Does Plastic Deer Fence Work?

To determine what type of fence would work best for your application to keep deer out, its best to go through the facts. While metal fencing for deer is very effective, poly mesh has become more popular throughout the years. Metal fencing is very strong, but deer have poor eyesight. When running at full speed, a grown deer could crash into a steel fence and be stopped. But this could harm the deer, and leave a deer sized dent in your fence! That is why poly mesh is becoming more popular for these applications, as poly can act as a trampoline for a running deer. When they collide with a poly mesh, they bounce back off the fence and learn that way is blocked with little to no harm to the deer itself and keeping the shape of your fence intact!

Poly fence mesh has been used for many years to keep deer out, with a wide variety of options on the market so why should you choose Critterfence? Most poly fencing on the market is a blend of virgin and recycled polypropylene or polyethylene, whereas our Critterfence poly mesh is 100% virgin polypropylene which preserves the integrity of the entire fence much more than blended types. Poly fencing typically breaks down in sunlight, our poly fencing has UV inhibitors in the mesh itself with outdoor life spans of 15, 20, even 25 years depending on the type!

Polyethylene mesh used in a soccer net:   

     

Polypropylene Critterfence fence mesh

There are also different shapes of poly mesh strands, from round, semi-round, flat, or knitted and this will change the shape of the grid. Our mesh is the semi-round strand type, which has been shown to increase the breaking strength per square foot and decrease the visibility of the mesh overall. Our mesh also has a patented reinforced bottom feature, this is a double, shorter strand along the bottom of the fence to assist with pinning the fence down. We don’t recommend this be used as a top border, the most visible the top of the fence is, the more likely deer are to try and jump it!

Visual of our Reinforced Bottom Edge:

Another difference between our poly mesh and others on the market is its rigidity! While our poly fence mesh still requires a post to be installed, our mesh isn’t going to flop over like others out there. Our fence mesh can be installed with 12-15ft post intervals depending on the strength rating, much further apart than the standard 8-10ft post spacing that you see with other types of fencing bringing your costs down. With the fencing being black, it absorbs most light, giving it it’s “invisible” feature. The photos below show our poly mesh at different distances, preserve your view!

5ft Away:                                                                                   

20ft Away:

We have multiple levels of strength and opening sizes available for each application.

For Low-Risk Areas: For areas with a small deer population (roughly 1 or 2 seen)

600 Poly: Our 600-poly mesh utilizes a ½-inch opening size, with a certified 550 pounds of breaking strength per square foot and a 15-year lifespan. These are popular for excluding birds but can be used for deer. 600 1/2x1/2 poly fence

650 Poly: Our 650-poly mesh utilizes a 1-inch opening size, with a certified 600 pounds of breaking strength per square foot and a 15-year lifespan. These are popular for deer and birds. 650 1x1 poly fence

For Medium-Risk Areas: For areas with a decent deer population (3 or more seen)

700 Poly: Our 700-poly mesh utilizes a 1 ¾ to 2-inch opening size. This is one of our most popular deer fences. Rated for 650 pounds of breaking strength and 15 years of useful life, we have the biggest variety of this type of fence. 700 2x2 poly fence

800 Poly: Our 800-poly mesh also utilizes a 1 ¾ to 2-inch opening size. These are rated for 750 pounds of breaking strength and up to 20 years of life. 800 2x2 poly fence

For High-Risk Areas: For areas with a high deer population (roughly 5-10 seen)

1050 Poly: Our 1050-poly mesh utilizes a 1-inch opening size like our 650-series, but with a much higher strength rating of 1000 pounds per square foot and a useful life of up to 25 years! 1050 1x1 poly fence

1100 Poly: Our 1100-poly utilizes a 2-inch opening size, with a 1000-pound breaking strength and 25-year useful life rating. This is our second strongest poly mesh and is popular for commercial grade deer fencing. 1100 2x2 poly fence

For Elk or Very High-Risk Areas: For areas with very high deer populations (10 or more)

1400 Poly: Our 1400-poly mesh is our strongest poly mesh, rated for up to 1350 pounds of breaking strength and for 25 years of life. This fence features a 2-inch opening size and is typically used where elk is a concern. 1400 2x2 poly fence