Anonymous
Post 06/25/2026 15:21     Subject: Fence to keep deer out
Anonymous wrote:We live near a Montgomery County Regional Park and therefore have a lot of deer all around. We can't stand having deer in our backyard (they eat all of the birdseed and leave poop everywhere, making the yard unusable).

We only need a fence against the sides of our house, parallel to the front of our house; there are already other fences on the sides and back of our house (different kinds, so we're not trying to match any of them).

One neighbor is thinking of getting a fence on their side of the house that faces ours at the same time as us. They have plants that need full sun (which they currently receive, since they are in front of their current fence). The new fence would go in front of their plants.

I'm thinking of getting a metal fence. No one needs or wants a privacy fence, and the metal fence would allow sunlight in for our neighbors' plants. The only hitch is that MoCo only allows fences up to 6'6", so we can't get an 8' fence.

For those who have metal fences and deer in their neighborhoods, does the metal fence keep out the deer? Several people have told me that deer need to see a wall of wood in front of them to prevent them from trying to jump over the fence.

Currently, we have a chain link fence with chicken wire above it. It's more than 6' but ugly and we want to replace it.

TIA!


We're currently using solar powered deer deterrent devices we purchased off amazon. Seem to be working well. They are motion activated and emit a high frequency sound and flash lights.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2026 15:48     Subject: Fence to keep deer out
Anonymous wrote:My kid's friend has a 6 ft fence. A deer jumped, got their back foot caught in it, and was hanging head first off the fence. The family called animal control, and before it could get to their house, ***the deer tore its own leg off and ran away***. I saw the photo of the leg: it was the whole leg. I don't know how long that poor deer survived.

Get the waiver or put up the 8 footer and dare anyone to complain.


+1

Something similar happened to a neighbor. It's horrible.
Anonymous
Post 06/23/2026 15:23     Subject: Fence to keep deer out
We've got a fence, and it didn't keep deer out for anything. Our previous dog was apparently not a threat either. Then we got our current dog, a lab that loves to run the fence line and bark at the deer, and even though she's not out more than 4-5 times a day, her smell and the possibility that she may come out is enough to keep them out. Before our current dog though, we noticed the deer wouldn't jump the fence where they are unsure of the landing--we have raised garden beds along the one sunny stretch of the yard, and they never came in/out in that area, only the areas where they could see the landing area well. So a regular fence plus irregular looking terrain spaced a bit from the fence is a big deterrent.
Anonymous
Post 06/20/2026 21:52     Subject: Fence to keep deer out
Our fence is 6 feet but wooden (so opaque) and deer do not try to jump it. We have occasionally had a deer wander into the backyard when one of the kids has left the gate open and they don’t even try to jump the fence to get out of the yard.
Anonymous
Post 06/20/2026 21:12     Subject: Fence to keep deer out
If the deer can see to the other side they’ll jump in. I’d get a solid fence. Another option is to plant tall shrubs thickly along the fence line but that will take 2-3 years to fill in enough. Don’t get a metal fence with spikes on top…neighbor had a young deer get stuck and impaled on it…very sad and distressing for all.
Anonymous
Post 06/20/2026 19:02     Subject: Fence to keep deer out
My kid's friend has a 6 ft fence. A deer jumped, got their back foot caught in it, and was hanging head first off the fence. The family called animal control, and before it could get to their house, ***the deer tore its own leg off and ran away***. I saw the photo of the leg: it was the whole leg. I don't know how long that poor deer survived.

Get the waiver or put up the 8 footer and dare anyone to complain.
Anonymous
Post 06/20/2026 18:51     Subject: Re:Fence to keep deer out
Anonymous wrote:OP here. We are not allowed to have an 8' fence. I'm wondering if anyone with a 6" metal fence has found that it keeps the deer out.


A 6' fence is not going to keep deer out. They would not even hesitate.
Anonymous
Post 06/20/2026 18:48     Subject: Re:Fence to keep deer out
Anonymous wrote:You need a 8' metal deer fence. My neighbor installed one, and honestly it's practically invisible.


P.S. We live in MoCo. A spiteful neighbor complained but she appealed and got a waiver to the 6.5' rule.