Electric it is!

I use electric fence for my goats(netting and multi strand) and have 2 electric stands along the top of my perimeter fence. Ignore the distance in the marketing literature, this is for a single strand in ideal conditions(correct soil moisture and no vegetation load). If it works out and you're looking for replacement in the future I highly recommend premier1. Its pricey, but I have chargers and netting roles 15+ years old. Ive never used it, but they have a step-over netting specifically for raccoons(backordered, but hog net is similar). I use non electric step over to keep my ducks and geese out of my veggie gardens and really like being able to step over a fence instead of walking around to a gate.

Electric fence is a psychological barrier, not a physical one. That means that if you use a strong charger to give them a good jolt, once the animals get acclimated to it it works without them touching it. My goats stay 1-2 feet away from the fence almost all the time. It usually works for a couple weeks if your charger goes down or long grass is shorting it out. Ive temporarily fenced areas(~1 week) without hooking to a charger at all.

On choosing a charger, you might want a more powerful charger. 1 joule is on the low power end for chargers. Dry soil and vegetation touching the wires will reduce that further. My main charger is 2.3 joules output, 1.9 at the fence in moist soil, and in dry soil its down to 1.2. Add vegetaion load to that and its definitely under 1 joule at the fence wire in my summers. Also, smaller animals like a racoon usually need more power because they dont have the weight to make solid contact with the ground to complete the circuit.
 
@amac

Thanks for that info, a good write up with personal experience is always appreciated.
I haven't dealt with electric fences since I was a boy, we had horses and goats.
Initially I was going to put down weed barrier under the fence but a bit more thought into it...they wouldn't be making good ground contact.
I suppose I will just keep the grass mowed down very low in that area.
You've definitely given me a few things to consider.
Thanks again!
 
Figneer said:
@TorontoJoe have you tried ultrasound gadgets? Wondering if they work? Something similar to these? Probably Racoons are too smart and they will adjust to it
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I had a couple of these back in 2020/2021, worked for a couple of months on the squirrels but never on the raccoons. Then after a couple of months even the squirrels would slowly walk right past them like they weren’t even there. 🤬
 
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ktrain said:
@amac

Thanks for that info, a good write up with personal experience is always appreciated.
I haven't dealt with electric fences since I was a boy, we had horses and goats.
Initially I was going to put down weed barrier under the fence but a bit more thought into it...they wouldn't be making good ground contact.
I suppose I will just keep the grass mowed down very low in that area.
You've definitely given me a few things to consider.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Never thought about that but that’s a good idea to keep it mowed. Just a thought, if there’s a drought would dried dead weeds and grass catch fire from the wires if the are touching it?
 
Figgerlickinggood said:
Never thought about that but that’s a good idea to keep it mowed. Just a thought, if there’s a drought would dried dead weeds and grass catch fire from the wires if the are touching it?
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I wondered about that myself. It seems while possible, dry vegetation is a poor conductor and the risk of fire is small. However, I found out a drought can be a problem because the ground rod requires moist soil. That's why most ground rods are at least 3 feet long. After consulting with Premier 1, I went with only an 18 inch ground rod. The relatively small area I intend to fence is between two houses and sees significant drainage when it rains. And I irrigate when it's dry.
 
CDGfig said:
I wondered about that myself. It seems while possible, dry vegetation is a poor conductor and the risk of fire is small. However, I found out a drought can be a problem because the ground rod requires moist soil. That's why most ground rods are at least 3 feet long. After consulting with Premier 1, I went with only an 18 inch ground rod. The relatively small area I intend to fence is between two houses and sees significant drainage when it rains. And I irrigate when it's dry.
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At the recommendation of electricians and the company that makes the units...multiple 8' ground rods should be used.
I thought 8 FEET!

But yeah, that way they have the best chance of staying in contact with moist soil several feet down.
However.....driving 8 feet deep here in Georgia when there are 13 million rocks in the soil, can be extremely difficult.

@Figgerlickinggood I don't worry about dry grass, if that were the case there would be would fires all over the country on most farms with livestock.
 
I got my kit from Premier 1. I've actually had for about a week. I've been lazy about setting it up because my resident racoon hasn't been visiting. But last night, my camera caught not one, but FOUR racoons (momma and three young 'uns) rushing by.:(
 

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CDGfig said:
I got my kit from Premier 1. I've actually had for about a week. I've been lazy about setting it up because my resident racoon hasn't been visiting. But last night, my camera caught not one, but FOUR racoons (momma and three young 'uns) rushing by.:(
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That was my issue last year, well...4 young one.
I didn't see the mother.
Caught one youngin and rehomed it.
This year I'm not messing with live traps.
I'll have my fence set up soon.
 
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