Electric Deer Fence Installation

+

 

=

I hate deer.  They live to break the branches of any fruit tree they can get to.  This includes 1/2" thick branches right at the trunk -- I suppose they think it's a challenge.  Any branches that survive end up stripped of leaves.  Oh, and they really like apples (even ones that are bagged).

It's not just fruit trees they fancy.  We planted six or seven heirloom tomato plants that Carrie grew from seeds this year.  They grew up nicely and then the deer broke through the "fencing" and ate both the tomatoes and the plant.  Once wasn't enough. As they continued their snacking throughout the season, they also ate unripe watermelons (who knew), all of our strawberry plants, and the last few pounds of our muscadine grapes.

So after several broken branches, endless swearing at the evil that is deer netting (we never caught a deer, though the mower caught its fair share of deer netting), and much debate over what type of fence to build, we finally decided to try an electric fence.  A solar powered electric fence using polywire (seen photo above) to be exact.  We already had the T-posts from the failed attempt at using deer netting as fencing (never do this unless you want to catch rat snakes).  The remaining parts we ordered from Amazon and The Deer-Shock Depot (very helpful people).

For anyone wanting to install one, I'll go over what we did. For anyone that has done so before and sees potential problems, please let me know.  A small garden (ours was 70'x40') can be done in a weekend once you have the charger charged and the parts ready.  I make no claims that this is the best way to do this, so be sure to read your equipment directions.

The Parts

First the tools we used (all of these can be found at Lowes or Home Depot except for the tester):

• T-Post Driver - Strongly suggested as a hammer will not drive them deep enough.
• Post Hole Digger - Needed for wooden post to mount the solar powered charger.
• Fence Tester - One with a voltage readout and made by the same company as the charger is recommended.  Do not use a normal voltmeter.
• 2' Level - To aid in leveling the T-Posts so they are straight.
• Wire Cutter and Stripper - For cutting the polywire and heavily insulated hook-up wire.
• Hammer - For driving the grounding rods in (after the T-Post Driver does most of the work).
• Philips Screwdriver - For connecting the grounding wire.

Now for the actual fencing items:

• Solar Powered Charger - Buy the most powerful one you can find. Parmak 12v or Parmak 6v.
• T-Posts - We used 6' ones, spaced 15' apart plus an extra one for the "gate."  (Lowes/HD)
• 1 - 4"x4"x8' Wooden Post - For mounting the solar powered charger. (Lowes/HD)
• Polywire - Multiply number of lines by fence perimeter.
• Insulated Hookup Wire - Connects the charger to the grounding rod and fence. 25' or more depending on the number of grounding rods used.
• T-Post Insulators - To hold the wire away from the T-Post. Multiply number of posts by number of lines being run.  We used yellow 2" offset insulators.
• 10 Polywire Clamps - Used to splice together polywire and used at line ends.
• 6' or 8' Ground Rod and Clamps - One clamp per rod, 1-3 grounding rods depending on soil and fence length.
• Split Bolt Clamps - Connects hookup wire to fence (very useful).
• Gate Handle and Gate Anchor Kit - 1 per line run.
• Line Tightener for Polywire - 1-2 per line run to add tension to the wire.
• Warning Signs - At least 1 per fence side.
• 2 - 2.5" Decking Screws - For mounting the solar powered charger. (Lowes/HD)
• Bait - Aluminum foil and peanut butter or scent caps every 20'.

The more expensive items will be the charger ($150-$300), the posts ~$4/each, the post driver $25, the grounding rod ~$20/each, and possibly the tester.  Good polywire is around $21 per 656' and has a 5-year UV warranty.  Even if it doesn't last as long as aluminum wire, I suggest using polywire for its ease of installation and its ability to be rolled up if you need to change your fence layout.

This may also be a good time to signup for a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial to get  free, fast shipping on almost all of the items above. If you're ordering things in batches or want to make sure that your items are delivered as quickly as possible, it's great.

I suggest running at least two charged lines.  One around 1' to 1.5' from the ground, and one around 4'.  If you keep your area very clear, you may want to run the lower line 6"-8" above the ground to prevent the deer from trying to crawl under.  We ran an additional line in between those and connected it to ground.  If a deer touches it and a charged line it will receive a full shock from the charger, though I do not know how often this will happen.

Proper grounding is very important, so do not skimp on the length and number of grounding rods.  Without adequate grounding, the charge produced may not be enough to deter the deer.

So for maybe $300-$500, depending on the charger and length, you can install an electric fence.  And even if you do install a nicer fence later, you will likely want to keep the electric fence as an outer defense.

Preparation

First, we picked a location near the fence that received sun for most of the day as the site for the charger.  If you don't have a sunny spot, then you will have to investigate using an AC powered charger or manually charge the battery every few weeks (two batteries would be recommended if you do this).  Our charger does make a bit of a ticking noise as it pulses, so you may not want to install it too close to a patio or deck if that bothers you.  Be sure to check your charger's manual for other guidelines on selecting a location.

Next we calculated the fence's perimeter and determined how many wires to run.  This determines how much wire and how many posts, insulators, and "gate" items we needed.  Note that the "gate" is just an insulated handle that you will unhook to get into the garden after turning off the power to the fence.  For this reason, we mounted the charger near the gate.  We bought a slinky style spring gate but decided not to use it as we will be turning the power to the fence off whenever we go into the garden.

