I tried the fishing line method a couple years ago. It worked well for a few months until the local deer population finally learned they could push through. After years of trying various methods, I finally moved to a solar electric fence, and haven't had any problems for several years.

@JTRUTH2025

9 ай бұрын

How high is your electric fence?

@fxm5715

9 ай бұрын

@@JTRUTH2025 It's only about 5.5 feet. Yes, a deer could jump it if it wanted to, but that's not what electric fences are really about. If you want a physical barrier, you need to go a lot higher. Deer understand physical barriers and how to get through, around, over them. The shock of a fence is a different matter. The shock isn't a physical barrier it's a, "holy shit, something freaky scared me over there. I'm not going to get too close again," barrier. As long as the fence is on the first time they encounter it, it only takes a couple zaps to train them to keep away. Once they have learned the lesson, the fence is mostly just a visual reminder until next season when there is a new batch of fawns to teach.

In Colorado and Kansas, we use a white plastic grocery bag tied or stapled about three feet high on a tree, bush, or you can staple them on top of your stakes. This imitates a deer "flagging' a panic signal as the breeze blows the plastic bag a bit. They run away thinking there is danger. And....it keeps the plastic bags out of the landfills. Place a few around the garden stapled on your stakes and see what happens. Good luck!

I have used this method successfully myself - including the bells. You can purchase 600 yards of 30 lb line for a little over $5. I used map[e branches for posts and some clamp-on fishing bells I had around. The line *may* last 2 years. Since then I now have 6 foot tall 2x4" welded wire fence. It works well, and also doubles as a trellis for climbing plants. The deer around here are fat and lazy - they can't be bothered jumping over a 6 foot fence. I also try to plant some things outside the vegetable garden that they can go to town on, hostas and things of that ilk.

SO so many great comments, experiences shared, and ideas and strategies. I hope folks read through and learn from this amazing community. I want to be sure to remind people that this is not meant to be a perfect and long lasting solution, but a place to start to help protect crops during the growing season. Your results may vary of course, but at least it is very very low cost and can be reused elsewhere or you can undo it and go fishing!

I used the fishing line method about18 years ago in Alaska. I put it up with the tallest green bamboo stakes I could find with 15lb test line wrapped around the stakes less than12" a part. I left the line attached, so if I had to fix it it was just a matter of running the line again. I left the fence up year around. The bamboo is easy to replace if one broke. The bamboo lasted a couple years and didn't show up in pictures. I had at least a 1000 Tulips planted a deers favorite candy hundreds of Daffodils, countless Crocuses. This fencing worked perfectly for me. On the local Garden Tour I knew people would want to be taking lots of pictures. It was easy for me at that time to maintain.

Adding a second fence around or inside of your fence would make it a "3D" fence which really does a great job of stopping deer. They don't like jumping over gaps and a 3D fence, especially an electric one, really throws them off and they just don't bother. Sometimes really hormonal bucks in the fall will attempt it, but otherwise they are pretty fool proof.

I've been researching deer fence because the deer pressure here in central PA is immense. I am going to give your concept a go! Thank you for sharing your ingenuity.

@alexandereyre1148

2 жыл бұрын

Same boat in Eastern OH - will share results!

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

Hope it works well. Remember, it is inexpensive, quick and easy to do, if it doesn't work right away, repair and persist, and fingers crossed it gets the crop to the fall!

Goodness. We have deer in our garden daily so it's stopped me from growing. Glad this is working for you.

I always read comments from the amazing community! Wonderful having a place for tips and so forth from your videos and this wonderful community! Blessings 🥰

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

So many great comments in these videos!

if your fence stops working to keep the deer out, try another experiment for us please ... put another fence line inside, or outside, of the original, with the same monofilament line at some different height levels ... supposedly the deer will perceive this as a 3d object and avoid trying to jump it.

I've just started trying to build myself a fishing line deer fence right now. Thanks for the recommendation to NOT hang visuals, makes it easier. Also, I was putting many strands, just two and I could finish it tomorrow! Woohoo! Also I was fretting over how to build a gate with no skills/tools. wire circles will be so much easier! My Dad died last year and I am trying to do something with his amazing market garden that's gone all to weed. I already got a gorgeous mixed flock of 8 chicks, (2 started laying this week) into his coop & run, and let them out just this evening into the special chicken-safe garden I've weeded of all the bad stuff and planted full of the tastiest weeds. How they love wild lettuce!!! I got it growing and am even "wasting" water in our drought-ridden & soon to be wildfire-threatened NorCal region. (But I am growing them as free fodder watered from a well right near a river.) Trying to get plantains and dandelions established, only the toxic weeds are everywhere. I will add a compost/woodchip pile to grow your easy sprouts for them, soon. Thank you so very much!

