Deer fence repair and maintenance

Make your own deer fence ♦ Deer Fence Repair and Maintenance ♦ Deer repellants
Make your own cheap deer fence gates from PVC pipe

From my blog "Pratie Place."

... for now, it suffices to say that for three years I've gotten out of my car and opened the gate and driven through and closed the gate every time I leave the house. And it's been totally worth it. I LOVE seeing the herds of deer munching along the deer fence line - ON THE OTHER SIDE. My ex-husband lives on the other side. They are eating HIS stuff. They can't get to mine. Ultimate delight.

The problem is, though, if somebody leaves one of my six gates open, the deer come through (five or six times in three years). The deer instantly forget how they got in and ricochet around throwing themselves against the fence until something bad happens. Urging a crazed deer towards an open gate is a ridiculous, time-consuming endeavor.

Last night I got back from taking Menticia home (after our Illustration Friday afternoon), opened the deer fence, drove through, closed the deer fence, drove halfway down the driveway - and saw the sight I dread to see - a deer where it shouldn't be, crossing the veldt on MY side!

I'm so crazed and irritable about deer, I got a flashlight and walked my perimeter - in my clogs! In the woods in the dark! Because I wouldn't take the time to change into work shoes! - to find out where it got in. I feared a huge tree down over the fence (those repairs are tough). But it was just an open gate. Some kid must have intentionally opened that gate, because as Omar G. would say, "deer fences don't just untie themselves."

Well, it was way too dark for me to remedy my problem then. If you think it's bad trying to get an anxious idiot deer to head towards a small opening in a fence in the daytime, try it at night. So now, crazed and irritable, I'm waiting for enough dawn to go out there, find it, and get behind it and walk it towards freedom. Some day I'll draw you a picture to show you how stupid and futile this process is when you're doing it alone.

UPDATE: Immediately after I posted my vent about the deer which, much against my will, spent the night inside my fence, I dressed for battle in scruffy clothes and work boots. Halfway down the stairs I could already see the interloper through the kitchen window, masticating in his antlered glory.

I snuck out the back door hoping to get behind him and urge him towards the open gate, but at once I saw two problems. One, there were TWO deer. Two, they were determined to head in the opposite direction. I watched helplessly as they threw their bodies against my fence over and over, boinging off and trying again.

Finally, with a glorious coordinated effort (probably an accident) they sailed in the same direction at the same time. Throwing themselves simultaneously at a closed gates, they broke it off its hinges - in fact broke it in half - and disappeared, crashing through the woods.

I looked ruefully at the damage they left behind, then went and got stepladder, rope and scissors. Luckily the air was balmy. It was still pretty dark, but silent and lovely. I very much enjoyed tying up the fence and the broken gate. The repair would probably remind you of a crazed and inept spider's web but I beamed at it proudly.

An hour later a cold wind was blowing; soon it was sleeting and worse. I was back in the house, smug and warm.

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