Making cages to keep animals away from plants

[puff n tuff]

I use 100X6ft chicken wire , with 1 inch weaving in the mesh . its about 4-6 inches round and 6ft long. Perfect for hauling in to rough terain, its $50 a rool. So i cut it in half or use the rool in a larger patch!! look at rural hardware stores for small farming towns or communitys... slugs and grasshoppers are the only thing that gets over or threw, and sunflowers with cut off heads r much prefered by these two pests and they will only attack them , or first at least!!! Peace

 

[gaga]

so tossing a roll of chicken wire in a fire would give it a nice dull colour?

 

[McDank805]

i just have a rabbit problem..

 

[Mr.Bitti]

i made a 4x4x2 cage out of a-frame and screens. not sure what whats munching my plants in fucking puerto rico(no deer, must be cats/birds/rats) after a couple of eaten up sprouts i got pissed and built the cage

 

[Moppel]

i made the same kind of cages last year, there is a thread soemwhere from it. Everything got eaten , i think by rats, cuz they only ate the stems of the leaves and left the leaves behind on the ground.

 

[hevox]

Here in sweden we have alot of deer problems, and actually, at the site I've been planning to use as my first outdoor grow, there are really alot of them. You see them behind every tree. So this cage will really be useful, thank you much! And I suspect these work against other rodents aswell rats, hares etc.

 

[rezinrebel]

PESTS

PESTS

Hi growers , thankfully here in the UK we have a few less pests than a lot of you . No pigs , groundhogs , possum , etc etc . & no large deer where i am just Rabbit & Muntjac which are very secretive & shy & spend most time in the undergrowth till i get my plants in the plot these little buggers love MJ & and an awful lot of garden plants , particuarly this winter as we had a hard un . This pic was taken through the kitchen window at about 12ft shortly after i`d watched it standing on it`s hind legs eating the top buds off my Magnolia . I keep telling the missus i`m gonna have venison roast & burgers but her beeing a vegitarian would notice the extra meat in the freezer .
We used to have a product called Renardine that done the business but was taken off the market due to health concerns . If you have anything similar it`s always worth soaking a few conkers or small softwood pieces & scattering them around your plants .
In my garden plot i have no concerns on cages beeing seen but on my Guerilla have to use painted cages & have found the best way is to lay the mesh panel on a piece of polythene & use a small brush . I tried a roller once but suffered too much waste . Any paint that spills on poly may help coat the next piece of mesh laid on it .





The best MJ plants grown are outdoor & i support all of you in your desire to succeed .

Stay safe all . BGB

 

[skunkuk]

Im doing an outdoor grow and there are loads of rabbits, deer and shrews! found a nice location in a forrest i came up with a type of cage that deters everything,

I used green garden canes made into a pyramind (6 canes) and covered in all purpose garden netting (cheap and strong) deers rabbits and shrews cannot get to your lady's.

Also found fox urine is a fantastic deterent for rabbits, and human urine for deer.

 

[Ribsauce]

awesome thread JJ and a big thank you

after losing a majority of last years crop to deer i knew i had to make and carry out cages this year...i made a few last year from american fencing i had laying around the farm but after taking them out to my spots realized how inefficent and obvious they look... made a trip to Tractor Supply (a farming or rural living store for those of you not in the states) and found some cheap rolls of Green Vinyl Hex Netting that has 1" holes made by Garden Zone...it works very well... its way easier to bend and fold up to be taken to the spot and it disapears into the native foilage after about 20 feet...also its pretty damn cheap seeing as though i made up 25 cages that were a few inches wider than the ones JJ made for only 30 dollars...cant really beat paying a little over a dollar to keep your precious crops alive

I do have a question though? what do you guys use as a stake or anchor for the cages?? i have been rigging up sticks and actually using really old clothespins that dont have the spring in the middle... the clothespins work well but i cant find anyplace that sell them anymore...any suggestions would be awesome

 

[argoagro]

awesome thread JJ and a big thank you

after losing a majority of last years crop to deer i knew i had to make and carry out cages this year...i made a few last year from american fencing i had laying around the farm but after taking them out to my spots realized how inefficent and obvious they look... made a trip to Tractor Supply (a farming or rural living store for those of you not in the states) and found some cheap rolls of Green Vinyl Hex Netting that has 1" holes made by Garden Zone...it works very well... its way easier to bend and fold up to be taken to the spot and it disapears into the native foilage after about 20 feet...also its pretty damn cheap seeing as though i made up 25 cages that were a few inches wider than the ones JJ made for only 30 dollars...cant really beat paying a little over a dollar to keep your precious crops alive

I do have a question though? what do you guys use as a stake or anchor for the cages?? i have been rigging up sticks and actually using really old clothespins that dont have the spring in the middle... the clothespins work well but i cant find anyplace that sell them anymore...any suggestions would be awesome

I use sticks as well and it works REALLY good if you do it how I have been. You need some big cutters, and the right sticks though, but basically I find a good one and cut it right before another branch node comes off so it doesn't stick out of the ground to far after the 'hook', then I cut that side branch off only an inch long or less, and leave about 12-18" on the main part.

