OT - Deer vs. Electric Fence

[deerwhacker444]

I've got a nice grove of persimmons that put out bumper crops every year. This little grove is visited by every deer within the area when the fruit starts hitting the ground. Only problem is, the local 4 legged beef vacuums beat the deer to most of them and don't even leave the smell.

This year I want to put up an electric fence around the grove to keep out the cows.

Question is,..will deer touch the fence the first time and be spooked or will they simply jump over it and enjoy the persimmons? I'd think with such an ample and cow-free food suppply, the deer would be all over it.

What say you,..what's been your experience with deer and hotwires around a food source or feeders...?

[vancelw]

All I know is an electric fence (nor anything else) will not keep the deer out of a pea patch, so I'm betting it wouldn't keep them out of the persimmons. Especially if you left it fairly low.

Deer get all my pears every year. They can have the persimmons, too. By the time they are ripe enough to not pucker me up, they are too close to rotten to suit me.

[86er]

If you stick to one wire, and mark it with cloth tape the deer will readily learn to navigate it. Be aware that does will prefer to go under while bucks will tend to jump over. Make the height accordingly.

[Blaine]

I don't think you can keep deer out of an area.....I've seen them clear the high, high concertina topped fence at Jefferson Proving Grounds with hardly a care in the world.

[Marc]

I put an 8' fence around my garden and some of my fruit trees to keep the flop eared varmints out. That has worked for the last several years. I thought about trying an electric fence but it doesn't seem promising.

[Bronco]

Howdy,
I have a friend that had a deer problem with his garden for years, bad. One year he used some hog wire around the perimeter about four feet inside, and four feet tall, of the six foot exterior fence. He said that the deer seem don't like not knowing where they were going to land. He says that if he can get his mother to not forget to shut the gate the deer won't get in. He used the interior, hog wire, fence for tomatoes and other vines to grow on.

John

[RIHMFIRE]

put the electric fence up...
but in one area interupt the fence with a gap the deer and you can easily
get through, but close enough so the fat cows cant get though...
My neighbor put the post on one side in a y shape and the other side the last post
went in the middle of the y....cows cant make the turn
the electric wire then went over head at that point....
only problem is smaller calves might get in...

[bigfred44]

I have hunted property with cows and all we ever needed to keep them out of food plots and away from feeders was three strands of barb wire

fred.

[BigSky56]

I have a 5' electric fence up around my garden with hot wires at 1-5' and ground wires in between, it doesnt work on WT deer but does on elk moose and mulies, with pulse charges the little buggers come up to the fence and sense when it pulses and go on thru maybe if I hooked up 110 it would work Ended up attaching 5' stiff plastic deer fence with 1" squares to the top wire. danny

[2571]

1. Airport at Alpena , MI had deer problem on runways. Installed a 10' fence. Deer just jumped over it.

2. Some folk use two electric fences, 3-4 feet apart. Deer have poor depth perception and hence, are afraid of landing on second wire.

3. Nothing will keep deer out. They're just big, brown rats.