Basically, a peanut butter electric fence consists of a metal wire suspended from fiberglass stakes, surrounding up to 3 to 4 acres, and electrified with a grounded commercial fence charger. At approximately every three feet along the wire, a foil strip laced with peanut butter provides bait to attract deer.
Solid wood privacy fences are typically at least 6 feet tall and composed of solid wood boards attached tightly together. This option can be the most effective at preventing deer, as its durability and view-blocking features make it difficult for deer to see plants and breach the fence.
While short fences (4 ft.) may be effective at reducing damage in very small areas or around individual trees or shrubs, a “deer proof” fence would need to be 8 ft. or taller and constructed of strong impenetrable material like welded wire or chain link to be effective long-term.
If you have an area of trees and shrubs that are in need of winter protection from hungry deer, a small temporary enclosure may be the perfect solution. Deer fence can be installed on removable posts using traditional ground sleeves that sit flush with the ground.
An animal standing on the ground and touching the electrified wires (shown right) will complete the circuit like the closed switch in the second diagram above. For example, a bird sitting on the wire will not receive a shock (shown left). It is not touching the ground so the circuit is not completed.
Never touch a fence that may be electrified (or any live circuits of hazardous voltage) with two hands, as this will allow the current to travel through the heart and lungs. Always keep one hand in your pocket so you don't accidentally touch something that will turn a painful but non-lethal shock into cardiac arrest.
Most deer fencing is black polypropylene mesh, which blends in well with forested landscapes. It should be inspected regularly for damage. One could also install electric, high tensile wire fencing. This type of fencing can work well for protecting one's crops from deer browse.
Some gardeners swear by hanging fabric softener strips and/or wrapped bars of soap from trees, both of which can confuse a deer's sense of smell. Others point to using hot pepper sprays, garlic and rotten egg mixtures, ammonia-soaked rags, and bags of hair and/or blood meal around the garden for the same reason.
Deer do not like to walk over uneven, large rocks. Creating a perimeter of rocks can guard your garden from deer just as well as most fences. Deer also do not like to jump over something if they can not see to the other side, so opaque walls can be shorter than see-through deer fences.
Every style of fence, and color, serves it's purpose; but for deer fencing, black is best.
Coffee grounds work best when they are mixed with other organic materials like leaf mold to create mulch. Coffee grounds can be good at repelling other creatures and other pests besides deer. The other creatures and insects that coffee grounds can repel include snails, slugs, ants, cats, dogs, rabbits, and deer.
In my experience I found out they work for about 4-5 months effectively. Depending on your problem pest, rabbits keep low and with deer I always like to place them about 3.5ft high for optimum effectiveness. For deer they work exceptional but on rabbits only so so.
Infrared motion sensors and/or timers can be used to trigger scare devices, which can scare away deer. Flashing and strobe lights, and water sprayers or sprinklers activated by motion sensors, or set on timers, can also deter deer.
2. Dryer sheets deter deer. These may make your garden smell freshly laundered, but the general consensus is that deer are not bothered by them.
Cycling through different homemade repellents is the best way to keep them at bay. Because deer are so skittish, adding wind chimes or even the static from a radio can be enough to scare them away.
It is also an effective deer repellent. Deer have a very sensitive sense of smell, and the strong scent of Dawn dish soap can be unpleasant for them.
Cinnamon: This is another smell that deer hate and tend to avoid. Like the above plants, you can use this to deter deer without worrying about adverse effects on family members or pets.
Communities wanting fewer deer can reduce the carrying capacity using fences, deer resistant landscaping and repellents. Deer fence is a good long-term solution because it reduces the food available to the deer and that will reduce their population over time.
Criminals simply break the electric fence as a method of gaining entry. This is done when there is a clear open entrance into the house or business, and although an alarm may signal a robbery, it will prove useless if the criminals are already inside the house.
Dr. Michael S. Morse, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of San Diego, explains that while 10,000 volts can be life threatening in certain circumstances, it's possible for something to have 10,000 volts behind it and be relatively harmless.
If it is just a static charge with a few micro amps behind it will just shock you and do no damage. If it is a 7000 power supply with a few amps behind it, and the current path does not pas through your heart, it will destroy an arm or leg, or what ever part of your body was in the current path.