I was wondering what peoples experiences are with fencing their downwind side? My property is about 350 yds x 900yds and I wanted to run about 200yds of barbed wire down a section of the long side of the rectangle. I have west and south access and want to hunt the western and southern fringes, so fence along a section of the southern boarder would help protect me on any wind with north in it. The section I want to have deer avoid already isn't utilized much and I'm not planning to avoid that area when it comes to TSI or trails. So, I'm essentially trying to make a few acre dead zone. You can get away with small amounts of most things, but I'm not sure at what point it becomes weird with too much fencing..? I will also probably get airtight box blinds, but I don't want all my eggs in one basket..
Fencing downwind side
- Thread starter Joe7296
- Start date
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
They will cross a barbed wire fence anywhere they want. Either jump it or crawl under.
T-Max
5 year old buck +
If they can jump it, it won't do too much to deter movement. I would suggest making that area undesirable in other ways? Or just make the areas you DO want them as desirable as possible.
Do you think this if for very long sections, or any fence? I see trails around fences all the time in farm country..
I thought about hinging instead of fencing but I thought that might make the area desirable..
T-Max
5 year old buck +
Deer move like water taking the path of least resistance. They will go around it if given a chance, but I have found that if the distance is too far, they will just jump it.
jsasker007
5 year old buck +
Even with a fence that's waist high if there is a low spot in the fence they usually will prefer to cross at the low point. jmo
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Any fence. Deer often walk along a fence as it most often has "edge" associated with it. And they will often cross at the easiest spot (open gate or tied down top wire). But I don't believe a standard barbed wire fence will keep deer out of an area they want to be in.
Well this has been very informative.. I’ll definitely have habitat improvements at either end to promote movement there. I also didn’t realize how robust this may potentially need to be. Maybe I’ll put in a fence with tighter spacing at deer level and add strands vertically if the standard fence height doesn’t have the intended effect? It would be through a section of woods so I could just keep stapling them higher up trees, and i‘ll make sure that the few metal posts I’ll have to use are tall enough from the start to accommodate vertical growth
You didn't mention where you are (what region, for plant options). Or how patient you are on this goal...
I'd think if you planted eastern red cedar every 3 or 4 feet, then in a decade or two when they were tall enough to be a height barier, they'd be dense enough to be a challenge for deer to get through. It would also provide visual screening, which I like at my property lines. And if you want deer to pass anywhere in particular, cut down a few to make a hole. You can get these trees for around 70 cents each (plus shipping). The other nice thing about planting them that close: as they get bigger you'll need to thin some. So you can remove all the females as they become apparent, which will prevent them from spreading across the property.
Most trees I spend far more time & money protecting than I spend planting. But red cedars we throw in the ground (30 seconds to a minute per tree) and replace the ones that die. Very few things like them, and they're drought hardy, so you can neglect them and still get many to grow.
BTW, a Kansas forester told me a while back KFS is hoping to identify a low cost way to identify male/female in red cedars. If they suceed, they'll destroy the female seedlings and only sell males. The trees have a useful purpose, and if females are eliminated the invasiveness isn't an issue.
I'd think if you planted eastern red cedar every 3 or 4 feet, then in a decade or two when they were tall enough to be a height barier, they'd be dense enough to be a challenge for deer to get through. It would also provide visual screening, which I like at my property lines. And if you want deer to pass anywhere in particular, cut down a few to make a hole. You can get these trees for around 70 cents each (plus shipping). The other nice thing about planting them that close: as they get bigger you'll need to thin some. So you can remove all the females as they become apparent, which will prevent them from spreading across the property.
Most trees I spend far more time & money protecting than I spend planting. But red cedars we throw in the ground (30 seconds to a minute per tree) and replace the ones that die. Very few things like them, and they're drought hardy, so you can neglect them and still get many to grow.
BTW, a Kansas forester told me a while back KFS is hoping to identify a low cost way to identify male/female in red cedars. If they suceed, they'll destroy the female seedlings and only sell males. The trees have a useful purpose, and if females are eliminated the invasiveness isn't an issue.
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
Cool pics
Sorry forgot, I’m in central NY and I’d rather not wait a decade haha. I’m happy to wait that long for fruit and nuts but I was hoping for a quicker solution here. The area I want to fence hasn’t been an area deer frequent but pushing them would open up a wider window of error on the wind. I already have pretty solid access up a creek so the spot would be close to bullet proof..
I have seen pics of people running double fences on food plots to take advantage of depth perception challenges that deer vision has. Kind of a wierd thought, but has anyone ever tried a double barbed wire or high tensile fence for directing movement.. same concept, just not protecting food in this scenario.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
If you're willing to spend the money i say go for it. If it doesn't work as intended you can always modify it, or take it down. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
Barbed wire is relatively cheap so I might see how it goes. I wasn’t sure if the food plot fencing setups I was referring to only work if energized (I.e the deer gets shocked before it can size up the fence to jump it)
I've heard of this, but never tried it myself. Something about they can't or won't jump a wide barrier, and don't want trapped between the barriers.
