conductor, the ENTIRE fence is DEAD..... I know this to be true from hundreds of experiences... where a deer or other critter got into the fence and left a ground and hot wire twisted together. Another problem is limbs falling on the fence and pressing hot and ground wires together...this WILL be a problem in your case since you are running the fence thru wooded areas... thus, will need to check the fence regularly.

I cannot recommend too highly high tensile wire..either smooth or barb. You can stretch that stuff until it sings like a piano wire. To use it, you need to know these things....if you already know them, great, else PM me and I'll send you URL's that explain.

how to tie a knot in high tensile wire....trust me, there is a special way to do it.

ratchets that stay in the fence, one for each strand, so it can be tightened as posts give and slack develops.

how to make extremely strong corner braces...so they don't give

how to find a high impedance electric fence charger... one qualified for about 200 miles of fence..... don't be fooled...I enclose about 200 acres with one and this level of strength is necessary, lesser strength chargers will poop out when grass, brush, limbs are against it... worse in a rain...chargers are rated in jules... get the strongest one you can. This is NOT a weed cutter/burner, rather it puts a very strong pulse on the wire for a very short period of time. The charge does not burn or permanently harm a person when they touch it... rather muscles all over the body contract and you are uncontrollably spasmed... often falling to the ground... I truly know this to be true from personal experience

These chargers some in 110 and 220Volt capability.... get 220 if you can. Cost will be about $400.

I consider you have two fence options....

A single strand, electrified. The ground itself is the return path. Person puts hand on wire, charge travels thru person toward ground, which is thru the shoes. This involves the entire body in the electrical shock. There is no other wire to ground the fence out if a limb falls on it. Only way to stop the electricity is either cut the wire or locate a wire and wrap it around the hot wire and metal post to ground it out. Wood or fiberglass posts solve this problem.

Yes, touching a single electrified strand will shock... ground is thru body to feet. Touching a electric wire AND a ground wire ... the path is from the electric wire to the part of the body touching the ground wire.

Multiple strands, some hot, some ground. This is really primarily a people fence that happens to be electrified. It is extremely simple, for the knowledgeable, to ground it out... pick up a stick, twist a ground and hot wire together..done deal... now just proceed thru the fence as if it were not electrified. Inconvenient, not hard for the determined.

My recommendation would be for the single strand...cheaper, marks your boundary, a place to hand signs, no convenient ground wire, a determined person will be able to get in, regardless of how many strands are there and you will have to apply your chosen confrontation technique to them, anyway.

More questions, ask 'em.

 

[Steve C]

Cutting an electric fence is easy.... just get bolt cutters or hedge trimmers with long wooden handles... done deal....wood is an insulator.

YES, if you simply manage to connect a hot wire and a ground wire with any sort of electrical conductor, the ENTIRE fence is DEAD..... I know this to be true from hundreds of experiences... where a deer or other critter got into the fence and left a ground and hot wire twisted together. Another problem is limbs falling on the fence and pressing hot and ground wires together...this WILL be a problem in your case since you are running the fence thru wooded areas... thus, will need to check the fence regularly.

I cannot recommend too highly high tensile wire..either smooth or barb. You can stretch that stuff until it sings like a piano wire. To use it, you need to know these things....if you already know them, great, else PM me and I'll send you URL's that explain.

how to tie a knot in high tensile wire....trust me, there is a special way to do it.

ratchets that stay in the fence, one for each strand, so it can be tightened as posts give and slack develops.

how to make extremely strong corner braces...so they don't give

how to find a high impedance electric fence charger... one qualified for about 200 miles of fence..... don't be fooled...I enclose about 200 acres with one and this level of strength is necessary, lesser strength chargers will poop out when grass, brush, limbs are against it... worse in a rain...chargers are rated in jules... get the strongest one you can. This is NOT a weed cutter/burner, rather it puts a very strong pulse on the wire for a very short period of time. The charge does not burn or permanently harm a person when they touch it... rather muscles all over the body contract and you are uncontrollably spasmed... often falling to the ground... I truly know this to be true from personal experience

These chargers some in 110 and 220Volt capability.... get 220 if you can. Cost will be about $400.

I consider you have two fence options....

A single strand, electrified. The ground itself is the return path. Person puts hand on wire, charge travels thru person toward ground, which is thru the shoes. This involves the entire body in the electrical shock. There is no other wire to ground the fence out if a limb falls on it. Only way to stop the electricity is either cut the wire or locate a wire and wrap it around the hot wire and metal post to ground it out. Wood or fiberglass posts solve this problem.

Yes, touching a single electrified strand will shock... ground is thru body to feet. Touching a electric wire AND a ground wire ... the path is from the electric wire to the part of the body touching the ground wire.

Multiple strands, some hot, some ground. This is really primarily a people fence that happens to be electrified. It is extremely simple, for the knowledgeable, to ground it out... pick up a stick, twist a ground and hot wire together..done deal... now just proceed thru the fence as if it were not electrified. Inconvenient, not hard for the determined.

My recommendation would be for the single strand...cheaper, marks your boundary, a place to hand signs, no convenient ground wire, a determined person will be able to get in, regardless of how many strands are there and you will have to apply your chosen confrontation technique to them, anyway.

More questions, ask 'em.

yes! single stand and may the ground find its path

They will not cross it

 

[ilex]

I see, but with just one, you can easily go under it, or over it.