Build a Deer & Bear Proof Garden Fence With Raised Beds - Video 1 of 3

Check out more of our videos and projects on countrylifeproj...
In this 3 part video series, learn how to easily build a deer and bear proof garden fence and enclosure, complete with raised garden beds.
Our design requires no post pounding, or digging holes and using cement!
You can build this garden enclosure on any type of ground no matter how hard it is. It is a full 7 1/2' high to prevent deer from jumping over into your garden, and it is strong enough to withstand a bear trying to climb over - it will also keep out small animals.
We have included FREE PLANS & eBook to help you build this garden enclosure, and it can easily be modified to any size you want, or as small as you want - for a fraction of the cost of buying one.
The link to our FREE GARDEN ENCLOSURE PLANS & eBook is available at the end of each video! Or click on the link below to grab your free copy now...
countrylifeproj...
Video 1 of 3: This video covers all the features of our garden enclosure design and what we will cover in video 2 and 3
Video 2 of 3: In this video Henry will show you how to build the raised garden beds and install them.
Video 3 of 3: In this video Henry will show you how to install the garden fencing plus handy tips for installing the rails and capping - complete with cutting and router jigs.
And remember, a link at the end of each video is available to download free plans for the Garden Enclosure, with a lumber list for the project and other tips!
ARE YOU PLANNING TO BUILD A SHED?
Check out our all 16 of our detailed and FREE Shed Building Videos here: countrylifeproj...
We also offer plans for this shed in 8' x 10' size and a 10' x 12' size available here: countrylifeproj...
Hope you enjoy the videos!
#raisedbeds #planters #gardening

[@Countrylifeprojects]

👉We changed things a little as we progressed through the videos and construction, so we decided to put together a set of plans for a smaller version of our Garden Enclosure at 24′ x 14′ - complete with 3D drawings and 2D working drawings with all the measurements you will need. You can easily scale up the size of the enclosure by adding extra sections as shown in our plans. FREE PLANS are available on our website👉 countrylifeprojects.com/latest-projects/deer-bear-proof-garden-enclosure-with-raised-beds/

[@madarain]

Top Notch Content: Thanks Henry!

[@escapefromny2012]

To keep animals from digging under, lay hardware cloth or other metal fencing material with small holes on the ground and cover with any material you want (grass/soil, sand, rocks, pavers, etc.). But you do have to line the entire floor of the enclosure. I've done it with 1/4" hardware cloth and it works for mice and anything larger. But it does allow earthworms into your beds.

[@Gunkaleh]

Still happy about the way my shed turned out according to your plans. I have some friends in the country who would benefit from this clever and attractive design for a garden.

[@Countrylifeprojects]

Glad the shed worked out! Those friends in the country are welcome to download the free plans and ebook... available on our website.

[@astar4all]

Wow, that is a very fancy fence, i love it

[@OutdoorLance]

Where did he go I love his content

[@davidsiefert1777]

Hi Henry, your deer-proof enclosure is really great, I plan on building a variation for my garden to keep the deer out. Do you have any ideas for setting the raised beds in an area where winter freeze occurs? I don't want to dig the 4' holes needed in Wisconsin and I want to be sure the boxes remain stable over time (winter anfter winter)

[@Countrylifeprojects]

Hi David, We get 4' deep frost depth where this was built and it has gone through 3 winters without issue. It will heave in the winter and settle back after thaw. You may get some movement but not too much. The ground under this setup gets very wet so I have to assume it heaves quiet a bit. Of course it depends on the type of ground you are placing them on. Also, keep in mind, unlike a deck attached to a house, if the posts for the deck are not deep enough, the deck lifts and moves and the house doesn't... with this enclosure, the whole thing heaves and settles pretty much the same all around.

[@AOWGroundBeef]

I wouldn't think twice about that....typical here in New England to just build raised beds directly on the surface. Not an issue for any of my raised beds 14 yrs later.

