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Electric fence question

Posted By: ZAC

Electric fence question - 04/01/21 11:42 PM

A customer wants me to install an electric fence (electric tape) around the perimeter top of a wood privacy fence surrounding a garden. The idea is to deter coons from climbing over the fence and raiding the garden.

My question is, would climbing critters, get zapped while climbing the wood fence even though they are not touching the ground? My only experience is with livestock electric fencing so I do not know if the wood would actual connect the pest to “ground”

Any advice is appreciated
Posted By: Drifter

Re: Electric fence question - 04/01/21 11:47 PM

Would need a way for them to hit both at once to work.Would think be easier to get them at ground level
Posted By: Nate L

Re: Electric fence question - 04/01/21 11:52 PM

While I have never tried it I would think it wouldn't work well (read- wouldn't work at all) as wood is a terrible conductor. They need to touch a ground and the hot wire. If they really want it I would try two wires a few inches apart; one connected to the electric fencer and the other to a good ground. The coons would get zapped if they touched both wires.
Posted By: traprjohn

Re: Electric fence question - 04/01/21 11:55 PM

It needs to be just above the ground on the outside of the fence to work properly
Posted By: nvwrangler

Re: Electric fence question - 04/01/21 11:58 PM

Originally Posted by Nate L
While I have never tried it I would think it wouldn't work well (read- wouldn't work at all) as wood is a terrible conductor. They need to touch a ground and the hot wire. If they really want it I would try two wires a few inches apart; one connected to the electric fencer and the other to a good ground. The coons would get zapped if they touched both wires.


This
Posted By: warrior

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 12:40 AM

You could run a pos/neg fence where you hook the hot and ground to alternating wires that run close enough together that the animal has to touch both.

This is often done with mobile net fencing where the ground is to hard or dry to make ground rods effective.
Posted By: minklessinpa

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 12:44 AM

run a bare (grounded)wire 2-3 inches from your hot wire. make it so they touch both at once.
Posted By: jctunnelrat

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 12:46 AM

what Nate said. it's a lot of work, but you'll zap the fur off them!
Posted By: GREENCOUNTYPETE

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 12:48 AM

I would do wire on screw in stand offs rather than the poly tape and have a ground and hot so they are basically on the ground with a pad when they grab the hot ,

you can also do a low hot about 4 inches up so that it discourages digging

I have a 4 foot chain link with standoffs on the top rail and a hot wire , it really discourages dogs from climbing after they get hit the first time


I don't feel electrocution like others been electrocuted a "few" times most fences especially poly twine or ribbon I just pick up the line and move it with my gloved hand and feel a "tickle" at the farm

if my leather boots are wet I feel a hit form the wire at he farm

on my fence with the entire fence ground and the tip hot wire WOW when your holding the ground and your arm hits the hot , you feel it for a while that will get your attention

even my own fence which was hot 15 mile charger on 500 feet or wire, if I had dry shoes on I could grab the hot wire I could feel it pulse in my arm but not anything serious.

but if you can get anything to get a ground and hot wire cross body like left paw right paw it will let go
Posted By: warrior

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 12:50 AM

Depending on the style of wood fence I would be concerned with entanglement. I'm sure we've all seen photos of things gone wrong. Check all your bases and cya.
Posted By: Bigfoot

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 12:52 AM

You could staple a strip of fence tape connected to the ground to the top of the fence so that the coons touch it and the hot tape at the same time .
Posted By: jctunnelrat

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 12:53 AM

years ago i had the "Bull Buster" from TSC. it's solar powered and it cut the grass that touched the lower wire. I bumped into it once. shocking experience!
Posted By: H2ORat

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 01:14 AM

run a bare grounded on top of the wood fence -- then it will work well -- otherwise it won't work well.
Posted By: Leftlane

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 01:52 AM

Unless it is really wet that one strand wont ground out when it gets touched. Use 2 one hot and the other one grounded (neg) Nd make it wire if u want to get then good even if you got back with tape later
Posted By: Yukon John

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 02:05 AM

If it's on top of of the fence...run two wires, one a ground, the other the "hot" wire. As long as they hit both wires at the same time...ZAP! Good luck!
Posted By: bblwi

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 03:11 AM

As others have stated, why not do this at the ground level? Why let a climbing species get half way to where they want to go when you can deter them at the ground and other non climbing but maybe digging and tunneling species as well. Another thought is seeing you have a wood fence, there could be some metal shields installed like are used on wood duck nets etc. that would not be dependent on having power, shorts etc.

