Removing wire fence from trees

[Foozle]

Hi,

I'm on some property where the previous owner put up fencing around about 1/2 of the property. To save time/money, I guess, he tacked some of the wire fence to trees, where available, rather than putting up posts. I'm hearing it was a pretty common practice long ago and this gentleman is 84 years old now.

I'm assuming I should be undoing this and was looking for tips on the best way to do.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[EastTexFrank]

It's a fairly common practice down here in Texas too. It may be too late to do much about it. It doesn't usually harm the tree but the problem with it is that, as the tree grows, it grows out and covers the wire. It can end up buried fairly deep in the tree. The problem comes years from now when you cut down the tree and hit the buried wire with your chain saw. It can make a mess of your chain. Commercially, usually the wire is too light and rusted to damage their saw blades but it's always a possibility to chip a tooth and throw metal all over the place.

If I have to replace a section of wire that is imbeded in a tree, I leave a large pigtail stiking out so that in future I, or someone else, will at least know it's there.

 

[meadowlarkponds]

.... I'm hearing it was a pretty common practice long ago...

Not so long ago....it is a practice I use regularly. I don't use pines because they aren't as sturdy and are often used commercially but hardwoods, very definitely. They are far more stable than any post, free, and will outlast any post or wire you can buy today.

Undoing such a fence would be a lot of work for little or no gain, IMO

 

[Foozle]

Not so long ago....it is a practice I use regularly. I don't use pines because they aren't as sturdy and are often used commercially but hardwoods, very definitely. They are far more stable than any post, free, and will outlast any post or wire you can buy today.

Undoing such a fence would be a lot of work for little or no gain, IMO

Well, it just seems like a potential hazard at some point in the future. Probably not in my lifetime, but for someone down the road. I was considering clearing some trees on the same property and it makes me nervous using a chainsaw as I know there is probably a lot of hidden metal from fences that have grown into the trees. I saw some pretty sturdy wire sticking out of one large tree from a past fence. That was the only evidence of the fence, but I'm sure the other trees have it as well.

Assuming I do want to take on this tedious task, any ideas on how to best remove the wire -- chisel it out perhaps?

Also, for general clearing of trees, has anyone used a portable metal detector? I found one on the Garrett site for $140, but didn't know how accurate/useful they were. (also found for about $85 on Ebay).

Metal Detector Review - Garrett Handheld Metal Detector

Thanks,

Dave

 

[chh]

You will do more harm than good to the tree by trying to chisel it out. IMO. I still use trees in some fences if I need to. If you don't want the fence hooked to the tree leave pieces of the wire sticking out as a warning if it is ever cut down. That section of tree can be discarded and not cut up of someone knows it is there.

 

[4720 OWNER]

Talk to the local police and see if they have a wand that they do searches with? Maybe they would like the practice? Consider the tree a suspect that is smuggling elusive copper.

Also the bark is usually scarred in some horizontal fashion by the wire being absorbed by pressure. Either all the way around or just on one side where the fence was, plus probably no higher than shoulder height at best.