My Miracle Fence

Here they are...these two precious puppies were the beginning of my hunt for a perfect boundary fence. Sure, we have deer, rabbits, squirrels, cats, stray dogs, raccoons, even skunks...but none really seemed to hinder my - or my gardens - potential more than these two! They trampled through my beds, destroying what few flowers would sprout , dug up bushes, ate and tore out my vegetables...it got to the point where just the sight of my back gardens would bring tears to my eyes. It was on that day that I decided to take a stand and reclaim my garden - ALL of it!!

I have relatives that live in an area where deer are a leading cause of garden failure. They come in, strip everything clean, and you're left with nothing. Out of sheer necessity they decided to try to make a simple fence with fishing line (little did they know that this would be a GENIUS idea to keep most larger animals out of an area!!).  Several weeks passed after they put up their fence, and to their pleasant surprise, their garden was flourishing! Every year since, they make sure when it's time to plant, its time for the fishing line fence to go up!

I wrapped the line around each post to keep
the line tight and to keep it stationary.

This got me to thinking: if the fishing line is enough to deter deer, shouldn't it do something for other animals as well? So I decided to test my hypothesis. I pounded 1"x1 1/2" wooden posts along the border of my flower beds and garden so they stuck about three feet above the ground. I then took 10lb fishing line (I bought a huge, cheap reel of it), tied it to my first post and proceeded to string it between each post until I had created three different levels of line.

After I tied off the end of my line, I let the dogs out. They immediately ran straight to the fence. I was sure they would just plough right through it, but no...no, they stopped at it, sniffed it, inspected it, then turned around and left. Not once did they jump over it, run through it, or even test it out. No, the day that fishing line fence went up I haven't had to worry about my garden - even when those dogs are out there all day unattended! It's a fabulous feeling!

My sister was so impressed that she applied the same technique to her yard. She got stronger line, but the outcome was exactly the same; her dogs never crossed it either.

Not only does it keep our gardens safe, but it is so visually unobtrusive. You can't see the line and you barely even notice the fence. I'm in love with it!

I hope this is of help to you if you are struggling with unwanted visitors in your garden. I will warn you now though, cats are not phased by this fence; they just step through. But so far, the larger animals have seemed to stay away. It's simple, inexpensive, and fairly attractive (relatively speaking). Best of luck!



Look at that broccoli; those carrots, radishes, and peas :-)
all safe behind simple fishing line