Wavy Deer Fence

Hello all you lovely permies!  I'd like to introduce you to the Wavy Deer Fence!

I built it two years ago based on design discussions and methods discussed in Creative Fence Idea - Will it work?.  So feel free to peruse that thread for more detail.

In summary, it's a free standing deer fence that is constructed from remesh (grid that they put in cement slab floors in the place of rebar).  My 350' fence had two corners so I needed the equivalent of four posts for the entire fence.  And the cost was around $270.  I added rabbit/chicken protection for an additional $140.

The fence works on the principle that deer won't jump two 4' high fences that are 4' apart.  The body of this fence is a 5' high run of remesh that weaves back and forth.  Since it won't stand up on its own, I run a length of wire down each side of the fence connected to the waves in the fence.  I also run one wire down the middle.  Those three wires hold the remesh in position, like the struts holding a biplane wing together.  Those wires also act like a series of three fences to the deer, preventing it from jumping.

Another bonus to this design is that the remesh is rusty.  So it disappears into the landscape.  I used the cheapest wire I could buy (electric fence wire) but you could use any strong wire.  The wire is also hard to see so you may want to put ribbons on it (for people).

I doubt this would hold up to containing animals with any strength/size to them like pigs, goats or cows.  And I'm sure a bear or person would probably get through it if they wanted.  But in two years I haven't had chickens or deer get into my protected area.

I'd love to see more people try this out.  I'm wondering how it would handle antelope, elk and moose.  I'm wondering if there are easier ways to implement it.  

I think that if the fence could be arranged in an ameba or circular shape, it wouldn't need any posts except for where you have a gate.  

Another caveat is that it probably is best suited for flattish ground.  But it would be neat to see if it could wander up and down terrain.  

Nice! I have heard of this technique. Sometimes even several single wires are used. I will be very interested to hear how effective you find it in practice.

I'm hoping more people give it a try so that we can prove it works in more circumstances and locations.  I'm starting year number three with it working well.

Glad to hear it's worked well for you over the last two years. (My mistake, I misread.)

In the orignal thread you suggested a long lifespan, perhaps 15-30 years for the unprotected mesh. Based on the corrosion rate you're seeing now, do you still feel that will be the case?

I haven't measured or tried to document the rate of rusting.  But, I use this remesh for tomato cages and I'm still using the same cages that I built 10 years ago and they seem to be just slightly more rusty then when I made them.  And they've been out in the elements 365 days a year.  So I'm confident the fence will go 10 years and I'm pretty sure it'll do 20.  I'm in a somewhat humid and decently wet part of the world (vehicles get pretty rusty after 15 years here).  So if you're anywhere drier it should last longer yet.

One other feature/experiment I haven't done is to cut the bottom wire off of the remesh.  Then it could stick into the ground up to 6".  That's how I use this stuff for tomato cages.  I'm not sure if it would be a benefit for this fence design or not but I'm throwing it out there in case it could help with your situation (dealing with minor terrain issues?).

it sure is attractive.

This is brilliant! Knowing it has been in use successfully for a number of years is especially compelling. I love the look and my husband will love not having to drive t-posts. :)

I'm guessing that the corrosion factor would depend on where one lives. Dry climates would have better longevity than humid ones.

That is a cool looking fence, Mike. I have not tried it yet because I fear that keeping the bottom of the fence clear may be an issue. You seem to have solved that issue. Also, if you mow the other side, the fence may be too wavy to allow the mower to follow the fence closely? [Obviously, on the inside, you will have the critters eating their fill.]
In other words, how wavy does it have to be to be effective?
What do you have on the ground, under the fence? It looks like ... what kind of mulch? It certainly gives the fence that well cared look. Kudos on your project!
Deer have their eyes on the sides of their face, and so, they cannot combine the view from both eyes to judge distance well. I think that this is the principle at play here.
What I'm trying to keep free of critters is my garden [about 50 X 75]. I planted posts, placed hooks on them so I could hang but also remove cattle panels at a moment's notice. I'm hoping to have the entire zone in raised beds. I have most of it now and the higher area is on the house side. I'm growing asparagus beans on that fence, so they can't see through. [Well, soon, they won't be able to see through]
Although my fence is not wavy [straight rectangle] and the fence is as low as 5 ft in some areas, the deer do not dare jump, in spite of all the goodies on the inside. As you know, 5 ft is much lower than they can jump, but I think that they fear they will not stick the landing if they attempt because the beds are in the way. Also, a 2 "X 4" running the perimeter at the top gives it a beefier look than in really is. Both techniques, I think, use the same principle: The deer will not risk a bad fall. A fence that they cannot see *over*, like perhaps covered with grapevines might achieve the same goal. This year, I also have forage peas that the deer can browse outside of the garden, so perhaps a little sharing with them will keep them from broaching the fence too!. Chickens will have access to the forage peas too once in a while.
Your fence sure looks good!

