electrical deer fence

berrycrush · Jul 29, 2014

I am looking for advice on grounding my electrical deer fence. Since the fence posts are metal T-posts, I am thinking of running a bare wire clipped to every post at ground level and use it as the grounding wire. Anyone has experience do something similar?

havlikn · Jul 29, 2014

Fleet farm sells a kit for around $35 dollars that has 3 grounding rods about 6 ft long. Simple to install and includes all the necessary hardware.

salcoco · Jul 30, 2014

the standard grounding procedure should be followed next to the electric charger. However the premise for an electric fence is that the animal provides the grounding path to complete the circuit from the hot wire to create the shock. Deer hooves can be a good insulate and sometimes the shock is not affective. I found that I would extend the ground wire along with the hot wire with the ground wire about six to eight inches below the hot wire. in this configuration the deer would hit the hot wire and ground wire at the same time around there necks. to entice the deer I added metallic tape every three or four feet on the hot wire smeared with peanut butter. deer lick peanut butter gets shocked never come back. works great.

berrycrush · Jul 30, 2014

salcoco said:
the standard grounding procedure should be followed next to the electric charger. However the premise for an electric fence is that the animal provides the grounding path to complete the circuit from the hot wire to create the shock. Deer hooves can be a good insulate and sometimes the shock is not affective. I found that I would extend the ground wire along with the hot wire with the ground wire about six to eight inches below the hot wire. in this configuration the deer would hit the hot wire and ground wire at the same time around there necks. to entice the deer I added metallic tape every three or four feet on the hot wire smeared with peanut butter. deer lick peanut butter gets shocked never come back. works great.

Peanut butter bait? That is cruelty!

That is what I figured to be effective for deer. Thanks for sharing!

GreginND · Jul 30, 2014

salcoco said:
the standard grounding procedure should be followed next to the electric charger. However the premise for an electric fence is that the animal provides the grounding path to complete the circuit from the hot wire to create the shock. Deer hooves can be a good insulate and sometimes the shock is not affective. I found that I would extend the ground wire along with the hot wire with the ground wire about six to eight inches below the hot wire. in this configuration the deer would hit the hot wire and ground wire at the same time around there necks. to entice the deer I added metallic tape every three or four feet on the hot wire smeared with peanut butter. deer lick peanut butter gets shocked never come back. works great.

Great idea. Can you tell me more information about your fence? Do you have more than one hot wire and at what heights?

Thanks.

Chuck-crisler · Jul 30, 2014

The idea of running an auxiliary ground wire a few inches away from the hot is clever, I may have to try that. The effectiveness of an electric deer fence is influenced by your 'deer pressure'. Basically, how many deer you have around. The more deer, the more likely the fence will not be as effective. I didn't want to bait my fence (sounds like way too much work keeping peanut butter on the foil strips) so use a higher voltage (so I was told). My energizer is rated at 10,500 volts. My cheap tester can't read that high so I don't know if it actually has that voltage but it sure smarts when I touch it! I have very light deer pressure but never have a deer problem when the fence is on and working. I shut it down during the winter because the snow will short it out. I have been told that it is the only way to keep bears out. Since I have bee hives and bears are within 20 miles of my house, that is a concern. No bears yet! Of course, everyone knows that electric fences attract tree limbs that knock them down!

salcoco · Jul 31, 2014

the fence was around my garden. the fence is about 4 ft tall on insulator made for "T" posts. the ground wire was just below about 6 -8 inches tied directly to the T posts. as far as adding peanut butter, I only did it about once or twice during the season. I sued grow tubes to protect the grape vines. once the vine extended above the tube I raised the tube up the support another two feet. I always had a 6ft high cordon trellis, the deer would only eat any vine that was in there field of vision. never really bothered anything in the fruit zone. most damage if any was along the edges. once feed was available elsewhere never bothered us, but they sure loved the garden in early spring.

GreginND · Jul 31, 2014

Wow, you must have very low deer pressure. A 4 foot fence would do nothing to keep them out. They would just hop right over it.

DoctorCAD · Jul 31, 2014

4 foot wouldn't even slow them down...

havlikn · Jul 31, 2014

i have a four foot fence with peanut butter to bait the deer. I had damage before the fence was in, deer biting the vines just as they came out of the grow tubes. Since the fence has been up, I haven't noticed any damage.