Outside of inviting a pair of roving mountain lions into your garden to act as deterrents, installing a deer fence is your best option to keep deer out of your garden.
This installation isn’t for everybody! It requires a good amount of work and can quickly become an expensive endeavor. But the results speak for themselves.
Our expert tutorial provides DIY instructions and all the tips you’ll need to do this installation at home, in your own yard. Plus, you’ll find suggestions for where to find some of our favorite tools and materials to get started.
How Much Do I Need?
I work at a few properties that use deer fencing to different degrees, but one in particular dwarfs the others.
The property stretches on and on, and is completely surrounded with fencing to repel deer and other visitors. The only section not covered by the barrier is the driveway, and you can bet your bottom dollar this is the only way in or out for our four-legged friends.
Don’t worry – covering your whole property may not be necessary. Putting up a barrier just around your vegetable garden works wonders too! One of my clients allows the deer to chomp down on her ornamentals, but she fences in her vegetables to keep them safe and secure.
Take into account natural barriers and structures that could serve as portions of a wall, eliminating the need for fencing. That twenty feet eaten up by your shed may seem inconsequential when you’re ordering hundred-foot rolls of fencing, but it could save you from purchasing an additional, wasted roll.
What Kind of Supplies Do I Need?
You can improvise a lot with this project. The base requirements are the fencing itself, some kind of support to mount the fence to, and something to tie the fence to those supports.
Supports – Anything You can Attach your Deer Fence To
- Lengths of rebar that are 9-10 feet in length
- Specialty deer fence posts (more on this detailed below)
- Existing structures
Fasteners – Anything You Use to Attach your Fence to Supports
- Zip ties (my preferred option)
- Strong but flexible wire
- Rope (choose a synthetic material to avoid degradation)
- Staples
Installation Tools – Anything to Help Install Your Fencing
- A strong hammer for driving supports into the ground
- Wire cutters to cut wire and fencing (good pruners work well)
- Staples and stapler (carpenter staples are ideal)
- Gloves (the fencing can have some sharp or pokey parts)
Ladders – Strong and Safe Support to Reach up High
- We love to use the Little Giant style ladder, but any safe ladder that reaches these heights will work
How to Install Deer Fencing
The basic premise here is the same no matter what installation method you choose. I will describe each step of the process, and do my darndest to address likely scenarios you’ll run into along the way.
1. Outline Your Fence’s Perimeter
Do you know how many people start this workload without considering where they’re even going?!
Use a measuring wheel or old fashioned tape measures to assess the distance your fence needs to cover. This way, you’ll have a good estimate of how much fencing you’ll need. But consider a factor of about 10% extra that you’ll need to cover errors in total fence material needed, mistakes, and eventual replacement.
Watch Out! Remember to take into account the total distance eaten up by permanent structures like buildings, thick hedgerows, and other obstacles.
2. Lay Out Your Corners
Not building your fence over a square area? That’s okay, “corners” is interchangeable with “cardinal points.”
Your goal here is to give yourself definite reference points to tie your fence into. When you run into a complication or error while you’re doing the installation, you can always take a step back and reference your laid-out reference points to get back on track.
Watch Out! Place some high-visibility tape or spray paint so you can spot those points without squinting too hard.
3. Start Your Installation
Yeah, let’s get fencin’!
Open the fencing roll and attach it to your first support structure. If you’re a stickler for a clean and sharp look, you can snip loose all of those hanging bits from the edge of the netting before attaching it.
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