help! deers in blue berry field

[brownmule]

OMG! the deer have found my blue berry field, thay have cliped every one of them. i refencing the field, i have hot ribbion wire on there now, which is nothing to them, any one got a solution to this problem, thinking about once fenced put a dog in there. i planted 100 4 yr plants this spring... now im whiped out! DRN whats me to relocated the berrys get real! too close to neighbor to shoot them with a gun, have to to be 500 feet away from nearest residents.. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] they were no help! Rose

[egon]

A fence about eight feet hig shoud deter them.

I would suggest a main fence of four foot paige wire topped with three strands of barbed wire to about seven feet. outside of this fence and about six feet away run a single strand barbed wire fence so they have no chance at a running start.

Please note I have been building such a fence for some years now. The fence posts are still growing well and the paige wire is stored in the backyard! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Deer can jump high or deer can jump wide but deer can NOT jump high and wide simultaneously. A standard fence is nothing to deer except it may keep their competition out of the fenced area. A tall fence (over 5 ft) with a horizontal component at the top (visualize an inverted "L") is a GOOD deterent to their access. There is some disagreement as to whether the horizontal component should extend to the inside of the "protected" area or toward the outside with some votes for some of both. There is no advantage to using electric fence with this approach as it offers no improvement and is a waste of $.

It is easier and less expensive to make the fence "deer proof" by extending it horizontally than by making it tall enough to do the job with height alone. It is imperative that you mark the added horizontal component with highly visible markers such as white cloth strips tied at intervals along the horizontal components. If the deer don't see it they will jump into it and make a mess of the fence and likely hurt themselves and suffer a lot from the injuries. You should "flag" the horizontal component at the extremes, i.e. farthest apart horizontal parts to show the extent that would have to be jumped.

There are a lot of folk remedies touted as deer deterrents but most have inconsistent or poor results. A fence that is WIDE and HIGH works.

A dog kenneled inside a standard fence might work but the fence doesn't have to be fed or cleaned up after.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[mffarmall]

I find with a deer, that a bullet and room in the freezer works best. It was suicide always works for me.

[Chuck52]

As Pat says, the deterrent factor must be visible to the deer. For three years now, I've protected my garden with a fence composed of cattle panels which are only 52" tall. I attach pieces of pvc pipe to every other t-post holding the cattle panels and run nylon cord at about 6 feet and as high as I can reach between the pcv pipe extensions. I then use flagging tape to make the nylon cord visible. I've had as many as eight deer at a time wandering through my yard, and not once has one tried to get in my garden. I don't suggest this as the ultimate protection for the blueberries, but it does show that it's what the deer thinks it can't get through that matters.

Chuck

[brownmule]

thanks for all your input. gonna try the pvc over the fence post . talked to the Ag guy yesterday he said some times the dogs get use to the deer and wont bark or chase them.. i can see that happening. i got one plant left out of 100 .. ag guy said that the deer know what is more nutrious and will eat the better plants. {makes sence} thats why they have left the wild berries alone. wonder if i could weave ribbon wire up and down from top stand to apear as really tall post inbetween my post? i have an acer to fence and setting post is not the easest thing down there. but im ready to build a "fort fence"if needed [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] Rose

[Chuck52]

Rose,

As a fast thing to try, the pvc and nylon cord can't be beat. If you are down to one plant, this might at least let you see if the chewed up plants will come back. You can always be thinking of more permanent solutions. I do the cattle panel and pvc extension trick because I take down the fence after the growing season, so I can work the garden with my tractor tiller. My garden is only about 60x60 feet, and I wouldn't be able to work that small area with any kind of permanent fence using my tractor. What I plan to do starting this year is put in raised beds, and when I get that done I will put in a permanent fence. That fence will be 5' welded wire. To keep the deer out of that, I plan to have posts inside the fence which will discourage the deer from jumping in. My raised beds will b made with concrete blocks, and I'll have posts, or some cattle panels, or maybe even my famous pvc pipes stuck in some of the holes of the beds along the sides nearest the fence. I can use those things for plants support anyway, and that will give at least the appearance to the deer of a wide barrier. I bet it works without needing the pvc extensions on the permanent fence. Some thing like that might work for you, too. A few feet inside your fence you could run a very visible "clothesline" or something, which the deer would have to clear when they jumped. Actually, either inside or out should do it, which ever is suitable for your situation.

Chuck

[brownmule]

when i laid out my plans for the berry field i placed the rows 10 ft apart so that my compac tractor can get in and out to mow. with plants 6 feet apart.with enough room to tun in to each row with out hitting the fence or a berry plant.. thats what kills me the most, i just didnt "dig an hole "and throw them in. gurrrrrrrrrrrrrr. yes the plants that got niped are try to come back i am gonna loose a few from the looks of things. got irragation orderd had a water meter set. talked to the AG guy today he told me of a farmer who uses "plot saver " can order it from cabellas says it work really well. has use it for 4 yrs some of his neighbors use it now with great results.gonna try it also the kit comes with some kind of wire you spay this repelent on. works for 4 or 5 weeks deer wont cross it.. i guess we'll see.. was wondering if any one else has tryed it?the site is www.cabela.com. i have a bunch of pvc pipe in attic of building i bet my fence will sure be a site when i'm done! LOL Rose

[kellenw]

Run another row of electric fence spaced about 3 1/2 to 4 feet around your existing one.

[Chuck52]

It won't apply to Brownmule's problem, but I'm preparing to put in some blueberries this spring, and I think I'll be able to keep the deer at bay fairly easily. I've made two raised beds, 4x25 feet, and am getting the soil to the proper pH and such over this winter. I spaced the two beds four feet apart for ease of picking and such, and this area is adjacent to an already fenced space containing two other raised beds I have used for strawberries and spring greens. The deer never tried to jump into that area, I think because it is rather small, and the beds are made of concrete blocks. The fence is only welded wire five feet tall, but I believe the deer don't want to jump into an area only about 20 feet wide which has so many things to land on. I plan to just expand the area to encompass the new space for the bluberries, and since I have all those nice holes in the concrete blocks, I'll stick some poles in those and maybe add some flags to create more clutter and make it really look unfriendly to jumping critters.

Chuck