Bryce
Posted By: Osagian

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 04:41 AM

A few years ago deer and rabbits were eating were eating tomato plants in my garden as fast as I could plant them. A salesman at the local farm store advised me to buy one of his $20 small fence chargers( my garden was just 15' by 30') make a ring of wire 6" or so off the ground and hook it up to the charger. Worked like a champ. Must of gave all the critters a memory because I was able to take it down after a week . I drove short pieces of rebar in the ground and then slid a 1' piece of PVC piper over the rebar and then drilled a 1/4" hole in the PVC pipe and strung cheap form wire through the holes.
Posted By: BTLowry

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 11:43 AM

A small roll of wire will be cheaper than the poly tape. Will be more of it and last a lot longer than the poly.

I would run a hot on standoff's about 6-8" off of the ground, another hot on standoffs right along the top (connected to each other by jumper) and a ground right along the top of fence.

I would also get me a good ground rod and drive it in to make sure the ones that get into the lower hot wire get a real good shock.

I have used poly wire in the past for strip grazing but you get a better result with the wire
Posted By: Flipper 56

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by traprjohn
It needs to be just above the ground on the outside of the fence to work properly

X2
Posted By: Tactical.20

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 01:00 PM

One wire near the ground will work, otherwise you need a ground and a hot wire on top of fence
Posted By: Leftlane

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by Osagian
A few years ago deer and rabbits were eating were eating tomato plants in my garden as fast as I could plant them. A salesman at the local farm store advised me to buy one of his $20 small fence chargers( my garden was just 15' by 30') make a ring of wire 6" or so off the ground and hook it up to the charger. Worked like a champ. Must of gave all the critters a memory because I was able to take it down after a week . I drove short pieces of rebar in the ground and then slid a 1' piece of PVC piper over the rebar and then drilled a 1/4" hole in the PVC pipe and strung cheap form wire through the holes.


C + E = P
Cheap + all kinds of Effective = Perfect

When I had to pen multiple horses at some big rodeos the price of a stall tee'd me off so I parked under a big shade tree and rigged a set of corals for the remuda.

I used T posts, put the soft rubber caps on them but the elec fence tape grounded right thu them so I used short tarp straps round the posts and hooked them to D rings I put on the fence backwards so the tape stayed vertical and looked like a white fence (1st time I used 2 strands and one they were used to it I backed off to only 1.)

I was able to pull it so tight the corner posts started to bend in but that was easy to cure b/c I had left some rebar stakes in the bed of the p/u that had slid up under the tool box. I didnt want to make a 2nd trip to TSC so I used elec fence tape for the guy wire and it worked out great. Ropin and doggin horses wouldn't go near it and I wasn't hauling any broncs at the time.


Cheap and effective

Posted By: Leftlane

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 01:48 PM

The theory of newly installed electric fence goes like this: whenever possible installed a single wire as close to nose level of the animal you are tryin to keep in (or out for you green thumb sod bustin types.

Then flag it or make it highly visible (the tape for horses is not only white but many have reflective strands for night time). You can use plastic water bottles or even white flaggin or strips from and old T shirt just make sure they see it. They wasnt to smell it and put their wet noses up to sniff. That wet nose makes a perfect semi conductor and they get hit so hard they think lightning struck.

After they are trained the flagging can come down and more times than not you could actually shut the fence off and they will still stay clear of it.

Pro trip. Dig a post hole beside your ground and water it heavily.
It will be much more effective. You could probably also install one of those drip hoses around and under your new garden fence and the combo of wet nose standing on wet ground with watered down grounding point and wow. It would hit like the ladies stun guns they sell at the gun shows.
grin
Posted By: HayDay

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 01:48 PM

The separate grounded wire to go along with the hot wire on top is the right way, but there are variables. Board fences have a board side and a framing side.....which is on the outside? Coon can't get past......will grab to pull themselves over.....a hot wire on top. Only 2 or 3 inches above boards or they will go under it.....and fur may limit shock. Goal is to get a paw on the hot wire while in contact with the grounded wire.....and preferably a foot/paw on both at the same time.

