How Can a Fence Keep Away Wild Animals?

One of the downsides of having a home close to nature, parks and open areas is living along with the wildlife that thrives in those natural habitats. You will often encounter critters such as raccoons, opossums, groundhogs, rabbits, gophers, squirrels, and deers visiting your yard and foraging on your garden plants and other food items they may find. You may even come across coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and bears occasionally.

Common Ways of Keeping Wild Animals Away

Wild animals strip your garden of plants, destroy your landscape, and leave a mess on your yard, not to mention the threats they pose to your pets and children.

Homeowners try different techniques to keep unwanted animals off their property. They include dogs with free run of the yard, removing food items in the yard, cleaning up the area of litter and junk where critters can live, use of repellent, and employing scare tactics such as motion-activated sprinklers, noisemakers, and garden spinners. While they may work effectively at times, they are not reliable.

How a Fence Can Keep Wild Animals Away

Exclusion or keeping wild animals out of your yard through fencing is the most effective and only fail-safe method of protecting your outdoor property from destructive critters. By creating a barrier to protect your yard and plants from foraging wildlife, you build a permanent structure that will leave you stress-free from the pesky critters.

These fencing guidelines can protect your property from wild animals.

1. A standard solid fence at least six feet in height that deer can't see through or over will likely take care of problems with these animals. A deer fence, though not as attractive, is a more affordable option.

2. A tall fence also significantly reduces the chance of coyotes, foxes, and bears entering your property.

3. A solid fence with no gaps between individual boards is a wise choice if you want to deter the prying eyes of animals that can be tempted to see a garden full of vegetables.

4. Combination rail fences are available if you want a traditional fence look. The gaps between individual posts are filled with wire mesh, making the structure look traditional from a distance but a potential intruder wriggling through the gaps is not possible.

5. Even a short fence two feet high or less is usually enough to keep rabbits out of a vegetable or flower garden. Adding a wire mesh lining across the bottom under the soil will prevent digging

6. Raccoons and opossums are digging and climbing animals. A 4-foot fence with the top 18 inches unattached will fall back on the climbing creature, preventing it from scaling the fence. Curve the bottom of the fence 90 degrees to create an apron about 2 feet and bury it several inches deep into the ground.