How to Build a Garden Fence to Keep Animals Out?

Do not blame the animals if you find one or two invalid your garden because all they see is a wide expanse of bare soil full of good foods.

There are many ways to make them go away from your property. Fences are one of them, and also the most effective option. In this article, I’m going to share some effective tips on how to build a garden fence to keep animals out.

Bear

Encountering a bear or two rummaging through your trash or trampling the garden isn’t strange if you live in rural areas.

To get them rid of your precious garden, it’s necessary to know what entices them the most, which is commonly natural compost containers. They dig it for vegetation, roots, and tubers and will not regret spending the most energy to gain access to food.

So, the most effective solutions are:

• Keep fallen vegetables and fruits picked up
• Avoid adding sweet scraps and meat to your compost piles. Add to lime to encourage the decomposition process to be faster, and remember to turn it frequently to keep the post aerated.
• Clean up grills after use
• Spray disinfectants into garbage areas to fade odors that might attract bear, double bagging, and regularly empty them.

Installing a fence to keep them away from your garden is another good idea but it is only effective as long as it features at least 2’ below the ground and 10’ high. Why? Because bears are a good digger and climber.

Besides, use either woven wire or heavy, chain-link, any of which should be a mild electric shock to scare the animal, not to kill them nor your pets, kids, or neighbors.

Coyotes

It seems that coyotes are harmless because they are predator but in fact, if you feed fish in your garden pond or usually allow pets to play there, it’s worth considering.

Not to say that coyotes bring parasites, such as intestinal worms, mites, ticks, fleas, and some diseases like rabies, hepatitis, and distemper that your pets can be affected.

To keep them out of your garden, install a fence that is 6’ high and 12” deep as a minimum while placing 1-foot wide wire mesh on the outside to prevent coyotes from digging under it.

If this doesn’t work, try adding chicken wire, a hot wire, or barbed wire to keep them from getting up high, and sprinkle coyote repellents along the bottom and the top.

For those who don’t know, coyote repellents only affect coyotes as they’re made of heavy chemicals or wolf urine. That means it doesn’t cause harm to humans or your pets. This works as a message that there is a new alpha dog in town but this method is only recommended for small to medium gardens because of its high cost.

If you live in the countryside, using an electric fence or barbed wire is another great idea. On the contrary, a rolling fence is better for urban gardeners, and it is also useful to keep neighborhood cats at bay.

Opossum, Raccoon, and Woodchucks

Raccoons and opossums are king in climbing and digging so ordinary fences won’t work on them. These animals will quickly determine the weaknesses of wire fences to enlarge their holes or rip off loose boards.

My suggestion is utilizing 4’ fences with a barrier to digging and a floppy 18” top unattached so they will fall back on the climbing animal.

The barrier I’m talking about is:

• One electrical strand of wire with eight inches out from the fence base and merely 8 inches above the ground
• Grass mowed on the ground outside of the barrier
• Draping bird netting

Or, you can curve fences bottom up to 90 degrees to make a two-foot-wide apron then bury them a few inches deep.

To keep your highly preferred crops, such as melons and sweet corns against raccoons, make a 2-wire, low electrical fence with one 12” above the ground and another 6” above the ground. Manually or using a light sensor to activate them only from twilight to when the day begins again.

\If you have goldfish or koi in the garden pond, install a separate fence around it for extra protection.

Tunneling Pests

The most annoying thing about these creatures is you hardly detect the damage because they move underneath the ground and snow (during winter) then eat the plants.

Usually, you’ll only notice what happened when the spring arrives.

To avoid it, it’s perfect to start installing guards during spring to fall. The best option is to dig 2’ to 3’ deep holes in the planting areas, use wire mesh to line the bottom and sides of the garden bed, alter the soil, and begin planting your garden.

If you already have a garden, bury wire mesh guards 2’ up the trunk and several inches beneath the soil line, and make baskets or cages to save your prized plants.

Keep in mind to leave enough room for them to grow.

Before the winter comes, make sure to check these guards and adjust them if necessary.

Rabbit

The good news is rabbits can’t jump or climb as high as raccoons or woodchucks but they are good at digging. So the fence bottom should be curved to an angle of 90 degrees, creating a one-foot wide apron.

Burry it several inches deep, meanwhile, the height should be at least 2 feet tall.

The best type of fence for rabbit protection is the chicken wire with holes around a one-inch diameter.

Dogs and Cats

It could be wide cats and dogs or the neighborhood pets, whoever, using a 3’ high wire mesh fence installed with solid posts is an effective solution.

For extra guards, bend the fence base outward to create a two-foot-wide apron along the ground so they can’t dig beneath it.

Deer

Deer can’t dig but they do jump really high so the fence that works on them should be at least 8’ high with a 45-degree angle outward.

Some hungry and strong deer might wiggle beneath the fence so make sure it is kept snugly to the ground. If you find a huge amount of deer around your garden, then installing an electrical solid fence or wide wood fence is a good replacement to deter them.

Conclusion

Before trying any option I’ve just suggested above, always think about its pros and cons based on your garden characteristics (size, the surrounding areas, your pets, and more). If it causes any serious harm, like killing animals or side effects to humans’ health, stop and try another one.

That’s all for this article. Thanks for reading!