My deer rant

Chartman,

You probably won’t have to worry about those small bucks for long. In order to distribute genetics, young bucks are forced from their home area by their mothers at about 18 months.

The best exclusion I’ve found is a Gallagher-style e-fence. They are a 3-dimensional fence that exploit a deer’s vision system weaknesses. I fenced an acre of soybeans one year in the middle of a pipeline. I planted a total of 5 acres that year. Deer kept all the beans not fenced naked all summer long. The beans inside the Gallagher-style e-fence canopied and were 6’ tall by the end of the summer.

It is the most effective thing I’ve found short of high fencing. Depending on your tolerance for esthetics a 5’ privacy fence will also work. While deer can easily jump a 5’ fence, they generally don’t because they can’t see if there is danger on the other side. Chain link (or any fence they can see through) needs to be a minimum of 10’ to really keep deer out.

One more fairly effective solution is an outside dog. In an environment where esthetics are important, you can use an invisible fence to keep the dog in the area. Deer quickly learn the limits of the dog and stay just out of reach.

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