Thanks Cecile!  It looks the best when it's first built.  We put cardboard under the mesh and covered it with 4" of wood chips.  That has held back grass but we do have sheep sorrel that is taking it over now.  So maintaining the growth where it meets the fence could be an issue but it's similar to any other fence.  

I can mow right up to the wood chips but I have to duck so I don't hit the wire.  It has taken my hat off a number of times.  On one side of the field I did wood chips all the way out to the far extent of the waviness so that the mower can go in a straight line.

I agree with the concept that they won't jump a short fence that they can't see through.  I have a few other pallet fences that are practically opaque and they deer don't jump them.  And I also agree that they won't risk a jump over a short fence if there are raised beds and other dangers on the other side.

i like it, it uses little in the way of posts and appears to be cost effective, how are you attaching the bottom of the mesh?

Very true Devon, it's quite affordable and I think it only needs posts if you have gates or corners.  It's good for deer and big nibblers but I wouldn't try to contain anything to large with it.

To attach the chicken wire to the mesh I used hog rings.  Is that what you were asking?

Actually I'm wondering how you prevent critters from simply pushing low and causing the fence to swing upwards if it's not attached somehow at the bottom?

Well, the kinds of critters I'm trying to prevent from getting in are deer and rabbits.  The fence is pretty heavy and tied together by the three upper wires so I'm not sure that I could lift it up enough to slither under it myself or push it in enough to hinge up a section to get under it.  

If you're worried about cows lifting it with their horns, this isn't the right kind of fence for that application anyway.  I'm not sure if elk or moose would attempt that?  

If you did want to stake it down, you could.  Alternately if you set it on the ground and let grass grow up around it, that would also tie it down fairly well.

Ok good to know, the remesh I've worked with is pretty light so I would expect it to move in my environment, but perhaps stakes as you say or a low wire would be sufficient

I read through this and the other thread a few days ago and noticed you looking for a tighter way to join the wire to the fence. And I noted your use of "hog rings" with which I am unfamiliar. And then today, I happened across an advertisement for a "type m nail ring pliers" which looked cool and like what I'd want for building one of your wavy fences, so I searched a little more and found that many of them use the phrase hog rings also. I just ordered this one to play around with. So first, is this the same thing you were talking about? If so, in what way were they deficient? And, since I'm posting anyway, how are the things you've planted to eventually succeed the metal fence doing? In ten years do you figure the plants will be more valuable than the remesh?

Hi Christopher, the hog rings I'm used to can't close enough for this application.  If you tried to cinch them around a pencil they wouldn't be able to grip it.  BUT, your pliers look like they might clamp down to a smaller diameter.  And there could be different types or grades of hog rings that would clamp tight.  

The things I planted are barely as tall as the fence.  I'm hoping the remesh lasts a lot longer because my particular living fence may or may not ever become a "fence".  

I got asked about this and yes, it's still working just fine! A scared deer smashed into it a few years back and just dented it and broke one of the wires. It didn't get in. So I bent it back as good as I could and tied the wire back on.  

This is a pretty genius idea. I've been looking at options to provide initial protection of hedging and shrubs, a deer barrier. Something like this could be pretty easily taken down and moved somewhere else to continue the hedgerow, I'm seeing some places selling 150 x 5 for $140.
I'm curious though, did you experiment much on the amplitude and wavelength of the waveyness? presumably as the wavelength increases and the amplitude decreases the force needed to tip the fence over would decrease. This seems an interesting theoretical/engineering problem. It would allow one to estimate what would be needed for typical wind loads.

I didn't deliberately experiment but rather fit the wavelengths to the size of the field.  A long period saves you on remesh but makes it more floppy.  A short period is much beefier but you use more remesh. I'd stick with 5' as a minimum amplitude for deer jumping prevention but you could go bigger.  As long as you don't have a bunch of greenery vining on the fence, the wind just blows thru it.