How to Build a Deer-Prevention Fence

Install deer fencing to protect vegetation from grazing deer.

Field crops, orchards, gardens and landscape plants can seem like an open buffet for hungry deer. The damage that deer are capable of inflicting on vegetation can be considerable as well as costly. Installing a deer fence can be an effective method to deer control. T-posts with plastic mesh fence is one solution that can be installed and then removed as needed later on in the growing season.

Things You'll Need

• T-posts (9 foot minimum)
• T-post driver
• Plastic mesh fence (7 feet high)
• Plastic zip ties
• Wooden stakes
• Hammer

Instructions

1. Determine the path that the fence will need to follow around a field, orchard, garden or landscape.

2. Install 9-foot-long T-posts every 10 to 15 feet following the determined path of the fence. Drive the T-posts into the ground with a post driver. Set the post in the ground, place a foot on one side of the T-post and force the point of the post into the ground. Finish driving the post with the T-post driver.

3. Attach one end of the 7-foot plastic mesh fence to a T-post with plastic zip ties spaced 10 to 12 inches apart.

4. Pull the plastic mesh fence to the next post, secure with zip ties and continue the process along the fence line.

5. Insert wooden stakes through the bottom mesh of the fence and into the ground every 2 feet. Drive the stakes in with a hammer.

References

• Alpha Rubicon: Fencing Basics
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - North Dakota; Protecting Trees and Shrubs from Deer; Craig Stange; May 2008