[Subversive_plot]

Despite a chain link fence surrounding the yard, the local white tail deer sometimes jump the fence and get into the back garden where the vegetable plot is located.  Unfortunately, last night they got in, and made a salad out of all but 2 of my tomato plants.  Don't let the Bambi movie fool you, deer are nothing but wild goats with antlers, determined to eat any useful plant, leaving any weeds untouched.

The plants will probably recover given time.  For now, I'm left with only 2 tomatoes developing. 

Task for tomorrow, build a monofilament line fence around the vegetable plot.  Simple: poles (in my case, bamboo) with 3 strands of monofilament connecting the poles.  Sounds too flimsy to be practical, but the monofilament is just annoying enough to the deer that they won't cross it and "invisible" enough that they can't see to jump it.

[Yorkie]

Oh how disapppointing 

Good luck with the fence

[Subversive_plot]

Well, after I whined about my deer problem 5 days ago, I finally put up my monofilament deer fence today.  Total cost of materials under £8.00  (under $10.00 U.S) for an area about 60 feet long x 30 feet wide.  I got the idea from a similar fence that a neighbor has.  Looked it up online, here is an informative website if anyone is interested:  https://blog.seedsavers.org/blog/deerfence

After finishing the fence, I suddenly had a horrible thought about armadillos digging everything up (armadillos are common here).  They dig in the un-fenced front garden all the time.  Then, realized the chain link fence probably will keep them out.


edit to fix link
Subversive edited to fix spelling

[Aunt Sally]

And we complain about moles and rabbits 

[Vagabond]

Hope you've got the wildlife problem under control now. Armadillos! Was thrilled when I saw one in Argentina. Your problems sound so much more exotic and exciting than my rabbit control defenses! 

[missmoneypenny]

You have my sympathies. Tomatoes are my little princesses. But we have blight here, which can be every bit as ruthless as dear....

[Subversive_plot]

Hope you've got the wildlife problem under control now. Armadillos! Was thrilled when I saw one in Argentina. Your problems sound so much more exotic and exciting than my rabbit control defenses! 

We truly have a wide assortment of wildlife.  Honestly, it is a suburban backyard, but in my neighborhood, in addition to the deer and armadillos, we have rabbits, chipmunks, what I refer to as "tree rats" (squirrels - destructive devils!!), the occasional wild hog, wild turkeys, foxes, coyotes, opposum, copperheads, . . . and I'm sure I am leaving something out!

Edited to add: forgot the raccoons, red-tailed hawk, and red-shouldered hawk.  The red-shouldered hawks have nested in our pine trees before, and are very vocal . . . sometimes TOO vocal.

[Subversive_plot]

By the way, posting pictures of the plot and fence:

Larger picture is of my plot, still a work in progress.

Smaller picture shows the fence.  It is intentionally hard to see.  Theory is that small, nearly invisible fishing line is confusing to the deer, and they won't cross what the can't see to jump over.

[Aunt Sally]

Stunning plot 

[Vagabond]

Oh, your place looks stunning.

[Subversive_plot]

Update on my inexpensive deer fence.

Except for a  couple of "operator error" problems (fence installed too close to 2 plants), I am happy to report that my monofilament fishing line deer fence TOTALLY WORKED!

The deer never jumped over the fence, or pushed through it. It has protected my crops all summer long.

[jambop]

I had real problems with deer scoffing all my nice beans and lettuce, strangely never tomatoes... maybe the prefer greens Anyway it was due to my fence being down in places I sorted the fence out 1.5m high mesh and never a problem since. I will say that some down here advocate the electric fence, we worried about our cats so never went that way. The other thing is the deer down our way are not red deer they are Roe deer so 1.5m seems to deter even though they can easily jump over that. All the same sad to hear that the blighters are undoing you hard work. Another thought is ... don't you have a gun???

[Subversive_plot]

All the same sad to hear that the blighters are undoing you hard work. Another thought is ... don't you have a gun???

Short answer is no, I don't (I know, sometimes the assumption is that everyone in the USA has one; not accurate). 

Longer answer:
(1) I am in a residential neighborhood, even in the deep south USA, it is illegal to discharge a firearm within a certain distance of someone else's property, or a public road, I fail both criteria. 
(2) I would never shoot a deer I did not intend to eat.  I have a medical condition that prevents me from eating any meat from a mammal (look up alpha gal syndrome; problem associated with certain tick bites), so that is also out for me. 
(3) The deer sometimes annoy me, but my very cheap fence controls the deer well enough that I don't feel the need to shoot anything.  I have plenty of tomatoes, the deer manage to sneak a few from plants I was a little careless protecting, so my fence served well enough.  I will admit to enjoying having the wildlife around when they are not eating my plants.

Cheers,
Subversive P

[jambop]

You are so forgiving the first thing most would reach for down here is a gun  ... mind you we rarely shoot people who enter our property ?? Funny old world.

[8doubles]

With the fishing line fence do you get problems with small birds hitting it and damaging themselves ?