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The Fence Post

Battling Woodchucks

February 2, 2018 | by Joe Morrell

 

Woodchuck on lawn

Your Garden at Peril

Battling a burrowing woodchuck can be a relentless task. Here are some of our answers to warding off this muncher and destroyer of your prized plantings. 

Keeping a Woodchuck from Burrowing and Climbing

The clever woodchuck moves below ground as well as above.

  • A 6-foot fence is required as a minimum, with 5-foot posts
  • Chicken wire should be dug in 10 inches or more below ground level
  • Leave a foot of chicken wire unattached from the post at the top and bend it outwards; this prevents the woodchuck from getting a good grip for climbing over the fence

Another possibility is:

  • Place 3 feet of chicken wire flat on the ground around the perimeter of the garden
  • After which, secure a 4 to 6-foot fence vertically 6 inches in from the chicken wire edge which will leave 2½ feet of chicken wire on the outside on the ground
  • At the top, leave 12 inches of the chicken wire bent outwards away from the garden, unsecured
  • The woodchuck will not be able to dig under the vertical fence because of the 3 feet of chicken wire surrounding the garden

As the updated Old Farmer's Almanac advises: The best woodchuck deterrent is a fence.

woodchuck fencing drawing with instructions

Image from Mass Audubon Society.org 

A Very Broad Diet

A woodchuck is decidedly vegetarian, and your garden falls prey to them as they gorge during spring and summer-- fattening up for their long winter in the burrow. Vegetables are prized, as well as a vegetables' early tender shoots. Stems, roots, and bark are munched as well. Here is a fairly thorough list of a woodchuck's possible victims:  

While wild grasses are a mainstay, woodchucks eat a variety of vegetation and agricultural crops including peas, beans, lettuce, zucchini, squash, pumpkin vines, green beans, broccoli, soybeans, parsnip leaves, onion stems, cilantro, dill, parsley, sage, alfalfa, eggplant, as well as clover, tree bark, and insects. Flowers at threat can include phlox, salvias, lupines, hollyhocks, rudbeckia, echinacea, poppies, astilbe, sedum, hostas, columbine, and the young, soft shoots of roses and delphiniums (though they are poisonous). Also dahlias, petunias, daisies, asters, cosmos, marigolds, nasturtiums, pansies, portulaca, tulips, sunflowers, and zinnias. Well, that does it for my garden!

Woodchuck Nation

Woodchucks are generously distributed in North America and Canada, extending to Alaska and in the south to Georgia. The clearing of forests has enabled the woodchuck to thrive. In open land and often near woods, a woodchuck's burrow is a small maze built of necessity. Entrances lead to tunnels which lead to chambers that are used for sleeping, rearing young, and even a separate chamber for burying waste. A variety of entrances provide hasty retreats when predators such as dogs and foxes appear and some holes may only be two feet deep for taking cover at such times. Burrow openings measure 8 to 12 inches, with additional holes at least 10 feet away. Not only do they eat crops, but trample them as well. Their holes can damage livestock. It is essential that we employ an appropriate arsenal to give these damaging rodents the heave-ho.

One man's battle, his fascination, and final answer--

 

Punxsutawney Phil

And finally, the celebration each February--the questionable observance of Groundhog Day--the honoring of one of our most destructive critters--the beloved Punxsutawney Phil who reigns as the predictor of the length of winter. Despite this fame, gardeners cast a wary eye to mounds and holes as this ravenous marauder tunnels, then nibbles and chomps through labored-over crops. Yes, it could be the single bite out of that prized tomato or the tragic beheading of a carrot that swiftly moves one to take up arms. Before we become violent, let's use some of the above-mentioned preventative measures. Ideally, a fence should be in place before a woodchuck is able to enter and start sampling produce.

At Louis Page, we are committed to providing you with the information and products that can protect your property and alleviate some of your stress. If you have questions, please get in touch, call us at (866) 328-5018.

English cottage with garden

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Topics: garden fence, hex netting, garden netting, poultry netting, woodchucks, woodchuck

Uses for Welded Wire & Woven Mesh Fencing

February 27, 2017 | by Debbie Page

Vinyl coated welded wire

Welded Wire Mesh and Fence


What are welded wire meshes and fences?

  • As the name implies, welded wire mesh fences are made from wires that have been welded into a mesh
  • In most cases, the same gauge of wire is used throughout the roll
  • Welded joints are rigid and have little flexibility
  • Many welded products with larger openings are used as fencing on ranches, farms, in parks and on construction sites.
  • Mesh sizes can range from ½" x ½" up to 6" x 6"
  • Meshes with smaller openings are usually made with lighter gauge wires
  • These are mostly used for screening
  • Some specifications of welded meshes are vinyl coated

And how can you use them?

