Deer Fence Height

Barrier deer fences can be found with many different heights. Some crouch as low as 6 feet, while others soar as high as 10, 12, or 15. In fact the six-footers do about as well as any; but they are unpopular, because people think that the deer will leap over them (they generally won’t); and the really tall ones (over 8 feet) are also rare because they are expensive to ship, install, and maintain. Therefore, nearly all the barrier deer fences installed today have heights in the range of 6.5 to 8 feet.

Most of the time 6.5 feet is plenty. If there are trees and a shade canopy (which makes the deer fencing harder to see and makes the deer worry about running into limbs) 7 feet will generally be fine for deer control, even if you have a long fence extending a mile or more. The trouble comes when the fence crosses an open area as little as a hundred feet wide, because that removes the limb problem, makes the deer fencing easier to see, and thus improves the motivation of would-be jumpers.

Oddly enough, the best deer control answer here is not to raise the fence but to angle it outwards–because as explained elsewhere (see Installation: Securing the Deer Fence Top) a short metal extension at 45 degrees and carrying several monofilament cables will provide far better deer control in open spots than raising the deer fence two or even three vertical feet, and in fact will afford virtually complete protection against jumping deer.

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