@edibleacres

Жыл бұрын

So much going on there, wishing you vibrant and healthy gardens.

The 3D gate concept is excellent, thanks!

I saw this technique online (website rather than video) two years ago and gave it a try--it's been pretty successful. Not 100%--it's been breached a couple of times--but close enough for an ornamental garden that nobody's depending on for their sustenance or livelihood. Unlike heavier techniques it can get through ice storms, and if it doesn't you can replace it easily enough. The theory (as you noted) is that deer don't see the fishing line so they're spooked by the invisible barrier and don't test it more--so don't go higher than 30, and don't go for colored line because they see it more easily.

I once watched an Hopi elder talk about planting corn out here in the desert southwest. His point is to plant for everybody, the crow, the deer, the rat, the rabbit, and you. For example, this means putting 6 to 7 seeds per hole, say of corn, that way every one has something to eat. It makes sense and more importantly it works. I plant this way all the time now and I see where the critters, mostly mule deer have come and taken a bite and moved on to the next bite of whatever. This year they browsed my radishes, corn, cilantro, okra,...you get the drift. For me this means I quit worrying about brother deer or sister rabbit because they leave plenty behind. What is really fun is after everything is burned off by a few frosts, the deer show up to clean up, so I don't even bother with picking up the mess in the veggie garden until late winter early spring when prepping for the next growing season. They eat it all down to the nub. I'm talking about tomatoes, all the brassicas, corn stalks, wheat heads, (which I interplant with everything,) squash vines, chili pepper stalks, all of it. And they leave their droppings and urine behind.

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

I appreciate this sentiment for sure

@bookswithatwist-vanvelzerp9262

Жыл бұрын

LOL My sister rabbits are not that kind - perhaps I have too many - they decimated completely everything I planted this year - as in down to a stock stub that died on every plant but amaranth. I will have to put a proper fence for next year - because it was a crying shame to watch all those heirloom seeds pop up and then gone the next few days.

@Ahijahprince

Жыл бұрын

Hahaha, your dear leave stuff behind? Not around here they don't. What they don't eat is whatever they don't like. Everything else will be razed to the ground!

Just lost our green beans to deer. Need to try this! Thanks much!

Excellent information. It's so frustrating for us this year, the deer are coming up, wagging their tails and treating us like we're pals from the old neighborhood.

@DE2borknot2b

2 жыл бұрын

🤭🤭🤭

This video does a better job explaining this issue than many, many of the other videos I've seen here on YT. Thanks!

@edibleacres

Жыл бұрын

Glad to read that... For the effort in, the results are pretty amazing. Certainly absolutely not a silver bullet but worth exploring

Awesome idea, we do this to hawks from the chicken run. The only issue with monofilament line is they don't last, after a year they (even if not used) the get very brittle. We're fishermen we actually quit using this for fishing lol

Thank you for yet another super helpful, informative video! We are so grateful for what you do; this is our first year on the land and I want to start growing food but need inexpensive temporary options for deer protection that I can easily change in the future (as we get to know the land). Grateful for all the great suggestions in the commments as well :)

@edibleacres

Жыл бұрын

Hope these basic ideas serve you super well! It's good to know a simple place to start that can always be improved upon

Bone Sauce is another method to repel deer, rabbits, and a few other things. If made correctly it works great. Many online recipes do not make it strong enough to last a year or longer. If anyone is interested in some great quality Bone Sauce then I'd recommend trying some from Perma Pastures Farm. They have a few episodes on KZread demonstrating how they apply it around the property.

I have tried this type, 2 layer hot wire, sensored sprinklers, deer repellent and etc over last 35 years. Only thing that has been 100% deer proof for me is 6’ non climb fence around the garden with pvc arch trellises in beds parallel to perimeter fence starting 3’ inside fence in places to create a 3D effect that deer can not visually figure out and navigate so they will not try to jump into the area. Before this they would jump in, come through and take out my entire heavily producing garden in 1 night including tomatoes squash root vegetables beans peas potatoes brassicas and would pull up and ruin garlic and onions. 1 bite out of tomatoes and peppers, pull up & ruin plants… Grrrr.. even tried planting layers of different hot pepper plants around perimeter 6’ & 8’ out from garden hoping they would grab some and decide they didn’t like burning mouth and leave.. That didn’t work either, even ghost peppers didn’t bother them!! That is with many acres of diverse pasture grass, mineral, wild berries, wooded areas a pond & water tanks they can eat and drink from. But noooo.. they just HAD to destroy peoples gardens!! Opportunists!

