You want to go to Home Depot, inconveniently located in Columbia MD. Look for rolls of 6 foot green metal fence with rectangular openings, and green metal posts with notches matched to the openings in the fence wire. You don't have to hook the fence material into those notches. I simply mentioned the notches to help you identify the posts.
The posts do NOT have to be as high as the fence. All that matters is the height of the fence. Tie small pieces of white cloth to the top of the fence every few feet to be sure the deer see it at night. If you want, you can dissolve some shards of Irish Spring soap in hot water and soak the rag pieces in it. Couldn't hurt.
If you don't have a ladder that makes you feel safe when pounding the posts into the ground, it's time to buy a better ladder. My posts are NOT 2' in the ground and it doesn't matter. If some crazy deer decides to jump the fence and hits the top on the way over, the posts will bend no matter how deep you set them.
You are making much too much of this... try not thinking so much. First of all regarding deer there is no such thing as temporary, they will eat plants of any age at any time of year, so you had best consider something permanent and long lasting. And it's not just deer, many critters eat plants, especially bunnies, but so do burrowers. Sink 6" X 6" treated fence posts into the ground so to circumscribe the perimneter of your enclosure... that'll keep all but the most persistant burrowers out. Next use fish plates to join the posts, and especially in the corners. Then to stabilze the lumber from frost heaving drill 1/2" holes through at 4' intervals and drive 18" lengths of rebar through. Then along the inside perimeter drive
4' metal wire fencing posts every 4' and in each corner so tehe foot plate is even with the top face of the lumber, a good way to keep all the same height. Then bolt them to the lumber (you will probably need to drill holes in the metal posts). Next attach 4' wide turkey wire to the posts, leaving a section removable for entry. You'll have no opening at the bottom but won't need one for grass trimming, just string trim right to the lumber. No deer are going to leap over a 4' fence into a narrow enclosure, because they instinctively know that they'll have no way out. For a 24' X 4' enclosure you're looking at like $175 in material.
Really not very noticable and no deer get in:
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assure you there are deer here, I also need to fence young trees:
My vegetable garden has a 4 foot wire fence around it and it is electric. Any animal that gets a jolt won't get near it again. It is charged all year so everyone learns.
That's a workable plan..... I was thinking the posts should be as high as the fence.... your alternative should work just as well.....
Don't set so deep, work with existing material height bring the fencing up past the posts place markers on top.
Fortunately I use Irish Spring myself so there's always a plentiful supply of soap chips available.
There are 3 HD's and 1 Lowes within a 10 mile radius....
Another poster 'newsreader' mentioned a supply shop over in Mt. Airy...which is a driveable distance. Always worth a trip to a new supply shop... just to browse.
brooklyn1 suggestedd a removeable section of fence to get inside. that'll work.
Looks like all the bases have been covered.... time to get to work.
Thanking you all for your help, advice and expertise !!!! The s.o. will be happy, the shrubs will be happy, the deer will not have to be dipped, (making them happy) and hopefully I won't kill myself on the ladder....
Just a homeowner so I'll swing over to TSC .... always fun to visit a new supply shop, even just to browse.
I'm in a development off 29 and 175...... From first glance it's pretty heavily developed, however my property is lowest point in the valley backing onto open space. There's a EPA protected stream in the backyard and wetlands slightly higher. The land along route 29 is wooded... home to a lot of deer and other critters.
The old Smith Farm is just a walk away.... used to be herds of deer over there, but the county purchased the land after old lady Smith died. Feisty old lady, she chased the governor off her property once. Anyway, the county cut down the trees to turn
300 acres of woodland into ballfields and horseshoe pits.
Lots of new strip malls, Wal Mart, townhouses.... all available property was developed during the housing boom, plus a lot of infill. My neighborhood was untouched... although we did have to fight off a developer or two... and their politician buddies.
To further compound the problem... Columbia is a 'company' town. The original developer Rouse Corporation, bought all the property... developed the houses, and held onto the commercial property. So they are the biggest 'landlord' with control over almost everything. Rouse sold out to General Growth Properties which just declared bankruptcy... the area is a mess.
Even though this is 'Columbia reserved open space' the HOA mowers still chop down everything.... place is bare during the winter months. (think 'Edward Scissorhands' or 'Over the Hedge' type of community... that's Columbia. Bedroom type of community, everyone commutes to Washington D.C. They used to measure the height of the grass.
So the deer and wildlife congregate over at my house... furthest house back in the development. Probably the only place with year round vegetation.
It's always a balancing act between critters and me.... we kinda tolerate each other.... everybody has their section of the yard... IF these shrubs get high enough... they'll provide some food and shelter. I'll have more privacy... and the s.o. who is here only on weekends will be able to see her stuff growing.
If you want to pound in 6' posts (which I think are ridiculous for your purpose) don't try to swing a full handled sledge hammer from atop a step ladder, you'll kill yourself, at least cripple yourself. Use an engineer's hammer while standing on a milk box or a rubbermaid step stool... everyone who anticipates any heavy hammering needs an engineer's hammer.
Some of my thoughts: Even "chicken wire" requires some tensioning. The corner posts are critical in holding tension. You may need something in a more permanent nature for the corner posts, especially if the ground is soft when dry or wet.
Look for places that supply farms and ranches for fencing that's not normally carried in the local "box" store.
I've not seen chicken wire in widths over 48". And chicken wire can only be tensioned lengthwise, (in the direction the single strand wires run), attempting to tension it widthwise it'll just keep stretching until all the octogon holes close up, it'll be ruined. Chicken wire is too flimsy to span more than like 30" between fence posts. Chicken wire is really not designed to be tensioned like chain link fence, it's best to use chickenwire totally relaxed as it comes off the roll, no tension applied at all... applying tension will cause chicken wire to distort, making it quite difficult to work with. I use chicken wire to temporarilly afford some protection to young trees, I would never use it for serious fencing, it definitely won't keep deer out... deer won't need to leap over, they'll simply knock chickenwire down low enough with their hoofs (and necks) to walk right over it. Chicken wire is weak, a good sized chicken can distort it enough to find a way through (imagine a two hundred pound deer), that's why turkey wire is more often used, and in conjunction with chicken wire to contain tiny poultry. I used chicken wire attached at the bottom of my turkey ware vegetable garden fence to keep rabbits out but chicken wire doesn't last long, it rusts and rots and within three years begins to disintergrate, especially the portion right near the ground... I now use heavy gauge hardware cloth.
All wire type fencing requires some tensioning. I never and won't say how much. I never suggested use of "chicken wire". Too bad you can't get over that...
Turkey wire fencing has to be tight and you need at least corner posts to support that tension. You addressed that in your own response elsewhere. But failed to say the words "corner posts" as it would easily be correlated to my previious response, therefore, I would be correct.
"Turkey wire" is a very ambiguous/vague term. If you're going to designate its use, you need to be specific in the wire gauge, wire material, and its wire spacing.
"Hardware cloth" is also vague. Especially in use near or on the ground. It material make-up is extremely important as result when suggesting using it.
We have used 6 wire electric fence to protect a row of bushes. The fence is 6 feet high and the deer go around the fence now and not one bush was chewed up this winter.
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