Fence Recommendation (to protect plots)

[Stonewall]

I have an easement road that goes along the border of my land that provides access to a tract behind mine. My food plots as well as about 35+ acres of pine seedlings are all just to the side of that road. There have been instances of people (without permission) leaving the road and driving into my fields....shining, joy riding, mudding, etc. I am considering paying a professional fence company to come in and erect a fence. I don't want it to look like the outside of a prison, nor do I have or plan to ever have livestock, so not interested in barbed-wire. My primary goal is simply to protect my seedlings from being run over/prevent food plots from being shined, and to have a boundary that is a deterrent to someone driving through due to the damage it would cause their vehicle. I want deer and other wildlife to be able to easily get through. I have recently had a survey done so I know exactly where the lines are.

My questions to the group (given the above) are:

- What kind of fence do you recommend for this situation?

- Can you please post a picture?


I'd like to have some specific ideas in mind before contacting the company to get a quote.

Thanks in advance

 

[OkieKubota]

Why no barbed wire? Absolute best thing I ever did was barbed wire fence our entire place. Deer travel back and forth across it like it is not even there and it is about the cheapest realistic option to do what you are requiring...BTW - we have no livestock either and don't want someone elses livestock on our place...

 

[catscratch]

I've with Okie on this; barbed wire fence is cheap and easy to put up (cheap is a relative term here, but people certainly don't drive through it on purpose).

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[dgallow]

Put up 2-3 steel cables about 1/2" in diameter (the same cable utility companies use for guy wire on telephone poles)....pipe corner and brace posts on each end.....pipe line posts as needed. The pic below is of our pipe and cable lot......you don't need pipe spaced that close.....cost was around $4-5 per lineal foot.....but I got some free cable and the pipe is used drill stem from the oil field (about $2 per lineal ft). People and most animals can go through it without issue, but it would tear up a vehicle.

 

[dgallow]

Paint the pipe with XO rust out from Ace hardware and fence will look good and last. I use brown as if you do have small rust spots it blends well. In your case, you don't need a pipe top rail the whole lenght...so caps can be welded on top of line post pipe (like $0.50 each). I would put a top rail on the first 2 posts at each end for good bracing....out to 20' from corner for long spans and non-rocky soft soil. They can weld the u clips to hold the cable like we did or cut holes in pipe with torch and run cable through...I've seen it done both ways. Most fence companies can do a pipe cable fence.....they can also do barbed wire for about $2-3 per lenal ft.

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[CTM1]

Have you given any thought to creating a natural barrier with boulders, or perhaps dropping some trees and placing them where needed?

 

[Stonewall]

Have you given any thought to creating a natural barrier with boulders, or perhaps dropping some trees and placing them where needed?

It's 2200 linear ft.... We don't have boulders around here unfortunately, and even if we did I don't have the equipment or the time to do it. There are already 20,000 trees in the ground. The thing is in a few years when the seedlings are grown up several feet, they will be in impenetrable barrier. But I want security now....

 

[Hunter_Dan]

Shining is tough to stop unless you have some type of vegetative barrier. You could go with something fast growing like hybrid willows of hybrid poplars to serve as a visual barrier. bigrocktrees.com has a bunch of these. Takes a little longer to get going but might be an option for long term stuff.

 

[CTM1]

It's 2200 linear ft.... We don't have boulders around here unfortunately, and even if we did I don't have the equipment or the time to do it. There are already 20,000 trees in the ground. The thing is in a few years when the seedlings are grown up several feet, they will be in impenetrable barrier. But I want security now....

I have several million rocks of varying sizes that you could build a massive wall with. The best part is they are free, you just have to come and get them up in NY

Disclaimer: Some digging might be required.

 

[OkieKubota]

Almost a half mile is a no brainer for barbed wire IMO...

 

[dogdoc]

2nd barbed wire!

 

[dogghr]

Hard to beat the barbed wire fence to deter people. Another choice is to use high tensil wire for fence. Less prison like as you say. That is what almost all cattle farmers in this area have gone to. Easy to maintain and especially for repair without the wrestling of barbed, especially on non level ground. Love the looks of it as opposed to barbed. Can't give you a price diff but since you are getting it contracted, sure they can tell you.

 

[catscratch]

Hard to beat the barbed wire fence to deter people. Another choice is to use high tensil wire for fence. Less prison like as you say. That is what almost all cattle farmers in this area have gone to. Easy to maintain and especially for repair without the wrestling of barbed, especially on non level ground. Love the looks of it as opposed to barbed. Can't give you a price diff but since you are getting it contracted, sure they can tell you.

Have any pics?, I'd like to see how they are doing it. I'm always open to new ideas, but barded wire is hard to beat and awfully ingrained into my way of thinking.

 

[dogghr]

N

Have any pics?, I'd like to see how they are doing it. I'm always open to new ideas, but barded wire is hard to beat and awfully ingrained into my way of thinking.

No but I will this weekend for you. It is about 80% going that route around here. I really like the looks of them, very clean. Some put strand of barbed at top of fence but not usually. And on uneven trerrain maybe easier to wrestle with putting up. I've not done one yet but really thinking on front footage. I also like idea, no castration or hangup of deer on barbed as they jump. Draw back, tresspasser has easier time climbing over but nothing truly stop them if that is their intention.

