Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => FARMING & COUNTRY LIFE => Topic started by: jalentour on December 29, 2014, 05:30:34 pm

Title: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: jalentour on December 29, 2014, 05:30:34 pm
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?
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: jayj200 on December 29, 2014, 06:07:49 pm
have you looked at Night Gard?
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: Michael Bush on December 29, 2014, 06:17:44 pm
I didn't have any luck with electric.  If you put up two fences a few feet apart it works...
http://www.hillgardens.com/deerfence.htm (http://www.hillgardens.com/deerfence.htm)
http://www.arcadia-farms.net/keeping-deer-out-of-the-garden/ (http://www.arcadia-farms.net/keeping-deer-out-of-the-garden/)

There are a lot of options I haven't tried here:
http://icwdm.org/handbook/mammals/Deer.asp (http://icwdm.org/handbook/mammals/Deer.asp)
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Mammals/WhitetailDeer/FencingtoExcludeDeer.aspx (http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Mammals/WhitetailDeer/FencingtoExcludeDeer.aspx)
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: GSF on December 29, 2014, 09:10:17 pm
Deer and goats are first cousins. An electric fence don't phase a goat.
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: BlueBee on December 30, 2014, 01:28:16 am
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.
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: jalentour on December 30, 2014, 01:09:57 pm
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.
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: jayj200 on January 04, 2015, 08:48:24 pm
wouldn't that be called a farm?
would that not reduce the taxes
the savings would pay for the 8FT fences yes
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: minz on January 05, 2015, 06:01:26 pm
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.

Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: jalentour on January 07, 2015, 04:52:43 pm
Minz,
Is the slant towards the orchard or away from the orchard?
Joe
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: minz on January 08, 2015, 04:26:46 pm
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.

Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: jayj200 on January 12, 2015, 02:03:48 pm
tilt the fence so the fruit can not get out
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: jalentour on January 12, 2015, 05:46:20 pm
Thanks Minz,
That link pretty much sizes it up.
Joe
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: Kathyp on January 19, 2015, 12:39:30 pm
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.
Title: Re: Any luck with solar or ac electric fence for orchard
Post by: hivebuilder on February 26, 2015, 11:49:06 pm
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