Chinese Flowers And Meanings

A good fence is one of the best ways of keeping deer off your property, and out of your gardens and other areas. Even if you don't live near a forested area, deer are still quite common. As long as they're not harmed, they can live in urban neighborhoods with a few trees and bushes. And, of course, your gardens!

Deer eat a variety of plants, flowers and bushes. And since they're cute - think Bambi - people often add to their diet by stocking feeders with lots of other treats like sunflower seeds, apples, corn and other things that deer enjoy.

The trouble is, the deer don't know the difference between what's on the menu and what you want them to stay away from. If you've got landscaping shrubs or a garden in your yard, they're just as likely to snack on those.

A good fence can help stop them, but what does a "good" fence entail?

The main requirement is a fence that's tall enough to stop the deer from leaping over it. It also needs to be strong enough to stop them from pushing through, and of course it needs to be far enough away from your plants or shrubs that they can't just stick their head through between the rails and reach them.

Your fence doesn't have to be as high as a deer can jump, necessarily. When a deer is frightened, or extremely hungry, it might be able to leap a five foot fence or higher. But that is on rare occasions - generally a three foot fence is enough to stop them from getting into your yard, especially if there are other sources of food nearby.

In other words, your fence doesn't have to be tall enough or strong enough to stop every deer - it just needs to be taller and stronger than your neighbor's!

Chain link is one option that works well and doesn't cost a fortune. Just make sure you choose a designs that doesn't have sharp spikes at the top. It's not only dangerous to people around the fence, it can hurt the deer if they get caught up on it somehow.

Even if you're not particularly concerned about hurting the deer, you still want to avoid this. A wounded deer can get scared, and be more likely to hurt your plants and other things in your yard.

A wood fence is another good option that tends to be more attractive than chain link, but you'll need to ensure the rails are close enough together to keep the deer from squeezing between them. Anything less than 12 inches is generally adequate.

Dale MacDonald writes about and other related topics at