PRODUCTS: DEER FENCE GROUND STAKES AND WARNING FLAGS |
 |
|
Use ground stakes (item 18-01, 18-02, or 18-02A) to secure the bottom flap of the deer fence to the ground (see Deer Fence Installation: Securing the Fence Bottom), placing one stake about every six feet along the fence line. This may seem like a minor matter, but it's really important. Most deer fence penetrations happen not because deer go over or through the fence but because they nose their way under the bottom. So it's well worth sacrificing 6 inches of height in your 7.5 or 8 foot deer fencing in order to secure the fence bottom really well. These stakes are intended for that purpose, the 12-inchers being suited to most soils and the 18-inchers being best for light, dry, and sandy soils.
Here's another small but key accessory. Deer will have trouble seeing a properly installed deer fence. You don't want them to find it by bumping into it, because that will convince them it's not dangerous and may encourage them to explore and find out how high it goes, thereby increasing the possibility of their eventually jumping over. Use these warning flags (one per 20-foot fence section) when the fence is first installed and for three months or so thereafter in order to show deer roughly where the fence is and to warn them away with a small white flag similar to the white "flash" a white-tail deer shows by raising its tail to warn its companions of danger (see Deer Fence Installation: Warning the Deer Away). Tie these warning flags (item 18-03) onto the fence at roughly waist height, and in no case higher than 4 feet. |
|
|