If framing side to to outside, coon will likely always to go a post and climb it like a ladder. A hot wire near the ground may get stepped over (unless baited), and is a maintenance issue to keep from grounding out. So getting wire up high will work, but you have to find a way to get him standing on the grounded wire when he grabs hot wire on top to pull himself over. If framing side is out, he will step over most single wires. So best ground system up high is either a single, sturdy wire on a stand off....will use it as a ladder rung.......or better yet, a short piece of woven wire or chicken wire that he has to be in contact with....can't avoid.......when he reaches for the hot wire. That works for either frame side or board side. If there was objection to the woven wire, at least 2 or 3 single strands of grounded wire located 2 or 3 inches apart will mean he will be touching or standing on those grounds when he grabs the hot.
Posted By: Leftlane

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 01:55 PM

Pro tip # 2 (if you use wire). You can basically make the perfect flags from anything that is both highly visible + conducts a current. Do this by using alum foil rolled up to be several layers thick or cut strands or leftover elec fencing tape that can be found anywhere. It comes in big spools so half the tack rooms or horse trailers in the country will have a dab or it left over.

The animal touches the flag, gets hit, sees flags all the way around your garden spot and decides to visit the closest neighbor from now on.
Posted By: Leftlane

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 01:59 PM

Ok that is all the wisdom I am sharin with you fools today, yall can just be ignorant from now on but at least you have half a chance of harvesting some of her rabbit feed LOL.


I am bettering Sharon, Andrew, Jeb, the Bull Fighter or anyone else who is half handy with the livestock will back up my previous posts. Electric fencin is the hot (pun) set up but you gotta train the critters to it for it to work right.
Posted By: Northmocats

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 02:24 PM

I've put in Miles and Miles of Fence... Your Ground Rods on your Electric fence is what makes your Fence nice and Hot... Run Several ground rods and tie them in together. Like others said the animal has to be grounded once touching the wire... Otherwise its like birds sitting on hot fence wire, nothing happens.
Posted By: eric space

Re: Electric fence question - 04/02/21 02:30 PM

For bears and coons wrap raw bacon around the wire. They grab that with their mouth and the voltage gets them right where they are wettest. Otherwise they will quickly learn to slip their heads under the wire and let it slide down their back on top of their fur. Unless their fur is wet they receive little or no shock that way.
Posted By: Leftlane

Re: Electric fence question - 04/03/21 10:45 AM

Dang Eric I'd never heard of flaggin a wire with bacon but I bet that would cure a bear from comin around and I mean right now.

Great tip
Posted By: traprjohn

Re: Electric fence question - 04/03/21 12:15 PM

I guess the foil flags with PB we hang to keep deer out the garden would work on coon too.
Posted By: Leftlane

Re: Electric fence question - 04/03/21 12:21 PM

Good idea Trapper John. Salt it for additional flavor LOL
Posted By: traprjohn

Re: Electric fence question - 04/03/21 12:43 PM

Thanks. Or sprinkle fruity jello powder on th PB.
Posted By: Bigfoot

Re: Electric fence question - 04/05/21 01:17 AM

Originally Posted by Leftlane
Pro tip # 2 (if you use wire). You can basically make the perfect flags from anything that is both highly visible + conducts a current. Do this by using alum foil rolled up to be several layers thick or cut strands or leftover elec fencing tape that can be found anywhere. It comes in big spools so half the tack rooms or horse trailers in the country will have a dab or it left over.

The animal touches the flag, gets hit, sees flags all the way around your garden spot and decides to visit the closest neighbor from now on.


For flagging we tie aluminum cans on our hot wires with tie wire . The cans resonate any vibration or wind vibration through the banjo tight wire very well . If somthing hits it it makes noise for 30 seconds or more With a slight wind you can always here the fence . You can fold the cans over the wire in a pinch but the partialy collapsed cans dont resonate as well .
Posted By: nvwrangler

Re: Electric fence question - 04/05/21 01:33 AM

We always liked to put the ground rods near the water hydrant. Especially if it was used for dog water or something else that got water every day like chickens or ? That way when you cleaned the bucket or bowl it kept the ground damp around the grounding rods.
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