 

[OkieKubota]

I like folks to bleed when they crawl through...ask Brushpile about that

Deer have no issues here with a tight barbed wire fence...I have watched deer pass through mine and they never break stride as they walk right through it... high tensile is basically horse wire which is essentually barbed wire without barbs...

 

[dgallow]

Have any pics?, I'd like to see how they are doing it. I'm always open to new ideas, but barded wire is hard to beat and awfully ingrained into my way of thinking.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=smooth+wire+fence+pics

It is basically single 12.5 ga smooth wire or double strand 14s to make 12.5 ga without barbs.....ideally 170,000 psi break......used quite a bit in Mexico and now moving into the US for either electrified or non-electrified hard perimeter and cross-fencing.....multi-strand 5-6 wire common here just like barbed. Some folks call it 'horse wire'. Some of the rotational folks use a single strand of that for major paddock divisions then use polywire for cross fencing. You can buy barbed in high tensile as well.....most of what I use now is high tensile....14 ga 5" 4 barb (1300 lb break strength.....was Cattleman now Gaucho-Pro) but also use 15.5 ga 5" 4 barb on small areas when I want less weight (900 lb break strength....Gaucho)...price difference is about $25 per roll ($675/pallet)...both of those come in either Class II or Class III coating which means they will last a long time....never seen an animal break the 14 ga but deer will break 15.5. I prefer high tensile barbed over the softer 12.5 ga Sheffield.....goes up much faster and no stretch.....takes a little more time to wrap since it is stiff but not enough to make a difference...there is little maintenance on high tensile if you put in solid corners. There is a difference in how you wrap/splice smooth wire vs barbed....but Kerr Center has some good vids which show the difference.
There are several companies making high tensile in the US, but Bekaert has lion share of market.
http://fencing.bekaert.com/

I am contemplating replacing electric tape on the lanes with a single strand high tensile to get less resistance on longer runs......but that means pipe end posts are needed for additional support, overhead wire on gates, and a spinning genny to handle the wire.....more work up front and hopefully more longevity...the other factor is animals won't see a gray wire as well as a white wire..

For ~$2 a lineal ft it is hard to beat 5 strand barbed for hard fence with bottom wire 14-16" off ground! I really don't understand the smooth non-electric wire popularity now.....hide and offal prices remain ~$11/cwt so you ain't getting your money back at the auction barn! One would actually be surprised at the species of wildlife which use barbed wire fence in a positive manner...hey but you don't hear about that do you!

 

[catscratch]

Thanks for the replies!

My father in law hates Goucho wire. Says it's a pain to work with and doesn't wrap well so it ends up loose.

I'm still trying to see the advantage to using smooth wire over barbed (unless it costs less). One thing to take note of is that we have lots of rock. Sometimes its hard to get a t-post into the ground without bending a couple of them first. Planting a bunch of cedar posts would be a huge undertaking!

D, I'm interested in wildlife and their use of barbed wire. I know some birds use it like thorn, what else takes advantage of it?

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=smooth+wire+fence+pics

It is basically single 12.5 ga smooth wire or double strand 14s to make 12.5 ga without barbs.....ideally 170,000 psi break......used quite a bit in Mexico and now moving into the US for either electrified or non-electrified hard perimeter and cross-fencing.....multi-strand 5-6 wire common here just like barbed. Some folks call it 'horse wire'. Some of the rotational folks use a single strand of that for major paddock divisions then use polywire for cross fencing. You can buy barbed in high tensile as well.....most of what I use now is high tensile....14 ga 5" 4 barb (1300 lb break strength.....was Cattleman now Gaucho-Pro) but also use 15.5 ga 5" 4 barb on small areas when I want less weight (900 lb break strength....Gaucho)...price difference is about $25 per roll ($675/pallet)...both of those come in either Class II or Class III coating which means they will last a long time....never seen an animal break the 14 ga but deer will break 15.5. I prefer high tensile barbed over the softer 12.5 ga Sheffield.....goes up much faster and no stretch.....takes a little more time to wrap since it is stiff but not enough to make a difference...there is little maintenance on high tensile if you put in solid corners. There is a difference in how you wrap/splice smooth wire vs barbed....but Kerr Center has some good vids which show the difference.
There are several companies making high tensile in the US, but Bekaert has lion share of market.
http://fencing.bekaert.com/

I am contemplating replacing electric tape on the lanes with a single strand high tensile to get less resistance on longer runs......but that means pipe end posts are needed for additional support, overhead wire on gates, and a spinning genny to handle the wire.....more work up front and hopefully more longevity...the other factor is animals won't see a gray wire as well as a white wire..

For ~$2 a lineal ft it is hard to beat 5 strand barbed for hard fence with bottom wire 14-16" off ground! I really don't understand the smooth non-electric wire popularity now.....hide and offal prices remain ~$11/cwt so you ain't getting your money back at the auction barn! One would actually be surprised at the species of wildlife which use barbed wire fence in a positive manner...hey but you don't hear about that do you!

 

[dgallow]

You nailed the observation most miss.....birds use the barbs to cache insects to feed the young....often looks like a grasshopper grave yard in summer.

Many Ag practices target thorn removal....so a barb may be all the birds have.

There is also an undistirbed micro climate right under wire which houses some diverse small creatures which may not have lack of disturbance in the main pasture.

Important to wrap tag end of high tensile twice around corner.....then at least 8 wraps around main wire for it to hold. Explained that in my other thread.


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[Wreckingball21]

Planting Washington Hawthorne bushes would help also. Everything avoids those 3 inch needles.


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