I’ve been experimenting with unconventional solutions to deer control.
I installed a radar (just because I’m strange) to track animal (and human) movement in my front yard orchard in late 2022. It would play a sound inside whenever there was unexpected movement so I could run and chase away the deer. Worked plausibly well for 2022-2023 and creates some exercise for me as well.
Late last year, I added a network speaker that plays samples of Austrian yodling depending on where the radar spots movement because, again, I’m weird.
Does it work on deer?
Not sure. Deer pressure was way down so, as best as I can tell from the radar and the cameras, no deer attempted the yard this past year.
Does it work on humans?
Absolutely. Scares the living daylights out of me, my wife, and anyone else who wanders into the yard. (New Hampshire, so no one normally goes to the front door…)
Does it work on others?
I’ve seen some pretty amusing video of coyotes and foxes who trip the radar, hear the sound, and run away as fast as they can. Of course, I’d like them around to help with the deer problem. I also get odd questions from my neighbors – who are fortunately a decent distance away – about the strange singing in my yard. So far, everyone is more amused than annoyed.
(I’ve added 7.5’ fencing around my nearby orchard for deer protection. It’s worked so far but, again, very little deer pressure since it was installed. I just can’t fence in my front yard effectively because of a driveway hence the other creative solutions there.)
Part of my little orchard is in a fenced-in back yard with a 5’ fence that the deer are perfectly capable of jumping. The deer are not in the least deterred by two scrappy little 25-pound mutts. I saw them placidly munching on one of my mulberries while the little yappers were circling them and barking their heads off.
But I also have a large male German Shepherd. He has free roam of the property, both inside and outside of the fence, because he is a good boy and won’t run off. When he spies a family of deer, he gives no warning, but flattens his ears and sprints at them, tail straight, as fast as he can run, without making a sound, like a predator. The deer are not fans of these tactics at all.
I’ve no idea what he would do if he caught one, and the deer don’t seem to want to find out either. They usually stay away for quite a while – months, sometimes – after getting chased off.
My GSD’s big problem is that he is a pretty lousy watchdog – he’s bold but not alert. He’s just too chill. If something goes bump in the night, he’s apt to just stretch or yawn and you can almost see the “it’s probably nothing” thought-bubble above his head. It doesn’t help that the little guys yap all the time about everything, because he filters them out as wolf-criers. He has to happen to be outside and personally witness a threat (like deer) before he’ll take action.
I think if your shepherd mix ends up having the right personality – bold, intimidating, and alert – he could be a serious deterrent to deer. In general, though, I think a big dog is only a part of a good layered defense.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Based on what you said I may cage the most critical stuff. I think based on what you said he will be a good deterent though. He’s a little too watchful - he loses his mind if turkeys walk to close to the house presently. Hes convinced the UPS and Fed Ex guys are sent by the devil himself since they have the gall to approach the front door.
Looks good! Deer are easily deterred with only a 6 foot fence. There are some things i would do asap to make it work. Large trees on the other side of the 6 foot fence will prevent a deer from jumping over. Lets say if all around the perimeter inside you had callery rootstock which grow quickly and taste badly to a deer they not only dont want inside but the large trees quickly block them from making a running jump to get inside the orchard. Another small fence on the outside of the big fence also prevents them making a running jump. Watch how they cross fences and you will see what i mean.
A 5 foot fence will keep the deer out if they aren’t habituated to the fenced area. If they’ve been using and feeding in the area now fenced in, then you’ll need an 8-9ft fence. That’s the major reason why experience varies as to fence height need to deter deer.
I put in a 5ft fence in CA and had no deer inside for three years. Here in Texas, it took 8ft to do the job.
Nice fence. With it so open, I dont think it would work where I am. The deer can see forever and I think that gives them confidence. I am putting in a large garden at my parents property that I bought last year. Im going to try a sorta crazy setup. Because its so hard to dig more than a couple feet before running into tons of stones, Ive decided to put up a motion sensor that will turn on an outlet, much like a motion light does. And to that, Im putting one of those crazy tall inflatable dancing tube man things like you see on the road at car dealerships. When the motion turns on the sensor, the air pump will rise this thing up and it will pop up and down for 10 minutes. Apparently deer see Blue and Yellow 20 times better than we do, which might explain why I never got many deer hunting in blue jeans… so maybe one of each color. I will have a 5 ft fence surrounding the area and these guys a safe distance from the fence so they dont get torn. I am curious if anyone has tried something like this before.
Beautiful…good luck with your planting! I wish I had that much land…I’m jealous!
Does 6 feet work with deer?
Just depends. I’ve seen deer standing completely still in front of a 6-foot fence and hop right over it. Then I saw one deer, maybe it was sickly, that crashed into the fence with their head a couple times trying to jump it. I’d say it may deter some, but if you got the crazy deer we have, they may jump it. Time will tell.
In 2008 I tried guerrilla gardening with fruit trees. Planted 3 of them in the wild along with lots of small food plants. Big trees, about 6 - 7 feet tall. All trees were shredded and killed by deer. Nothing small grew either.
Another thing is to make a 2nd duplicate fence that is 4 or 5 feet back from the outer fence. Deer do not like jumping into areas like that. But might as well just go 9’ and get it done.
If your 6’ fence does not work, deer proof each tree. I posted on this before.
Unfortunately, no audio. The cameras record it, but, due to changes in audio format licensing, I can’t actually play what’s recorded anymore. The video itself is pretty funny without the sound but, agreed, it’d be brilliant if it had the audio and the reaction!
I agree totally. 8’ is the minimum. What you can do is put a cheap 4’ or 6’ wire fence within 6’ of your present fence and that will stop them from clearing the 6’ fence.
The dancing clown sounds neat. But for the long term it’s fairly easy to turn a 5ft fence into 8ft. Build a solid T post 5 footer. Then add 4-6 wires above that. Cheap, thin, electric fence wire on rebar will deter the deer. That’s what I did.
Nice. I like that its not top heavy. I sorta tried something like that on top of a 5 foot tall Split rail fence at my house. It wasnt for the deer but for my Lakeland Terrier. She would see a squirrel and run diagonally at the fence in a frenzy following them as they ran along the rails and I found her perched on the top rail twice. It was crazy to see her banking along the fence and ending up on top. I screwed smaller green metal fence stakes to the wood and then strung black chicken wire between the 8 foot sections. It worked but I have to admit , it was tough to keep the chicken wire stretched straight so it would look neat and tight. I ended up threading an electric fence wire along the entire top of the chicken wire and along each stake to give it some support. The wired will work a lot better and easier and Im thinking of incorporating an electric fence with insulators into your design, esp. off that top rail of the original fence. Thanks for posting the great pics.
just noticed that you drilled the metal pole extensions and strung the wire through them. Love that. Otherwise, I was wondering how to keep the wires from slipping down the poles. Had to zoom in.
I cobbled that together with what I had on hand. The rebar works with less effort because it’s a bit rough. The roughness makes it easier to attach the wire. I think on some I just wrapped one turn. It’s held up nearly 20 years without issues.
That is a great looking property, fine job! In my experience, a fence like that stops most deer problems. Of course, they have no problem jumping that fence. Most of my damage comes from deer wandering past trees and munching leaves or rubbing the bark. They don’t often jump a low fence to do this. I’ve had them jump over my son’s 8’ soccer goal with ease when they got spooked, though (actually, one went through the net and one went over). For my garden, I built a low fence for rabbits and then used wires at 5 and 7 feet to use as a grape trellis. No deer have entered the garden.