@edibleacres

Жыл бұрын

That is an intense deer population right there, wow

I plant 3 elderberries near any fruit tree I find precious. Add a few willows and some sunchokes. Plant the “precious”. Tree in the middle.

We have used fishing line around some smaller hazelnuts we planted last winter. It is working great so far! Some hazelnuts are outside of the line and those were browsed.

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

Good to know it is helpful to you!

Interesting and best of luck to all. I’ve been dealing with deer eating crops for a long time. For me fishing line was pushed over or actually bit in two. Low fences the deer just jumped over. Gallons of milk/egg/paprika mix was very time consuming. I’ve learned that deer like to jump high but not to far so a double 5’ hi fence about 6’ apart worked very well but could get expensive unless using the materials in the video. The coup de grace was an electric fence. If choosing an electric fence make sure it’s at least a 30 mile fence to provide a healthy zap. The shorter 10 and 15 mile fences are more for rabbits,ground hogs and raccoons so the deer kind of laugh at it. Have a great day.

For a smaller spaces I have found that scattering leaves or debris in the pathways from very strongly fragrant plants - like sage, rosemary, lavendar or other - which deer will leave alone - all over the pathways also deters. It doesn't smell right to them. They avoid these plants where they grow so I also scatter them through other spaces. Another idea: I have an entry pathway into my garden and have put down wire metal shelving - 2 deep - which also works like a cattle grate. They don't like it and it is wide enough that they have to find a way to step through. I place them to take advantage of deer lack of depth perception. While they COULD jump it, they seem confused by it. I have also tried the very stinky deer spray formula involving letting raw eggs & milk plus cayenne pepper and water ferment in the heat a week or so. BOY does it smell. But this would not work for a large field like yours, more for a small kitchen garden.

Genius, I've replicated this but also tied orange survey tape to it that flutters in the breeze, the deer no longer visit my property. Thanks!

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

Great!

I learned about fishing line fencing to deter deer from outdoor guerilla gardeners many years ago. As you said it doesn't hurt them, it just annoys them if they bump into it. I think you're right about hanging up tassles etc... my guess is the deer will see it and just go over, under or around. Some of those old growers also hung a little bell on the line here and there like you showed. I've heard of people using a beer can with some pebbles in it for the same purpose. Others would hang up bars of smelly soap - Irish Spring seemed to be the go-to - because it smells so un-naturally strong that it might deter deer. I can't really verify or confirm either the bells or the soap, but I don't think either would hurt anything.

Sweet video!

You’ve created a invisible force field that the deer can’t comprehend, thus avoid ! Smart !

5:39 So that's where Cast Away's "Wilson!" wound up.

Thanks

having spent a season with uv exposure it may not be as strong as you would like next year

@cpnotill9264

2 жыл бұрын

It worked for 1st yr for us using the monofilament and then they went right through it and snapped it. They wanted those mulberry leaves. We bit the bullet and put up 8ft deer fence this past fall. Potatoes look really nice Sean and garlic too. Garlic we got from you is really doing well and making garlic scape powder right now while watching your videoes. 😁👍🌱

Fishing line even a lighter lb test line is also a great way to keep hawks away from your poultry flock. If they are in a yard you can string it overtop, random strands like a partial spiders web. The Hawks will fly down, hit the line and give up. If your flock free ranges you can set up Shelter areas using the same concept, even Tee Pee'd off of a shade tree.

@erikadagress8274

Жыл бұрын

This is great to learn- I just moved to a new area and am scared to let my small backyard flock forage with all the birds of prey I regularly see. I will definitely give this a try!

@farwoodfarm9296

Жыл бұрын

@@erikadagress8274 Get some Guineas! 4 of My Guinea's ran off a Fox a few mornings ago, I watched the whole thing! Plus they roost at night about 50ft in the air in trees so they have a wide field of vision and great eyesight compared to a chicken.

Amazing idea. I will try it. Maybe could be succesfull against hares. I will inform as I will install it. Hares bites a bark of my young trees (during the winter,) planted out of fence. Here in middle Europe we have roe deers, a bit smaller than your deers in America. but males of them damage my thin woody plants by rubing off bark down to earth, while signing borders of theyr territorry from april to september. Nice idea. Thanks for sharing it.

