This is the space between our hedge (left) and our neighbor's fence (right) where deer got access to our back yard. At first, they stepped over the existing low fence and followed the narrow "corridor" between the hedge and the neighbor's fence to the other end, took a left, and into the north forty. When I first noticed they did this, I strung another section of low fence above the first. But they weren't dissuaded and knocked that patch job down. Maybe the deer just can't see fence and bounded through as if it wasn't there.
A few days ago I cut an 80cm section of taller fencing to fit the gap and fastened it in. I attached the right side directly to the neighbor's fence. I pounded a stake in the ground on the hedge side (that was tricky) and attached the other end of the new fence piece to it. I also tied the stake to the thick hedge trunks with wire to provide some extra strength. I'm hopeful that this new patch will deter the deer and, if not, will provide an effective barrier if they try to force it. We're talking roe deer, here, so they're on the small side. Time will tell.
UPDATE: This morning I tied strips of white fabric to the fence so the deer will be more likely to see it and not try to go through.
That should do it. Our acre in Connecticut wasn’t fenced and was half woods. The deer liked to visit. At that time of year, we sprayed all our shrubs with some kind of urine spray. It actually worked. Nothing worked for the woodchucks.
ReplyDeleteThat’s an intriguing looking path, no wonder the deer like it. Attaching pieces of fabric to the fence section was a good idea.
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn
Your post made me wonder what colors deer can see soooo…. google to the rescue. They see blue the best but are color blind to red and green so your choice of white was good.
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn
they can't jump over?
ReplyDeleteGood work! I bet this does the trick. I bet, with your current hard-as-rock soil, pounding that stake in was a tough job.
ReplyDeleteI would probably also weave a few branches through it - but I tend to be a belt-and-suspenders type of gal.
ReplyDeleteYou said that strip of wooded land doesn’t seem to belong to anybody. Are you sure it is not yours? If it is in déshérence, escheat(?), may be the mayor can sell it to you at a nominal price? It is worth looking into it.
ReplyDeleteIf you could buy it cheaply, some of the trees could be cut down and the savings on wood stove wood would pay for it. A win/win situation, no?
Deletemitch, you and Jerry peed on the shrubs? LOL
ReplyDeletebettyann, blind luck, as it were.
melinda, I don't think so. It's 1m20 high, and from where I was standing taking the photo, there's a ditch. The roe deer are small, so I don't think they can jump that high, at least without a running start.
judy, the stake didn't go in very far. There are also lots of shallow tree roots in that spot. It's under the maples out front.
sillygirl, that's a good idea!
chm, if we owned that land, we'd be responsible for cleaning it up. More likely, paying someone to do it. This (in the photo) is not that land, though. This is the eastern strip that runs along our parisian neighbor's back yard.
That WAS suggested. Instead, we went to the nursery and paid for pee.
ReplyDeletemy experience nothing stops deer other than predator signs like dogs.
ReplyDelete