[@larkatmic]

Looks amazing. You think this would work to keep raccoons and squirrels out too?

[@emiliantaranu7094]

Greetings Henry, I really enjoyed your very professional videos and I admired your skills. I want to build something very similar (inspired by your project). However, my enemies are not bears or deer, but squirrels. Before I watched your videos I was thinking to install chicken wire on top of the whole thing, but your idea of installing a shock wire (I believe you refer to it as electric fence) on the very top, so us humans don't have to worry about it, makes more sense and it might be easier. Do you have any documented project on how to install such electric wire? There are hardly any videos showing shock wire installations, most of them show electric fences. I've seen one video showing an electrified small enclosure to protect a fruit tree. At first the squirrel, after getting the shock, backed off, but the next day he decided to go for it anyway. He got shock when he went in, then got his fruit, got shock when he got out, then he vanished. Do you have any positive experience or results, or ideas? I would appreciate your advise. Thank you.

[@Countrylifeprojects]

Hi Emilian... Interesting that you ask as we just installed electric fence wire around the perimeter of our enclosure where the stucco wire starts above the bed, and all the way around the inside at the top of the garden beds - all to keep out gophers (aka ground squirrels) - they decimated our garden :-( We found out a few important things to watch for... 1) Make sure the system is properly grounded using a steel rod that will go into the ground at least a foot - more is better and make sure the point you connect the ground to on the rod is bare steel and a solid connection. If you don't do this properly you can lose half the charge - or shock to the squirrel. I know this for a fact as I used myself as a guinea pig to test before and after and prior I could hold on to the wire - after proper grounding... well let's just say I doubt any squirrel would attempt to touch the wire twice - it was powerful enough to hurt. 2) Use insulated mounts everywhere and do not let the wire touch anything, grass, wood parts of enclosure (yes this dropped the voltage/shock) and especially not the mesh around the enclosure as this can reduce shock value by as much as 50 to 60%. For the gate we went up over and down to continue the wire on both the inside and out. We then used 1/2" x 1/2" mesh for the entire gate so any critter would have to eventually climb over and likely touch the wire. 3) Every 3 or 4 days... keep an eye on plants, grass, mesh wire and that they do not touch the wire - we just pick or cut off leaves etc that get near the wire. 4) Our system consists of a solar panel to a battery and then to the electric fence control box and we used an 18" solid 3/4" steel rod hammered 15" into the ground. Although not required, we setup the battery and control box under a roof overhang to keep it out of the rain. Hope that helps... it is working for us - no gophers in the garden for 10 days since we installed it. One last thing, when we ran the wire, where ever there was a gopher hole we looped the wire down in front of the hole - again, not touching the wood or soil but close enough that the gophers would have to touch the wire to get in or out - if you do this, you really need to check it once a day to make sure no soil gets moved and touches the wire or grass etc because the wire is only 1" away from soil... works great though - same day we got it all working we watched from a distance and when that gopher tried to go into the hole - bingo, it's tail shot straight up in the air and he did not try a second time :-) :-) P.S. try to keep the wire in as smooth a line as possible - by this I mean avoid tying it in knots etc (say to loop in to a hole or ?). We used nylon zip ties to secure the wire where we need to do this. If possible, try to use one continuous line with no splices if possible. If you have to splice, unravel the wire so only the actual wire is left and splice these together for a better connection.

[@transvamp747]

