The Fence Post

Build it Yourself!

With a bit of mesh and access to a waterway, you're on your way to your own personal oyster farm. Building a cage for raising oysters is uncomplicated, as shown in this helpful video and you can rely on Louis Page for the mesh you need. Louis Page sources the best mesh out there--it's stable over a wide temperature range, maintaining its qualities in extremes of both hot and cold temperatures. UV inhibitors are in the vinyl to impede degradation from sunlight. The coating is also very resistant to scraping and abrasion.

Our galvanized vinyl-coated mesh is tough stuff and stands up to marine environments.

Vinyl coated welded wire mesh

• Unbeatable durability
• Highly rust resistant
• Features double protection
  • Vinyl coating seals the wire from water and other corrosive elements
  • Underlying wire mesh is protected by a zinc coating

Vinyl coated welded wire fencing and meshes are both long-lasting, attractive, and work in a variety of situations. The galvanized mesh is coated with a thick layer of PVC which is tightly bonded to the wire by a heat process. The coating is flexible and will not crack when the wire is bent.

For more on oysters, take a look at this blog detailing their great assortment of benefits. Interested in building other kinds of surrounds and cages?  Louis Page will source that too. As always, just call us for specific advice (866) 328-5018 and check out this helpful article to get you started.

Tall Fence Easily Breached 

Watch as this coyote shows of its quickness, agility, and strength!

As more undeveloped land is taken for housing lots and commercial areas, the natural habitat for wildlife gets increasingly restricted. Sightings of animals such as coyotes and deer are more frequent. Coyotes have adapted to the modern landscape in unique ways, especially now with their main predators such as wolves out of the way. Generally content to stay out of sight, a hungry coyote may make an appearance. They are resilient and their numbers are increasing in some areas despite efforts to control them. Closer at hand than one realizes, they create dens in forested areas, parks, and greenbelts; however, coyote attacks are actually rare and often linked to being fed by humans.

Coyotes are powerful and stealthy, yet there are strategies for avoiding dangerous interactions with them. If the presence of coyotes is an issue in your area and cause for concern, one of the best ways to stay safe is to build a wire fence. Small dogs or other animals, if unattended, could be prey. To protect against coyotes, it is best to use a six to eight-foot height. You can either bury 12 inches in the ground or bend it so it lays on top of the ground to the outside of the enclosure as an apron. This will discourage digging.

There are many choices of welded wire fencing and woven wire fencing meshes available:

Welded wire fencing - Galvanized Before Weld (GBW), Galvanized After Weld (GAW) and Vinyl Coated (VC) 

• 14 gauge, 1" x 2" and 2" x 4" mesh
• 12.5 gauge, 2" x 4" mesh

Woven wire fencing - 

• • Apron fence - 17 gauge, 1.5" hex netting mesh
  • Deer & Wildlife fence - 12.5 gauge high tensile wire
  • 2" x 4" mesh non-climb fence - 12.5 gauge
  • Emu & Ostrich fence - 12.5 gauge
  • Poultry & Garden/Deer & Orchard fence - 14.5 gauge wire

Here is an in-depth report on the increase and behavior of coyotes in cities and suburbs:

For more about fencing out coyotes and other potentially aggressive animals, check out this blog.

Hungry and Speedy

Seriously cute and seriously annoying, chipmunks are a major discourager for the home gardener. Their diet includes much of what you plant in your garden and around your house. To survive the winter, they of course harvest nuts in autumn, but their spring and summer diet is supplemented with the berries, vegetables, and bulbs that you hold dear. 

Fence Strategies

To ward off chipmunks from your veggie or berry patch--strong, galvanized hardware cloth is the answer--¼ inch hardware cloth buried 6 to 12 inches deep and 2½ to 3 feet above ground. This ¼ inch hardware cloth will also keep other small rodents at bay. As added insurance against these intruders, attach 12 inches of metal flashing around the top of the hardware cloth--though admittedly unattractive, its wobbling and seeming instability deter squirrels and chipmunks. 

Also, vinyl-coated hardware cloth is an excellent option, offering many advantages:

• durable
• longest lifetime
• easy to work with
• excellent for underground barriers
• double protection of galvanizing and vinyl coating resists rust and corrosion
• attractive - black color blends with the background, becoming virtually invisible

For sealing up openings to buildings, use ¼ inch hardware cloth to keep out rodents and chipmunks.

There are other specifications of hardware wire cloth in addition to these - different gauges, different metals, and woven meshes. Contact Louis Page for further information.

To conclude, watch a chipmunk in full harvest mode using those amazing cheek pouches:

P.S. And if you're struggling with squirrels, hardware cloth is a great help here, too. Here's a quick video with a simple home remedy for keeping squirrels out: 

• Require little maintenance
• Re-tensioning is not necessary
• During installation high tensile fencing requires less tension to make it tight
• The wire is stiffer and will not stretch and sag
• Conversely, this characteristic gives it flexibility
• It will give and bounce back when animals lean against it

The lengths to which a sheep farmer will go...

Australian farmers will go a long way to keep dingoes out of their paddocks. Extending over three thousand miles, the world's longest fence is being repaired: 

For more on the great Down Under, check out our blog about Emu Fences.