Fencing type for deer

I've seen it mentioned that Toby Hemenway and Jerome both put fences around their property to keep deer out. Any idea what kind of fencing was used? Or what could be affordable for fencing deer out of a larger area?

We have successfully fenced white tailed deer out of a fifty by fifty foot area with a nine foot fence...six feet of welded wire and added extensions to nine feet with just strung wire every ten inches or so. Eight foot fence posts and all was several hundred dollars...really cost prohibitive for us to do more. Inside the fence is where we plant the things the deer love and outside we take our chances. We circle individual fruit trees with hog wire. I can't imagine fencing our forty acres.
I hope someone can answer your question...it's a good one!

The best idea for a deer fence I have seen is two fences . They do not have to be tall .You can even use post and wire. The key is having the fences three feet apart. One slightly taller than the other. The deer will not jump the outer fence into the space between them. They can not navigate that complex a problem.

As I've mentioned in other posts, I've had very good results with a single strand of baited electric fence wire, whether atop or outside of an existing physical fence or else by itself. Hang the wire at about nose height of the critter you want to exclude, and fold little tags of aluminum foil on the wire every ten feet or so. Put a swatch of peanut butter, jelly, or some such bait on the tags, facing outward. The deer will be attracted to the bait, give it a lick and get a really good shock. They won't be back for months. Usually I wait till I see the first sign of another challenge or nibbling and then re-bait....maybe 3-4 times a year. Needless to say this is WAY cheaper and less work than any kind of physical fence adequate for deer control!!

I have also used this same technique to get goats to respect double electric wires. The trick with them is to place the wires on the inside of a physical fence so they encounter the electric wire first. After a few attempts and licks, they'll usually respect it.

I've seen Wayne's suggestion of a double fence (though not in real life) doing double duty. The space between fences was used to house chickens that ate insects and garden scraps. Supposedly it helped with insect problems in the garden, and the birds could be turned into the garden after harvest to help clean up vegetation/overwintering insects in the soil, as well as fertilizing the ground a bit.

Our friends had a double fence work for thirty years and then during last summers drought the deer jumped both fences and gutted their garden. Up until then only one deer jumped into the area between the fences. They made the gap wide enough for a couple swaths with a mower and they usually had chickens there. Cost wise I think two fences at four or five feet might be comparable to a eight or nine foot fence.

Well , I'd never tried the double fence myself. This year the deer are eating at my young apples. I really like Alders electric wire idea. Where I am there is plenty for deer to eat . I don't think they would need much incentive to go find an easier meal.

I've seen the two fence system recommended a lot, but i've never understood it. If you're going to the trouble of putting up two short fences that provide a psychological barrier, why not put up one tall fence that is a physical barrier?

We've used a single strand at about knee height for the past 36 years with 100% success, in a high deer populated area. Have never needed to bait it, though, as deer are naturally curious and cautious creatures and will explore it with their noses to gauge the height of it before hopping over it. Will be using it again this year and expect the same level of success as per usual.

I was almost convnced about electric fence, but then I remembered all of the other critters our fence keeps out...armadillo and rabbits being the main ones but also it deters even the climbers like wood chucks and racoons and possoms, and the stray male hunting dog who would like to 'claim' something.
I hope someone can answer Matt's original question though.