@@Countrylifeprojects Thank you for taking the time to answer, Henry. Do you happen to have a diagram for your electric installation? In my project, I am thinking to install just one strand of wire, at the very top, positioned outward and up of what it is the top rail, or cap, in your garden structure, like barbwire you see installed on top of some fences at approx 45° angle. In my case, the wire will only be at 3/4" - 1" max out and up away from the top outer edge of the top plate. Does it make a difference, in terms of effectiveness, if I ground the entire wire mesh of the enclosure (I will most likely use regular chicken wire), or only the top, say, 1-2 feet? I don't have my final plans yet, but my overall dimensions of the enclosure will be max 40' x 30'. Also, I have a nearby source of 110V AC (indoor). Can you recommend a good brand of electric fence charger and if you happen to know, what is the maximum effective output that I can go up to, to shock the heck out of the squirrels, or whatever else may decide to climb 7-8 ft (raccoons, possums?), without killing or permanently harming them? I'm sorry, it starts looking like I am abusing your kindness, but for some reason there is limited information available for my narrower interest (videos in particular), in terms of "how to", or other people's personal experiences, or maybe I didn't know how to find it, and you seem to have such great expertise and ingenuity. In any case, thank you so much for everything.

[@BADBRYZ]

I love this! Great vids. How well does it hold up to raccoons?

[@Allbbrz]

It looks great, as your projects do, but Henry, since no PT was used for this project, do you have an idea of how long will it last ??

[@Countrylifeprojects]

Not 100% sure, but I built a greenhouse this way years ago (using SPF) and it is still standing and very little rot after 10 years.

[@Allbbrz]

Thanks. That is a good ballpark.

[@adamb.7348]

This looks great! Do you think the 2x2 stucco wire would be small enough to keep squirrels out? Have you noticed squirrels in the garden? Our squirrels are terrible on the vegetables.

[@Countrylifeprojects]

Squirrels and gophers are a pain. I would use a smaller mesh on the enclosure for squirrels and run an electric fence wire around the top perimeter to keep them from getting in once they climb to the top of the fencing... and make sure no trees are close enough for them to jump over. If you like you can check out the recent project submitted to our site (under viewers projects), he used 1/2" x 1/2" mesh (be forewarned - it is harder to stretch out and get flat if it is not unrolled flat - and keep it flat.

[@doihavetohaveachannel8289]

Beautiful looking fence. I am wondering where you are?I am always concerned about deer and bear in my garden is about your size in British Columbia. I have been extremely lucky using a simple two strand solar powered electric fence so far. I have bears and deer very plentiful around me but they leave my garden alone. Bear has stolen pumpkin that was on vine spreading outside fence but I have no indication of deer or bear inside garden. I do not grow corn, which seems to attract Bear. Sometimes I wonder why I am so lucky. Friends on VANCOUVER Island have deer jump over a fence as tall as yours. .??

[@Countrylifeprojects]

We are up in the Cariboo now... The land of massive amounts of snow this year ;-) We were in White Rock when the shed videos were done. The fence is 7 1/2' high, and around here, never heard of deer jumping over that unless the fence is on a hill, and the deer are on the up side of the fence which would actually make the height less. That said, a lot of people have success with 6' high fences so we figured 7 1/2' should do the trick. Of course, with this design, one could build higher if they wanted to.

[@Countrylifeprojects]

For bear, we doubt the fence alone will do it, a person would have to run a few lines of electric fence line around the perimeter. one about half way up on the middle rail and one at the top.

[@Countrylifeprojects]

Update - After 4 years and lots of bears roaming the property, not a single one has entered the garden... and there are apple trees and berry bushes in the garden that they would love to munch on... so this design seems to be working well.

[@AOWGroundBeef]

while it is a lovely design (and well constructed) this is such an expensive folly to keep out deer and bear and doesn't have a prayer to keep out determined burrowing animals. I'm surprised bear are a problem w/r to your crops...tons of black bear here and they don't look twice at our gardens....our garbage cans are a different matter. I will be building a shed based on your concepts, though!

[@Countrylifeprojects]

Hi AGB... Expensive maybe, but if deer (mainly deer) and bear are a problem keeping them out of the veggy garden is critical, especially if you consider the disappointment of waking up to a garden you planted and tended that has been eaten up overnight. But all that said, it is the little buggers that burrow underground that have proven the most difficult to keep away :-( (aka as gophers) . But this year, electrical wire surrounds all the garden beds, looped at entrance holes etc - wish us luck - we need it for these little buggers.