Welded fencing is ideal to use on flat terrain where little flexibility is necessary. Some examples of uses:

    -Swimming pool fences

    -Emu and Ostrich Fences

    - Garden Fences

    - Dog kennels

    Sheep and Goat Fences

     -Railing safety panel inserts

ks_2.2_dogs.jpg

Woven Wire Mesh and Fence

What are woven wire meshes and fences?

  • Fences made by weaving the wires into a mesh
  • Different gauge wires are sometimes used in the same roll
  • Woven joints are flexible yet very strong
  • There are a wide variety of mesh size openings available
  • Hexagonal netting (chicken wire), field and farm fence, deer and wildlife fence, and ornamental fence are some examples

woven wire fence closeup

And how are they used?

Woven wire fences are ideal in situations where the ground is uneven. The inherent flexibility allows the fence to adjust more easily to grade changes. Some examples of uses:

    - Garden Fences

    - Horse Paddocks

    - Boundary Fence

    - Orchard Fence

    - Farm Fence

Keep these differences in mind when you are planning to install a fence. Which type do you want to use? Or maybe you need expert advice on what products to use?

Call us today for a free quote! 800-225-0508 or email sales@louispage.com

fawn behind black welded wire fence

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Topics: welded wire mesh, swimming pool fence, welded wire, garden fence, deer fence

How To Install A Garden Fence - Video

July 5, 2013 | by Duncan Page

Here's a very helpful video--

Watch this video and learn how to install a basic garden fence. Enjoy this straightforward approach for creating a garden safe from predators.

How would this style of fence fit into your gardening plans this year?

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Topics: welded wire mesh, garden fence

Vinyl Coated Chicken Wire Rescued Our Garden

January 30, 2013 | by Josh Lane

 
Man planting seeds in a row
I Thought We'd Be Safe
 

You might think that as we were living in a small city, in an area with traffic and in a house surrounded by other houses, without any woods around, with a sturdy picket fence surrounding our property, and with a very humble garden, that we would be safe from furry whatsits eating away all our amateur agricultural aspirations. You might also know better, as we now do.

Planting Was Swift

Last summer my wife and I planted our first backyard vegetable garden. She has dabbled with flowers and herbs in containers, but we never had space for a vegetable garden until last year. We moved into a place with a quarter of an acre yard behind the house. The layout was designed and I tilled a small 6 x 12 space. I also lugged the bags of gardening soil and some supposedly composted manure I picked up from a local farm (by “composted” they only meant that there may have been some incidental material mixed in with the bags of raw cow manure. My car smelled for a month and we couldn’t use it on the garden this year. Don’t ask why I brought it home with me.)  And then we planted several different vegetables and had them all in the ground by the second week in June.

rabbit in grass

Green Beans, Gone

Two months later, our modest effort was rewarded. We had too many tomatoes, not enough peppers, and just enough fresh basil (it’s painful to think about fresh basil in the midst of a New England winter.)  We also had some tasty snow peas. The only total failure was the green beans. It seems that a critter crawled unimpeded into our garden and ate the whole plant except for a small stump. Hmm. Fresh green beans are beloved and we want to be sure that next year they're on our plates. We already have a picket fence that I installed to keep our young son in our backyard. Now I have to consider what to use to keep some unidentified, but presumably small animal out of our garden. There are some logical, but not necessarily obvious questions I have to answer.

  • What type of critters am I trying to keep out? Rabbits probably, skunk maybe?
  • How long do we need this fence to last?  Maybe 2, maybe 10 years. Not sure really.
Aesthetics matter. What will look best in the yard and be appropriate for a garden?  We already have vinyl siding on the house and a vinyl picket fence, so nothing metal or natural wood unless we paint it.

 

rabbit and hex mesh

Black Vinyl-Coated Wire to the Rescue

So after answering a couple of questions, I decided that this would be the fence for our garden. I am going to use a 36-inch hexagonal chicken wire fence with black vinyl coating. It will be tall enough to keep out small animals and leave me room to bury the bottom thus preventing an attack from below. The black vinyl coating is aesthetically neutral, blending with its background and allowing us to appreciate the beauty of our garden. The UV-treated PVC coating gives extra protection from rust and corrosion. I’ll staple it to some pressure-treated posts which I may or may not set in concrete. That should work. I feel good about it.

C’mon spring!

Josh Lane signature       Josh Lane

 

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Topics: garden fence, vinyl coated wire, black vinyl coated

How To Install A Wire Fence In Your Garden - Video

January 19, 2012 | by Duncan Page

Blocking those Bunnies

This video shows you how to protect your garden by installing a wire fence. This is a good example of a garden fence that will keep rabbits at bay, with your plants safe and secure for a long time.

 

Did you find this video helpful?  Here's another gardening blog that will help you protect your plantings.

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Topics: woven wire, garden fence, vinyl coated wire, how to, chicken wire

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