It's really hard to describe, but really simple, you basically need a 'hook' at the top that you then push the bottom into the soil and hook the wire with that side branch.

 

[Ribsauce]

hey thanks for the response agroagro i have kinda been doing the same thing using "Y" branches but i just dont think i was doing it exactly right...thanks again man ill go out today and see if i can improve them

 

[Reibsi]

Take it form me...

Take it form me...

...Paint your fencing flat black and it will virtually disappear before your very eyes...Use the native tree for posts and go with at least 4 foot chicken fencing with 1 inch mesh.
Take a staple gun and staple the fencing to the first post...starting at the top and stapling downward...pull the fencing tightly over to the next post but staple it to the inside of that post...repeat this procedure..going inside one post and then outside to the other..I`ve been using this method for over 20 years and it will make for one strong inclosure.
36 plants in this pic with over 100 feet of fencing around them...Painted flat black and voila...where did it go.

 

[SCARHOLE]

THE CAGES IN THIS TREAD FAILED ME.

I tried reqular chicken wire like yall do an lost em all.

I put wire around em an the rabbits an gophers dug in.
I put wire root cages in the gound to stop em.
then the deer went in the top an ate em.
I sealed the top an mice got em.

After loosing 20ish i got it figured out....
1/4inch square wire, root cages, make em extend up to 4 ft, camo em with local dead weeds

I made a how to video of how i do it, tried an proven by me................
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XltdsqllVlY

 

[maxkravitz]

If possible try a different spot.

 

[argoagro]

hey thanks for the response agroagro i have kinda been doing the same thing using "Y" branches but i just dont think i was doing it exactly right...thanks again man ill go out today and see if i can improve them

I came back in here to post a follow up, I had a plant die so I pulled one of the cages up to see how well they were in there. I think I should snap some pics of how I did it because that thing was in there REAL GOOD.

 

[cfo]

I think a skunk got into my plants. I started with 5 purple powers and 1 durban poison and transplanted the seedlings outside around the 1st week of June. As of last Thursday, I had 1 PP and 1 DP left, both caged. When I checked yesterday afternoon, the cage around the DP was ripped out of the ground, the DP was laying on its side with roots still attached and there was a 6 inch hole in the ground where it was planted. I replanted it, gave it a shot of water with sea kelp, threw some wolf crap (long story) around the outside of the cage and sprayed deer/rabbit repellant around it also. Checked on it again this afternoon and there are 2 tiny leaves that have sprouted so I'm hopeful it'll start growing again and the critters will leave it alone. They haven't found my purple power yet but I threw crap around its cage as well. I used hardware cloth for my cages and used landscape staples to anchor them to the ground. Next year, I will get medieval with my fencing!

 

[007.]

We didn't use any sticks. Just three foot or so chicken wire cut into four foot or so lengths. Then we attached them by twisting the cut wires together. We dug small circle trenches around our holes and got the cylinders in as best we could. Then we piled some native dirt and rocks around them to keep them in place. Finally we folded the open top in so nothing could go in from above. When required, we'll unfold them so they can grow up and out.

No deer damage yet, although another plot nearby without protection suffered a 100% loss from deer.

 

[GAME]

This method is similar to what I have used for years and has helped me out alot. Thanks for sharing this information with the masses.

 

[icred]

I use 1/4" mesh garden fencing about 4' tall. I make 3 1.5' cylinders per 20' roll. Dull the mesh in a fire.
Small mesh seems to keep in the dirt in better. I put it about 6" into the ground and then pile up birch-bark, rocks and then loose dirt around the bases to hold the dirt in and hold them up. I usually put a ring of 4' plastic 1/4" mesh around the top with zip strips to really keep the deer, etc at bay. I tie the tops closed until the plant is big enough. Everything is camo'd with dark green spray paint. I used to use sono tubes but the metal/plastic mesh tube is easy to backpack in and more stealthy.

 

[MasterKhufu]

Is there a certain point when cages are no longer necessary? Like if they get to a certain size, or if it's late enough in the season so they have other food to eat? On the East Coast?