Fencing for the Homestead

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LIGHTWEIGHT ELECTRIFIED
POLY WIRE/POLY TAPE

Installation: about $200/quarter mile for a 30-inch-high poly wire mesh. About two hours of labor

Ongoing maintenance: retying broken poly wire, straightening metal T-posts, maintaining ground connection

Pros: easy and inexpensive to install and move; some versions repel predators

Cons: not suitable perimeter fencing for large livestock; will shock people and pets

Available in different patterns, strands of wire are interwoven in a polyethylene plastic rope mesh that resembles a woven wire fence. This combination provides a physical barrier as well as delivery of electricity close to the ground. It’s the easiest and least expensive fencing option, but there’s a catch: Most light-duty poly systems aren’t considered reliable for perimeter fencing for large livestock. That’s because they’re generally positioned too low to the ground and are too weak to keep large animals off a road or out of a neighbor’s flower garden. But for internal fencing, they’re nimble enough that you can move them for rotational grazing or other temporary fencing needs. It also provides an effective deterrent against most predators.

Woven poly mesh is a useful option for containing poultry and keeping small animals such as rabbits and raccoons out of the vegetable garden. If you combine a poly fencing system with electrified high-tensile perimeter fencing, you don’t need to buy a second energizer. Simply hook up the small poly fence to your existing high-tensile electric fence to electrify both using the same charger.

CHOOSING AND
USING AN ENERGIZER

The power running through an electric fence is different than the electricity that comes out of a wall socket or a battery, and creating this unique power is accomplished with an energizer. Also called a “fencer” or “charger,” this device takes relatively low-voltage electricity and increases it to between 2,000 to 10,000 volts at the fence wire, with a corresponding drop in amperage that makes the system safe. The result is a lively bunch of electrons that are eager to make their way back to the earth via anything that touches the fence wire. When the electricity passes through a cow or a horse (or a homesteader!), there’s no question what happens—the result is shocking indeed!

You need to consider two vital issues when selecting an energizer. First you should choose an appropriately powerful model for the animals you want to contain or exclude. Your energizer’s power output is rated in “joules.”

The second fundamental issue is grounding. You can have the best energizer in the world, but it’s useless without a functioning electrical connection to the earth. This is a crucial and often overlooked detail that can impair the performance of any electric fence. You should use a minimum of two metal ground rods driven into the soil for each energizer in your system. For optimal energizer performance in most soil conditions, use three-fourths-inch-diameter, 3-foot-long galvanized steel rods. You may need more rods in dry earth because it is less conductive.

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