If you’re a gardener, the biggest issue you may have are the wildlife garden intruders, such as rabbits, groundhogs, raccoons, squirrels, etc.
However, even cats and dogs may ruin the herbs and plants you took weeks to cultivate.
What can you do?
You can install an electric garden fence for rabbits and solve your problem!
The electric garden fence will be productive enough to protect your garden plants & keep the grass property clean from small critters and wildlife pests.
And how do you construct them? Read below.
Rabbits: Friendly or not so friendly?
Like other small critters, rabbits too, like getting into your garden and ruining your plants.
The tricky animal causes expensive damage to the surrounding garden area and completely eats up the landscape and your work.
So, if you notice the “warning sign” in your garden, you’ll know that rabbits have visited:
- ground holes
- dropping signs
- signs of digging in the dirt
- tufts of fur caught on plants
- chewed herbs
- missing plants overnight.
What is an effective solution?
The best solution is to construct an electric fence and protect your garden and herbs from being eaten and destroyed.
When facing a rabbit problem, you will need quality electric fencing kits. You may find them here or pick the Zareba model as the best one.
Inside the electric fencing kit, you will find all the necessary components required when installing a rabbit electric fence.
So, the kit includes:
- ground rod
- AC fence charger
- hookup wire
- reel or electric fence wire
- step-in insulated fence posts
Such electric fencing is designed specifically for small animals – rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, groundhogs, and other animals attacking your garden crops, flowers, and other vegetation.
How does the electric fence work?
The electric fence gives the animals a gentle yet effective electric shock whenever they attempt to breach the perimeter.
The fencing also teaches and conditions them not to return.
However, the fencing kit is highly practicable, as it covers up to 625 square feet of your land, using only one fence wire strand.
You can extend the fencing charger rates up to one mile when you add more kits.
But, Amazon is the right place to find all components required for a correct fence system if you’re constructing a new fence or improving your existing fence.
How do you build an effective garden fence?
When setting up electric fences to scare off the rabbits from your gardens or other grass areas, you will need between 3 and 5 fence wires.
You must space the wires 4 inches apart and place the first wire at 4 inches. The first wire is up to 2 inches above the soil to prevent the animal from going under the unit.
But what if deer also visit often and feed on your garden corn and vegetation? Calculate the height and size and act according to the determinants.
The top wire should be by the animal’s needs. So, if you also prevent deer, place it at 35 inches of height.
Since the wires are close to the ground, they require proper maintenance, free of vegetation.
Rabbits can quickly jump around, so it would be best to remove everything surrounding the garden fence and permit them to enter your property.
However, sometimes even the fence components are not enough to prevent the animal from destroying your land.
But then, you can construct a fence meeting your standards.
Keeping the wildlife away from your garden
It would be best to set up a camera on the property and determine whether the animal is ruining your work.
So, you can keep them in or out based on the facts.
Once you have determined the pests, you can search for the best solution for your gardening needs.
Zareba experts offer a complete table regarding multiple fencing types for different captive and wild animals.
You can also refer to it to find the exact measurements when setting up fences.
Can you build your fence?
Yes, you can, but you must know the basics.
As I mentioned earlier, you can find the correct fence kit with all the necessary elements and complete basics with a single purchase.
So, if you’re building on your own, you will need:
- AC fence charger or solar charger
- aluminum wire, poly tape, poly rope, or poly wire (reel of fence line)
- insulated fence posts or other options
- insulators – when your posts are not insulated
- hookup wires
- ground rod
1. Chargers
Regarding fence chargers, consider how you will power the fences.
If you can get AC power to the fence, choose an AC charger. Then, it will be effortless to expand the fence and garden in the future.
For those who cannot use AC power, my advice is to apply DC battery/solar-powered operating fence controller.
These portable and compact units don’t require an AC plug-in power supply.
Solar chargers use solar panels to charge the battery inside them. The battery chargers the fence. They fit T-posts & are excellent for those who don’t like charging batteries periodically.
2. Fence posts
Choose whatever style you like: fiberglass, round posts, plastic, or T-posts. They are either semi-permanent or permanent.
Other units allow you to move them around and change the fence boundaries.
But, if you decide to update your existing fencing, find the best insulator for the wires and posts.
3. Insulators
They prevent energy loss.
When applying a pre-existing structure or something besides the step-in-posts, you’ll need them. You must match them with the type of posts you choose.
My advice is to match the post first and then the line type.
4. Wire system
Experts recommend aluminum wire for the line. The wire is an advanced electricity conductor and easier to work with.
Other types of electric fence wire include poly wire, poly tape, or poly rope. They’re excellent for aesthetics, but you need to purchase additional units for electricity and productivity.
5. Ground rod
Ground rods complete the circuit and are obligatory for all constructions. Without them, the fence won’t work.
They help electricity complete loop out of the energizer, through the line, into the ground, and back to the energizer.
You firstly place the rods into the ground and then attach the wire mechanism to prevent the animal from destroying the corn.
6. Hookup wire
The wire connects one part of the structure with another without the risk of accidental shocks.
It contains an insulated sleeve, easy to connect to individual elements, such as energizers, rods, lines, etc.
But, remember that permanent constructions need a woven wire, wide tape, rope, or high-tensile wires.
Final words
Fencing offers multiple services and effectively protects your land from intruders. You can easily search for the best solutions based on variables and exact needs.
Remember that rabbits and similar pests jump around and are quick, so search for something practical to keep them out.
If you build your electric garden fence for rabbits, you must have a proper plan and size to complete the tool successfully. Otherwise, your solution won’t be productive.
