Deer protection

  • 8 Replies
  • 5224 Views
*

Steveharford

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Malvern
  • 1109
Deer protection
« on: October 07, 2020, 18:14 »
Hi all
I used to post here quite a bit but other things have had to take priorIt’s. AnywAy, hello again. I have been a long time lurker, meanwhile,  and have still valued information gleaned from this site on garden matters.
I’m stepping in now to ask your opinion on deer protection. My son has just bought a property close by, which has a wood. He’d love to grow veg and stuff but the deer come out of the wood at night and would decimate his crops. I’m thinking he should fence or cage off his veg patch. The problem is, there is no veg patch. So we would be starting from scratch. And it’s on a slope. Can anyone recommend a suitable cage for this ? And if we are netting it, would it be worth netting against the dreaded cabbage whites while we are at it?
I’d appreciate your thoughts.

*

Yorkie

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: North Yorkshire
  • 26331
Re: Deer protection
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2020, 20:48 »
I guess it partly depends on how much he wants to spend, and how steep the slope is.  Are there plans for greenhouses / polytunnels, or just growing within open air protection?

I imagine that deer can be pretty determined if they want to push over a cage that is more lightweight and designed to protect from  -say - butterflies (and yes, always use mesh against cabbage whites!).
I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days all attack me at once...

*

Steveharford

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Malvern
  • 1109
Re: Deer protection
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2020, 05:39 »
Thanks Yorkie. Yes he intends to have a greenhouse and or polytunnel too. I can see myself getting a digger in and tiering it. So maybe individual cages per tier or a large stepped one over the whole thing. As for the butterfly protection I can now imagine having a cave within the cage for that. Getting complicated now 🤔

*

New shoot

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Reading
  • 18325
Re: Deer protection
« Reply #3 on: October 09, 2020, 11:36 »
If you want options on various netting, I have bought a few products from this lot.

https://www.gardening-naturally.com/netting-frost-protection/garden-netting

I have also bought rolls of plastic fencing from this lot.  Mine was only low as it is muntjac that trouble my plot, but they do taller stuff for bigger deer.  Muntjac get put off just pushing their faces into any kind of net.  Larger deer are more determined and can jump pretty high.

https://www.sure-green.com/fencing-supplies.html

In both cases, I got fast efficient service and good prices for basically packaged, but perfectly good products  :)

*

jezza

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • 1602
Re: Deer protection
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2020, 22:52 »
Hello try an organization's called the British Dèer  Society for advice on deer fencing ,   jezza

*

wighty

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Isle of Wight
  • 5148
Re: Deer protection
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2020, 21:01 »
I had a look  in our garden suppliers hand book, Solus, who supply most garden centres/shops and they don't have any deer pr otection fencing.  You are going to have to go to a specialist supplier for this rather than any local supplier.  We   used to have a deer farm near here and I remember how high the fence was.

*

Gleavo

  • Experienced Member
  • ***
  • Location: Wallasey, Merseyside
  • 179
Re: Deer protection
« Reply #6 on: January 13, 2021, 13:35 »
In the states they tend to use chicken wire and wooden posts to form an enclosure around the whole area - about 5 feet high will stop even adult deer leaping over. Obviously you also need a door/gate and some way of securing it (a small bolt will do).

My sis in law in Michigan has been raising her veg like this for years with no problem (deer there are endemic).

*

Subversive_plot

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Athens, Georgia, USA
  • 2390
Re: Deer protection
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2021, 01:08 »
A suggestion for very effective, very inexpensive deer fencing.

Judge a height that your local deer cannot jump over. Our local deer can jump a 1.5 meter fence easily, but won't attempt 2 meters or more. I use poles which stick out of the ground about 2 meters, solidly advanced into the ground. The poles do NOT need to be close together.

Get some 30-pound test monofilament fishing line. String that line tightly between the poles, 0.3 meters above the ground, all the way around the plot. Don't forget to loop around each pole, and leave yourself a gate to go through.  Go up another 0.3 meters higher on the pole, do the same thing. Keep going until you are at the top of your poles with that monofilament line.

Deer only jump an obstacle they can see. They can't see that fishing line, so they try to walk through, but the line (30 pound test) is tough enough they can't do that either. Confused, they walk away, and don't jump.

I did this last year, it worked like a charm, they never got around it. The only plants that got nibbled were those too close to the fence.  My fence last year cost about £7, that cheap because I cut all the bamboo poles I need from my own property.  Yours might cost just a bit more. I will keep using the same fence this year since it is still in good shape except for one small place needing a minor repair.

Try it!!
"Somewhere between right and wrong, there is a garden. I will meet you there."~ Rumi

*

Steveharford

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Location: Malvern
  • 1109
Re: Deer protection
« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2021, 07:28 »
Great idea ! Many thanks. I’ve got loads of fishing line too !


 

Page created in 0.133 seconds with 49 queries.

Powered by SMFPacks Social Login Mod
Powered by SMFPacks SEO Pro Mod |