I used to do this. I know you suggest not to tie anything to the line but I did tie white rags intermittently and had good success. I think the idea is that white is a danger signal for deer. Unfortunately this system done nothing to deter the rabbits. So now I spray an organic repellent on the plants until they put on flowers

I hope you keep updates for this. Deer in my area would jump that. We have used a 48 inch fence and 18 inches out from that is an electric white 1/2" tape at 2 feet high. The tape is not charged. But the deer do not navigate trying to jump two "fences".

@smas3256

Жыл бұрын

Deer and rabbit stay away from our small backyard garden. I get organic scallions from super market during the year especially winter. I cut the root end 3 inches up and rehydrate in water on window sill. Cut what I want to eat then in the spring I surround my garden with them. They winter over nicely.

Please make a vid in Sep/Oct and give us a season-end evaluation

@woodsie5796

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, please do!

I made a fence similar to this around some new garden space a few years ago. In my experience, it will work for about a season, and then at least some deer will tend to figure out they can jump over it.

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

THat seems about right. If we left this up over winter expecting complete deer deterrence we'd be a bit silly at this point :). But to keep them out until we can harvest, works quite often!

@eliseville

Жыл бұрын

@@edibleacres So, do you think they forget about the fence over winter, and when you put it up again, it's a new shocking discovery they can't figure out???

I've heard that composted toilet material put in lines around the border is an indicator for animals that it's a human area and not to mess around

You're the second person in the East I've heard say that deer do not like squash plants (first person said because of the fuzzy texture of the leaves), but I have to say the mule deer where I live in Central Montana seemed to think it was a real treat!! Maybe because we are so much dryer here with only 14 inches average of rain annually when we aren't in a drought like right now, and living in a pine forest area, they have adapted to eating just about anything that is green. Now if they would just learn to eat the Canada thistles, I'd be in hog heaven.

@edibleacres

Жыл бұрын

Different deer with different tastes :)

Great idea. Now do groundhogs!

@jennifersurrette4219

2 жыл бұрын

Hahaha. Yes! And, raccoons!

@BacktonaturelivingCom

3 ай бұрын

On our Rocky Mtn Homestead, our cat takes out the ground gophers...

After a night of deer partying in my yard, i have now covered my beds and containers with strong netting for deer and birds. It’s not perfect but works so far for now.

Why not use a fishing pole instead of a drill to reclaim the line? Bonus: you might catch a land fish.

@erika_is_growing

2 жыл бұрын

Fab idea too!

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

Good (great!?) suggestion!

@woodsie5796

2 жыл бұрын

If you catch a fish, let me know!

Need this because the deer took out my potatoes and peppers

That works for a week or so than the deer just hop over. It's like putting motion lights up. It scares them short term but they soon get use to it. Electric and make it hot works best.

Would it be worth the time and money to plant a sacrifice crop nearby? Something the deer prefer over potatoes and garlic? I hear they love all kinds of flowers and berries. A living fence of blueberry bushes might just keep 'em too busy to bother the cash crops.

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

I hear you... It would have to be a very low cost and low energy solution to make sense. For example, buying in and establishing blueberries would be prohibitively expensive as a side crop...

@katieanneozarkhollowhomestead

Жыл бұрын

Deer love sunflowers, and you can buy seed cheap as birdfeed.

THANKU FOR THE EXCELLENT INFORMATION. GOD BLESS YOU

As potatoes are part of the nightshade family I'm surprised that the deer were interested in eating the leaves. I've seen this idea but doubled down with two fences spaces a couple feet apart and with two or three strands on one of the two fences sine they don't have very good depth perception and it confuses them. However if one strand works just as good.

@gratitude1

2 жыл бұрын

I also found grazing on my potatoes and was surprised for the same reason.

@Dontreallycare5

2 жыл бұрын

Could be a behavior intended to alleviate part of their parasite load rather than purely the nutritional value. That is mostly just a guess though. Not really familiar with the intimate nature of deer gastronomy.

We tried fishing line a few years ago and it was unsuccessful, but I continue to hear it works for others. I hope it keeps them out for you! We put ours up reactively after deer pressure started in the garden, so maybe the local deer pushed through ours because they already had a taste for our garden. I covered some of the details in a video if you're interested: kzread.info/dash/bejne/h2Gh17iyn5Och9I.html

@jessicaj8148

2 жыл бұрын

I think you’re right about the deer getting a taste and being very determined.

