Is your attempt at deer proofing your garden agitating you more than it is them? You’ve tried hanging aluminum pie plates like clanging mobiles, the sprays and sprinkling blood meal and red pepper flakes over the area to protect your green space. While it may prove effective for a short period of time, eventually deer and other wildlife critters become accustomed to the tactics and work their way around them.
A metal deer fence meticulously installed to protect the perimeter of your garden is truly the best and most efficient technique to encourage wildlife critters including graceful and bouncy deer to seek pastures other than your own.
Whether your green space is hilly or flat, expansive or limited, the durability and weather-resistant qualities of deer fencing will allow you to harvest the full extent of your garden every year without an animal incident.
But, as powerful a resource for deer proofing your garden as this type of fencing is, there are also several other ingenious and effective reasons to consider installing it.
- As a Pool Fence – Most regions require a four-foot-high fence to surround an in-ground pool. This is to provide protection from injuries, drowning, electrocution, etc. Deer fencing is a viable solution and may be more cost effective than typical ornamental fencing and gates. It can also be used as functional decorative fencing to keep deer and other small animals out of the family area.
- To Keep Your Dog Safe – Deer fencing is made of incredibly strong material and will keep your dog from straying. Before deciding on the height and area of your fencing, you’ll want to consider just how enthusiastic your dog likes to be. Also, determine how high he is able to jump and how much space he needs to run and be happily active. Adequate fencing allows you to have peace of mind that you’ll be keeping him in, while keeping wildlife critters and their tick and flea infestations out.
- As Removable and Temporary Plant Protection – When winter arrives, deer and other critters tend to be more aggressive in their efforts to find food. If a patch of shrubs and trees in your green space is regularly assaulted by them, consider installing deer fencing to protect these plantings during the colder months. It can always be taken down during the spring and summer if it’s no longer needed.
- To Gather Leaves – Raking or blowing leaves onto a tarp every year can be a cumbersome, thankless job. Fallen leaves can also blanket ornamental shrubs and deprive them of sunlight and needed moisture. Laying down a light weight deer fence to collect leaves during the fall is a safe and easy way to gather and discard them. Simply roll up the fencing and empty them into an appropriate leaf pile for decomposition.
- Protect Trees from Deer Rub – Deer use trees for several different reasons other than a food source. During the fall season, bucks use trees to rub off the dried velvet on their antlers. This, along with marking trees with urine during mating season, can cause significant damage and expose the tender inner bark of the trees to dangerous conditions. Protect trees seasonally by wrapping deer fencing around their base. Eventually, deer will learn to find other areas for their needs and molting purposes.
- Supplement an Existing Ornamental Fence – Rodents can squeeze through the tiniest of spaces. Deer can leap higher than the height of an average sized man. Supplementing ornamental fencing with deer fencing will allow for both the beauty and grace of the decorate fencing, with the practicality and functionality of the deer fencing.
- Use Deer fencing as a Trellis – Climbing plants need a vertical space to grow. Whether you have limited horizontal space or want to make the most of every inch of your green space altogether, providing a framework is essential. Climbing plants such as tomatoes, ivy, and wisteria require support and a structure to climb. Deer fencing will assist even the smallest climbing plantings to thrive in any environment and reach their full growth potential. Deer fencing is strong, durable and easily stretched to accommodate the size of the planting area you have designed and cultivated.
- Garden Fencing – Regardless of whether or not there is a deer problem in your particular area, you likely also have rodents who are fond of your crops. Deer fencing keeps groundhogs, raccoons, bunnies, skunks, hedgehogs, mice, voles (and others) from pilfering the harvest you’ve worked so hard on.
Cohabitating with deer and other omnivores should be arrived at by peaceful means and ultimately achieved via gentility and kindness.
While most gardeners and those who wish to keep their lawn free of deer-borne diseases choose deer fencing as a means of protection for themselves and their garden; deer fencing also provides a host of other unique uses which can become easy solutions to many problems that land and homeowners face.
