Solar fence chargers for keeping deer out

Have a 5 acre area I'm interested in trying a solar fence charger on. I've heard mixed reviews about their usefulness in keeping deer out. Any feedback from anyone with experience using them is welcome such as brands, necessary power output or if it's a waste of time and money. Thanks.

If they don't work any better on deer than on calves , save your money.

I've had good luck with a mock-up of a double row Gallagher fence system running on a solar charger. The charger was bought at O'Reilly's Auto.

We keep deer out of our plots with white string and pie plates. However, our acreage is alot smaller than what you're talking about.

I can attest that this one: http://www.amazon.com/Parmak-Impedance-Operated-Electric-MAG12SP/dp/B00099FAJI will keep a 2500 lb bull out of a pasture full of heifers in heat. We have 2 of them and have been very pleased with them. The oldest one is probably 12 years old and still kicking.

Well give me a month and I will let ya know. Fenced 3 acres with a Gallagher B100 solar and used the 3 line layout they suggested. Beans are up 6 or so inches. My buddy did see a set of tracks in field though so we shall see.

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I can attest to the 3 row Gallagher system and it does work. Although not 100% because I have noticed some nipped off beans before when they were waist high but it does work 99% better than no fence.

Those nipped beans could be rabbits slipping under the fence. The heart of any electric fence system is how well it is grounded. Use at least 3 ground rods tied together, 6' deep if possible.

A well grounded fence using new technology WILL work.

Yes sir. And I will go ahead and warn ya. DO NOT TOUCH IT. Get you a cheap tester

They would have be some tall ass rabbits bc the beans were waist high or more when I noticed them nipped off. We use three ground rods about 10' apart and 6' deep and have never had any issues as far and the fence working but I just believe there is always one or two deer that can somehow figure out how to get in and out even with the fence.

3D fencing works fine. Used it a lot over the years. I have used Parmak chargers with good luck but Gallagher seems to be the most popular. The trick with it is that the deer have to be able to see the fence. I tried using high tensile wire and had issues. I had to have ribbons tied on it every few feet so they wouldn't run into it. The white braided ribbon sold for fencing works better but is high as a giraffes butt.

I've read that some folks have had good results smearing peanut butter on a piece of aluminum foil folded over their electric fence. The idea is to trick the deer into getting shocked the first time. They could be jumping over the fence without ever being zapped by it. Most animals will not go anywhere near it once they get an initial zap.

Someone educate me on purpose of multiple ground rods and the depth of them

The better the ground the bigger the zap.

Got it. Thanks. Essentially need good subsoil contact with grounding rods.

Yep. I had three 8 footers on mine.

I have two 8's and they seem to be doing the job. The field is fairly low so subsoil moisture is not too far down.

The best ground for an electric fence is a cattle panel buried deep enough to get on top of clay. In my area that's about a foot deep. Just dig out a hole with a loader and bucket lay the panel in and cover it up.

Well I got an update on my bean/corn field. My buddy checked the entire field yesterday and not any browse at all. Fence must be working, knock on wood. Even with only one rain since planting they seem to be doing alright.Thes are Eagle Large Lads so even though they are a little sparse they should fill in quick with a little rain. [img:center][/img]

Well another week has gone by and what a difference a little rain makes. Buddy updated me last nite and here is what they look like now.

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At least one deer has the fence figured out. There is a little browse but very very limited. Since these are Eagles they will come back from browse as can be seen in the nrew leaf already forming.

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I think in another 2 weeks the E-fence will have done its job. Actually I think I could pull it now and they would not wipe it out.I am gonna wait until they start flowering before I pull the fence though because I want to see how they make actual beans.

Where are you located and how many total acres of beans do you have?

I am in Dale County and have 3 AC in that field.

Is that the only bean field you have? And, is that the only "agriculture" around? Basically, what are the deer eating now? Natural veg., or is there beans planted around you?

No real ag for miles. As far as I know none of my neighbors have soybeans but my south neighbor did plant 4-5 acres of ICPeas. He does feed around 10 tons of corn/ protein a year and keeps his place burned.we have a pretty good mix of various age planted pines and hardwood hills and creek bottom, so there is a pretty good amount of natural food.

if you have many deer my bet is it gets wiped out shortly after fence removal, but i hope im wrong, i have high density here so it might be diffrent , but i have never found a soybean that could keep up with the deer appetite, it is usually ok for a while but when they turn on them they turn hard, my neighbor has 300 acres in beans, and only gets to harvest about 100 acres of them, ive had better luck with iron and clay peas, seems to have better drought tolerance and browse tolerance, but that plot sure looks good now, and even if they wipe it out quickly thats alot of good nutrition going into them and id keep it up, looks great.

This has been an experiment for me and it will be interesting to see what happens when the fence comes down. I do plan on getting them at least chest high before I do that. Hopefully since they are forage beans they can keep up.

The beans should be able to keep up on pressure after another week or two. If you want them to produce beans you will have to wait to pull the fence down. The whole purpose of the beans is to feed your deer thought. Just a recommendation but think about removing the fence from a portion of the beans allowing them to be eaten all summer and protect a portion to produce beans, only if you intend on leaving them all winter of course.

My simple suggestion would be to allow the deer in about 2 acres of the beans and save 1 acre for bean production. You can also use that to your advantage come bow season by removing a portion of the fence, creating a small bottle neck to hunt.

I guess great minds think alike. I was going to plant corn in the 3 AC I have prepped immediately north of the beans but I think it has got too late. I have been wanting to grow Sunflowers but it won,t happen without protection. So the plan, maybe, is to move the fence north to encompass an acre or so of the other plot and put that in Sunflowers and plant the rest in peas, sorhum and whatever.This would place the unprotected beans right at a creek crossing.