@martingross8918

2 жыл бұрын

I think, too large distance between lines in the hight of deer´s chest. no lines in the most important hight of fence. My opinion.

@Green_Heart_Family_Farm

2 жыл бұрын

@@martingross8918 Hmm, we did every 6 inches for the bottom few lines, and then every foot. How close do you run your fishing lines together?

@cheesekake1841

Жыл бұрын

Over a year ago we were going to use fishing line but we changed our mind after watching your video, and we used welded wire and t-posts. At first we made the fence at 5 ft tall but those deer still could jump over, so we had to fix it to 7 ft tall... It's been keeping those deer out for sure. 😄

Benefits to alternating otating potatoes and garlic beds?

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

Potatoes are incredible at facilitating weed free and loose garden beds through the hilling, the mulching and then the harvesting. It leaves an incredibly easy space to plant garlic into.

Was wondering how far apart you spaced each potato within the rows and between each row? Thanks!

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

Two sets of potatoes per row... offset in a diamond pattern roughly 18" between potatoes and then about 3 feet between those rows. Seems functional and the canopy is closing nicely here so they are off to a good season (I hope!)

Billy’s Bone Sauce works 100% of the time

@blenderbenderguy

2 жыл бұрын

$50 for 4 oz...... it better work!

@boom_stick

2 жыл бұрын

@@blenderbenderguy i don't have a deer issue but people that do swear by it

How is it doing? Are the deer looking elsewhere for a good meal?

@edibleacres

Жыл бұрын

It worked for pretty much the whole growing season... Lucky perhaps but it worked for us in this scenario.

Four zone solar driveway alarms are keeping my hatchlings alive, coons are getting in close with the garden booming. I like your methods with the deer fence. Thanks. The closer the bell is to the stake, less energy goes into the clapper, dampening.

Get some bone sauce .Get in touch with Billy at perma pastures farm.It will deter all sorts of critters

This is a neat idea. If I were a deer and bumped up against it, "Eew! Spider web!"

At 0:05, what kind of plant (squash?) is that.

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

Volunteer ornamental gourd from last year.

doing the same 100ft x7 20 bucks

getting my watermelon vines grazed hard going to try this

Another channel I follow makes and sells bone sauce, PermaPastures Farm, KZread. It might worth checking out.

old 5 gallon bucks on wilson would work better

SO YOU USED ABOUT 30FT WOOD AND 20 FT OF THAT IS IN THE GROUND?

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

The wooden stakes are 4' long and pounded 1 foot into the earth.

How does this even work?!

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

I tried to explain in the video, but basically deer feeling the line against them as they walk along and into the field is disturbing to them and so long as they aren't running or incredibly driven to get into the field it deflects pretty effectively for a while.

@rawkrentals

2 жыл бұрын

@@edibleacres yeah, I watched it all! It’s just so simple. I’ll have to try it.

The deer on my property don't touch my potatoes growing in 30 gal. grow bags.They eat practically everything else and break past the wire fence cages I have around my fruit trees. They even eat my artichoke start that I have planted and now have to spray with Deer Off.

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

Different populations definitely have different tastes...

Fishing line doesn't work . Try two rows of electric braid, four feet apart. With two braids per line (10" and 24"). The deer are short sighted and rarely jump the two rows and the electic current is a nice persuader.

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

We can always go up in complexity or intensity in deflecting deer but this system works well enough, often enough to be helpful long enough to work for me...

will it work against feral hogs? Texan

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

I couldn't imagine this working against hogs...

Deer have destroyed much of my crops this year

I use 7 foot bird netting. They can't see this either.

I have a 5-6 foot fence. Every old surburban woman that pretended to be a country woman told me that it wouldn't work because deer will jump it. I know that deer "can" jump it, but they don't and probably don't need to. I have the advantage of letting it open in the fall to have the deer fertilize and eat from it, and they absolutely do rush in. They are almost like farm animals that I can use to eliminate weeds yearly. The rest of the time, I can grow sunflowers, tree seedlings, and things like that. My next project is a living willow fence. So far it seems to be working better than I thought it would, and it kind of amazes me how fast it grows and how quickly I am going to have a fence that is alive, but also easy to prune and manage with just pruners.

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a really good combo, a fence that works well enough for now AND a living fence that can get larger!

I would think the grave site marker for a former soccer player would be sufficient deterrence.

@edibleacres

2 жыл бұрын

You would think so! ;)