I have deer and am hoping that putting up 6ft chainlink will keep them out. I live in county residential area and there is a creek 3 houses down that runs yr round and plenty of grass and other unfenced yards around so I can't for the life of me figure out why they target MY yard. Even just this month they have eaten my evergreen daylilies to the ground and the iris too and we have had a mild winter. I get a pot and a spoon and chase them off and they are not scared at all and I hope they all die.

So will 6 ft be enough to keep them out mostly? And there is a HUGE price difference between 11.5 gauge wire and 9 gauge. SO wondering if the cheaper one is ok, and I plan to live here for ever, so I want a fence that will last a long time. Thought?

Frilly -- I would say that it kind of "depends." A 6-foot fence is easily jumped by a deer, but if the space inside seems too confined, they aren't likely to do so. So, it kind of depends on how large an area you are fencing, and what else is inside the fence.

I have a 2-1/2-foot fence around my garden, in the middle of the woods here where we have lots of deer, but no problems with them getting into the garden -- which I attribute to the fact that I have several tall trellises for beans, and large wooden tomato cages and a greenhouse on one side... I think they just find it too intimidating in terms of possibly getting trapped.

Well, I have a chain link fence around part of my back yard and at one time the deer hopped over it like a rope laying on the ground. But it is only maybe four feet. Later I put a bed outside the fence it is about five feet wide. I just plant regular stuff in there, but just recently added some roses so not sure how that is going to work out. Plus I added a bed of roses on the outside of the fence. I did that because my new neighbors have two big dogs and they (I hope) will act as a deterrent to the deer. My point is, that once I added the bed outside the fence it stopped the deer from jumping into my yard. I think it made them think they had to jump the full width of the bed and the fence and with a bed already inside the fence I think they thought even with the low fence that was too big of a jump to try. Really I don't think it is much of a physical barrier for them, but it seemed to mess with their mind. Yes they still nibble on a few plants outside the fence. The strange thing is that most of my daylilies are completely unprotected on the outside of the fence and they seldom mess with them. The only reason I can think of for this is that they are planted in a bog and it is very muddy and maybe the deer don't like standing knee deep in mud as they eat breakfast?

Doing 2 fences at different heights will throw the deer off and they won't jump over it. They do this at Powell Gardens (non-profit botanical garden near me) to keep the deer out of the fruit tree staging area. They had one staging area that only had one fence and the deer got in there and damaged the trees but once they did a second one the deer stayed out. They use wire fencing.

It is my understanding that deer can jump tall and they can jump wide, but they cannot jump both. Also that they prefer not to jump over privacy fencing because they cannot see what is on the other side and don't like to jump blindly like that. I am lining the perimeter with shrubs and stuff so hopefully w that and the 6ft combined it will keep them out. They really love my iris and daylilies.

I went to Lowes and looked at the 11.5 gauge wire and it seems ok to me ? The 9 gauge is very heavy, used more for a security application I would think? and it is very expensive!

So I got a quote back from guy and he says $5,500 to put in 6ft chainlink (400ft) and 3 walk gates.

Hubby has suggested electric fencing , which I had not considered. Thoughts on that? How tall would that need to be?

I would think it to be much cheaper and that we could install it ourselves? the chainlink is so heavy and so much more work, we couldn't do it ourselves.

It would be way cheaper , but the question is would it be allowed in your neighborhood? I have heard of people having great success with it.

I am in the county, so I don't think it's an issue, plus I think you put up signs? to warn people it is hot. I would probably turn it off during the day, when we were home and stuff. They mostly come out at night and eat everything down while I'm sleeping!

I just can't find anything to say how tall it need to be...

Here is a pretty good guide for electric deer fencing. Most sites do recommend leaving the fence on 24 hours a day, so the deer to not test it when it is off.
http://www.wildlifehotline.org...

thanks for the link, I'll check it out. I would need to turn it off when we are home because I let our poodles out and I also have a Bob. (definition of a Bob-a small boy, relation or otherwise, whom you love dearly and will always be small to you even when he is all grown up, Bobs usually say the cutest things, and most think pickles and ketchup are vegetables).

well I need a cannon that can detect deer and then fires itself obliterating them... where is Wiley coyote when I need him?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

youtube video about how this guy uses buckets, tin cans and fishing twine to keep out deer. Has anyone tried using something like this?

I know it doesn't look that great, but quite frankly I care so much about my garden and am so poor, I don't care what it looks like. My neighbor next door is kind of snotty and her yard is an unkept mess so I'm not inclined to care what she thinks either

They do sell plastic slats for 6 ft chain link fence , you could turn it into a privacy fence.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cas...

http://www.wirelessdeerfence.c...

now this is interesting. These are stakes you put in the ground and they are baited with a deer attractant. Then they go to lick it and it gives them an electric shock, much like an electric fence without the fence. Site says that the deer then associate the area with the shock and stay away. what think you all of this idea? Cost is about $20 ea plus shipping and they use a standard battery.

krobra said:They do sell plastic slats for 6 ft chain link fence , you could turn it into a privacy fence.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cas...

yes, but I don't have ANY fence! Can't afford $5,000 right now to put up 6ft chainlink, which I have a notion would not keep them out anyway... Sigh, I just HATE them!

Read somewhere that a guy laid out some chicken wire flat on the ground and they stopped coming into his yard, they didn't like to walk on it?
I wonder if I could lay it over some cement block to keep it up off the ground and not rust...

How many running feet of any type of fencing would you need?

Frilly do not waste your money. I have the same problem. I wanted all this 4 acres of property so I could plant and not have to worry about running out of room. The 8' fence was already around the area that most of my planting area because the previous owners had to have the fence up because of the swimming pool and a large pond. The deer jumped the 8' fence and ate every hosta an daylily in the garden in one night. I thought well at least they do not eat iris. The next year they ate all the iris.

Pirl I need 400 ft of fencing.

Cinta, so have you found anything that works? I will have to put together a long range plan of moving to a different place (in town) if I cannot find a way to keep them out. I would rather give up my house than give up on my garden. But I don't have the money to erect alcatraz here. I lived in a subdivision before and never had any trouble.

http://www.amityfarm.com/ohdee...

ok this guy uses an egg/water mixture and sprays his plants thoroughly and says the deer leaves them alone.
Anyone tried it?

sounds pricey if you are spraying several hundred plants.