About two weeks before installation we sprayed some herbicide on the weeds growing under the perimeter of the fence.  Weeds that touch the fence wires will cause a short to ground which greatly lowers the voltage that is delivered, so proper upkeep is important.

Finally, a week before installation we started charging the solar powered charger by simply setting it on the ground facing south into the sun with its power off.  We made sure all the other parts were ready to go so that we did not run the wires and then realize that we could not complete the installation.  Knowing our deer, they would have torn down the uncharged fence and run off with the polywire.  I hate deer.

Installation

We picked a sunny weekend to avoid trying to install the fence in wet conditions -- probably not the best time to install an electrical fence.

First up was getting the T-posts driven into the ground properly.  Since our insulators face forward on the T-post (the side with the bumps), we had to pull and re-drive the corner posts.  This was done to prevent the polywire from coming into contact with the T-posts as the wire bent around the corners.  If the wire touches the T-post it will likely short to ground, so this should always be avoided.  At each corner, we aimed the T-post forward (bumps facing) the center of the garden.  When the wire is later run, it will go through the insulator on the inside corners of the fence.  For the other T-posts, we aimed them facing forward outside of the fence so that any deer pushing against the wire would be pushing the wire into the insulator and into the post.

For the "gate," we installed one T-post about 5' from another T-post.  This gave us a place to install a handle onto the end of the wire.  You simply unhook the handle from the gate anchor (a piece of metal with a hole for the handle hook that is attached to the T-post with a custom insulator) to get into the gate.

Next we dug a hole about 2.5' deep for the wooden post.  Once leveled, we tamped the dirt around it and mounted the solar powered charger to it with two screws.  After that came the grounding rod.  These are not a lot of fun to drive into the ground being 6'-8' long.  A combination of watering and using the T-post driver worked pretty well, and we finally got all but about 10" into the ground.  We're currently only using one rod until we can come up with the final fence layout in the spring.  Since our dirt is fairly dry and sandy, we'll definitely be wiring in another one (about 10' apart) next year (possibly sooner if it doesn't start raining more).

Using the insulated "hook-up" wire, we connected the black terminal on the charger to the grounding rod with the grounding rod clamp.  Whenever connecting the wire, we used the largest (10 gauge) hole on the wire strippers to remove about an inch of insulation.

Next, we cut a piece of hook-up wire about 6" longer than the distance between the two fence wires that would be charged.  We then made a 90 degree bend about 3" in from each end of the wire to form a "C".  After stripping 1" from the ends of the wire, we used a split-bolt clamp to connect the insulated wire to the top run of the fence.  Before connecting this to the bottom polywire run, we ran another piece of insulated wire from the red terminal on the charger to the connection point.  Finally, we connected the bottom polywire run, the insulated wire attached to the top run, and the insulated wire from the charger together using a split-bolt clamp.

That was about it for installation.  We did run one additional middle wire and connect the grounding rod to it. After this, the only thing left to do was to attach the polywire line tighteners in the middles of each run to add a bit of tension to the wire.  We didn't over tighten the wire to avoid breaking it or any insulators.

Testing

Finally it was time to test.  To make sure the charger is outputting the proper voltage, we temporarily disconnected to wires from the terminals and connected the fence tester to them.  Our Parmak 6V charger measured 6500V which is quite a bit under its 9000V specification.  Then we hooked the wires back to the terminals and tested each polywire against the grounding rod and also got a 6500V reading.  Testing against true earth ground in various places along the fence is a little weird, but it hopefully gives a better indication of how many grounding rods we need.

Update: I contacted Parker McCrory who make the Parmak 6V solar charger that we purchased and was told that 4500V-7500V is "normal" for this unit even though it claims 9000V output.  When asked how one could get 9000V out of the unit the response was "I dunno."  So if you have a long fence or do not feel like baiting it, I would suggest getting their 12V unit which he claimed would output 7000V-9000V.

Baiting

The last step was to bait the fence.  Some people bait their fence and some people use repellent on the fence. Since we had bait, we opted for that choice.  Every 15' around the fence we wrapped a doubled-up piece of aluminum foil around the polywire and applied a bit of peanut butter to the foil.  The idea is to "train" the deer the avoid the fence and hopefully prevent them from trying to knock it down or jump over it.

Maintenance

The goal now is to simply keep weeds off the fence wires and check the voltage using the tester periodically.  If the solar panel gets dirty we'll just wipe it off with a damp towel.

Results

This is what I came home to two days after finishing the installation.  I'm a bit worried that they're already trying to come up with a way to get past the fence.  I'll post some more results after it has been running for a while.  Last fall and early spring were the worst times, so I'm definitely curious to see how it will fair then.  For now it seems to be working, but I'm sure the deer will just move on to something else in the yard...

Oh, one last thing: I hate deer.

Update

Be sure to continue baiting the fence and always make sure to turn it on at night.  The fence worked great until we forgot to turn the charger back on for a week.  I would also suggest getting the stronger 12V charger if possible if you are in an area with strong deer pressure or might have some weeds touching a charged line.  We had up to 10 come through our yard at a time.