Deer Fence Options – Introduction

This “Fence Options” section helps you make choices. It fits between our “Information” pages that provide general background on deer fences and our “Plan Your Fence” pages that give specific directions for creating a list of the materials you need. We think this fence options section is important because we offer many choices; and before you engage in concrete planning, like a diner at a large buffet, you should know what your choices are.

Here’s (below) is a bulleted list of pages with tag lines. PLEASE NOTE: While each tag line gives some guidance, it is far from the whole story. So if you’d like to know more about the topic, click on the link and browse the page.

• Deer Fence Height: The best height for a deer fence is right around 7 feet, but we also sell supplies to create or repair fences with other heights.
• Polypropylene Deer Fencing: We offer several professional grades of polypropylene deer fencing in both Reinforced and Round Strand (Tenax) varieties.
• Metal Hexagrid Deer Fencing: This is the best deer fencing but also the most expensive.
• Deer Fencing Combinations: Full-height poly fencing can be combined with a short metal hexagrid skirt to prevent penetration of the fence bottom by small animals.
• Deer Fence Posts: Lots of posts will serve — wood posts, trees, angle-iron posts, round metal posts, etc. You should know which posts are best for you and how far apart to space them.
• Vulnerable Bottoms: Use ground stakes and a bottom fold to protect the bottom of your fence. These things work better than a run of line along the fence bottom.
• Post Bracing: You may or may not need to brace your corner, gate, and end posts. If you do, you will need to choose between earth anchors and corner/gate/end braces.
• Support Lines: As with bracing, your deer fence may or may not need support lines. If it needs them, choose between metal tie wire (for short or curving fences) and nylon monofilament (for long fences with straight fence lines).
• Stakes and Flags: Stakes and warning flags play vital roles, the first in securing the fence’s bottom fold and the second in keeping deer from charging your fence blindly by advising them of its presence.
• Gates: We offer lots of gates, all of which come in the form of kits that can be assembled quickly and easily.

Deer Fence Height

Barrier deer fences can be found with many different heights. Some crouch as low as 6 feet, while others soar as high as 10 or more. In fact the six-footers do fairly well; but they are unpopular, because deer will occasionally leap over them. And the really tall ones (over 8 feet) are also rare because they are expensive to ship, install, and maintain. Therefore, most of the barrier deer fences installed today have heights of 7 to 8 feet.

Seven feet is generally plenty. Especially if there are trees and a shade canopy (which makes the fencing harder to see and makes the deer worry about running into limbs) 7 feet is a good height for deer control. On rare occasions trouble can arise when the fence crosses a large open area, because that removes the limb problem, makes the fencing easier to see, and thus improves the motivation of would-be jumpers. Even so, many years of experience have shown that while 7 feet of height is definitely better than 6, the cost of extending the fence to 8 feet is rarely justified.

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