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I live on the Washington coast in an area with a large population of quite tame deer. There is a 6 foot wooden fence along once side of my back yard. The deer have never jumped over this fence, but they can easily go around. Along this fence I planted many small trees/shrubs/etc that were supposed to be deer-resistant. Ha! Anyway, if I put six-foot tall fencing around this area attached to the wooden fence at the ends, 4-5 feet out from the wooden fence, would the fact that it is that close to the wooden fence keep them from jumping over the deer fence? A fence higher than that seems like overkill for such a small area. I mainly just want to give my trees a chance to get taller. Thank you!

Anne
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    Hi Anne, the real motivator for deer is how hungry they are. – kevinskio Sep 09 '18 at 22:24
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    Hi Anne. I live in an area with extraordinary deer pressure where they eat things normally considered deer resistant. We have put all kinds of deer fencing in all kinds of places, and have seen first hand what works and where. Your original idea of putting the 6' deer fence approximately 5' from the wood fence will work just fine. Deer will not jump into such a confined space - especially if there are plants occupying some of it. The risk of going any closer is that the deer may be able to reach your plants through the fence or as plants grow through the fence. – That Idiot Sep 13 '18 at 18:07
  • This was my original rationale and I think it does make the most sense. I'll just have to hope that the deer aren't smarter than I am :/ – Anne Sep 13 '18 at 20:10
  • Deer will not jump a fence if they can not see the other side, so a solid 6 ft wood fence stops them but they easily go over an 8 ft wire fence. – blacksmith37 Oct 12 '18 at 21:36

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I think if I placed the deer fence closer to the wooden fence than I had originally planned -- maybe 3 feet rather than 5 -- that the deer wouldn't be able to jump in. That would enclose the trees but not some of the shrubs like rhododendrons, which the deer nibble a tiny bit on but don't really ruin.

Anne
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    I think this is a sound plan. Giving them a smaller, more constrained landing zone might make them move on to easier pickings. But, again, the motivator is hunger. Hard to imagine a shortage of forage in your part of the country. – Tim Nevins Sep 12 '18 at 21:11
  • You can give it a shot, but don't be surprised if deer suddenly start jumping your fence. If there isn't much food in the area, there is no doubt they will jump your fence. The best option is to build a cage around the trees. – DrZoo Sep 13 '18 at 21:13