Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard

Started by jalentour, December 29, 2014, 05:30:34 PM

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jalentour

I have planted 25 apple and pear trees and plan to plant 25 more this year.  All trees are young and about 3-4 years from producing significant fruit.
Trouble is that anything not caged gets chewed up by the deer.
Right now I am wrapping each tree with a 6' tall by 4' in diameter deer fencing.  Sooner or later this will become impractical. 
I'd like to look into fencing.
Has anyone had any luck with electric fencing to keep out deer?
Are any products better than others?
Any particular design better than others?

jayj200


Michael Bush

My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
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GSF

Deer and goats are first cousins. An electric fence don't phase a goat.
When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt, but protects the corrupt from you - then you know your nation is doomed.

BlueBee

A fence alone won't phase deer unless it's 8' tall.  The double fences will work, but they're also very expensive. 

IMO, the only reliable solution is a fence + a dog.  The deer don't mess around in a dogs territory.

The only thing I've seen that eats more stuff than a deer is a goat!  They'll strip everything bare.

jalentour

I live too far from the property, 75 minutes, to have a dog there. 
The fruit trees are about 150 yards from the barn, so ac power is going to be tough, especially running it thru trees and a creek.
A double wire fence does sound expensive.  I'd like to do this orchard, maybe that's just the price I have to pay.

jayj200

wouldn't that be called a farm?
would that not reduce the taxes
the savings would pay for the 8FT fences yes

minz

Tree farmer here has an 8? electric fence. It works some times.  He says in hind sight that if he would have slanted the fence so that the deer and elk have their face and feet touch at the same time they will not try it (hind sight is 20/20 but when you are fencing 40 acres you get what you put in).  I guess it is the same theory of the double fence.

Poor decisions make the best stories.

jalentour

Minz,
Is the slant towards the orchard or away from the orchard?
Joe

minz

I asked him and he sent me this link:
http://anr.ext.wvu.edu/r/download/51668
after looking at it I would have told you the wrong direction.  Pretty good info and it appears to be something new (1985) LOL jlust wire rather than field fence would keep your cost down further.
  He sunk posts all the way around and put heavy galvanized wires on insulators (not field fence).  He was just telling me they were digging trees and looked up and had a big bull elk inside the fence.  They chased him and in a panic he ran through the fence. Tore the fence up really bad, If you see that fence you could not imagine anything going through it.

Poor decisions make the best stories.

jayj200


jalentour

Thanks Minz,
That link pretty much sizes it up.
Joe

Kathyp

we have a few acres in fruit trees.  electric won't keep deer out and won't keep rabbits from barking the trees either.

fortunately, the deer leave the trees pretty much alone when the trees reach a few years in age.  they just trim the ends a bit.    in the mean time we encircle them with chicken wire so the deer can't strip them and wrap the bottom couple of feet of the tree so that the rabbits can't chew them. 

that repellent stuff seems to help also.  it's kind of spendy for a lot of trees, but you can make your own. 

fruit that falls to the ground gets eaten by everything from yellowjackets to coyotes.  you can only do so much   :wink:

use some tall t-posts or rebar and wrap the chicken wire around that so that the deer can't reach the leafy part of the tree and strip it.
The people the people are the rightful masters of both congresses and courts not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.

Abraham  Lincoln
Speech in Kansas, December 1859

hivebuilder

I have a garden in deer country . if you string the yellow electric string about 3 to4 feet off the ground ,cut aluminum pie tin in triangles fasten to the string -- fold the rim over and paint with peanut butter . use solar fence charger. it may sound foolish but it works !! one lick and they don't come back. take down and plant turnips and get a deer from the same garden .meet and veg from the same garden.     olehunter