Wire Mesh?

[Chef Munky]

I have a Gopher/ dog problem.
My deck has an opening at the bottom. It's a 10" gap.The dogs have picked up an annoying bad habit of going under the deck. I can't blame them they are tracking the gophers that have invaded my yard. I bought some chicken wire, Gopher repellent and a 1 gallon sprayer. I don't want to kill them just want to direct them into my neighbors pool.
My dogs front leg fell into a hole the other night. He could have broke his leg. The hole was that deep.
I'll cut the wire to to size it's 16.9"x32.8' roll.
How can I hold down the bottom of the screen so that they and the neighbors cats can't get under the deck? The top I'm planning on stapling.The bottom is just dirt.

​

 

[dragnlaw]

It's a pain, but around the chicken coop to keep out other critters, had to dig a trench and bury the screen down. Don't know how deep you would need to go but between cats and dogs MINIMUM 18". Dogs can dig 12" in the flash of an eye. Can't won't necessarily dig much but will follow others.
Ideal is 2'. Easiest with a pick-axe. Pointy end goes in real easy (unless you have big rocks), so it doesn't have to be super wide. Just wide enough for your hand/tool/whatever to push the wire down.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I would make or buy some stakes that you can thread through the holes in the wire and drive into the ground. Think tent stakes.

 

[medtran49]

I have a Gopher/ dog problem.
My deck has an opening at the bottom. It's a 10" gap.The dogs have picked up an annoying bad habit of going under the deck. I can't blame them they are tracking the gophers that have invaded my yard. I bought some chicken wire, Gopher repellent and a 1 gallon sprayer. I don't want to kill them just want to direct them into my neighbors pool.
My dogs front leg fell into a hole the other night. He could have broke his leg. The hole was that deep.
I'll cut the wire to to size it's 16.9"x32.8' roll.
How can I hold down the bottom of the screen so that they and the neighbors cats can't get under the deck? The top I'm planning on stapling.The bottom is just dirt.

​

We had a large dog, around 90 pounds, that would push the chain link fence out at the bottom and go walkabout, taking the pugs with her usually. She always came back with the scardy cat pug following. One of them never went far, but the 2 others we'd have to track down.

Craig tried stakes. She just kept pushing until they came out of ground. Then he tried landscape timbers that he used big heavy staple like things to attach to the fence. That slowed her down a lot, but she was still able to push out given enough time. So, he drilled holes at each end of the landscape timbers and got some 2 foot pieces of rebar and drove that in with a heavy mallet. That finally stopped her, at least for a while. She then figured out how to flip up the latch on the gate, so we had to buy a padlock and lock it.

She was a half malamute and half golden retriever, and one of the smartest dogs we've ever had. She got into all kinds of mischief.

 

[dragnlaw]

Nbr. 1 might work, but for sure a skunk, raacoon will dig the others up lickety split.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Electrify the wire.

 

[Chef Munky]

Electrify the wire.

Going for the gusto eh?
That idea would fix everything. LOL!

 

[Chef Munky]

I would make or buy some stakes that you can thread through the holes in the wire and drive into the ground. Think tent stakes.

I would make or buy some stakes that you can thread through the holes in the wire and drive into the ground. Think tent stakes.

View attachment 64192

I would make or buy some stakes that you can thread through the holes in the wire and drive into the ground. Think tent stakes.

View attachment 64192

Thank you for the idea Bea,

It's a pain, but around the chicken coop to keep out other critters, had to dig a trench and bury the screen down. Don't know how deep you would need to go but between cats and dogs MINIMUM 18". Dogs can dig 12" in the flash of an eye. Can't won't necessarily dig much but will follow others.
Ideal is 2'. Easiest with a pick-axe. Pointy end goes in real easy (unless you have big rocks), so it doesn't have to be super wide. Just wide enough for your hand/tool/whatever to push the wire down.

Our dogs are small chihuahuas.They go out the back door and immediately jump off the deck and dive in. It's such a hassle at 10pm trying to be quiet calling them out from under the deck.
Then the cats show up at all hours.
Had a good look yesterday under the deck. Wondering why so much dirt was coming up through the planks. Those gophers have been going to town. I'll have to take a heavy duty rake to lvl out the dirt mounds before we do anything. They have actually been digging up on both sides of the step. Treat the spots with repellent.

 

[rodentraiser]

Actually, you really can electrify the wire. I have friends who hotwired the top of their corral when they kept a stallion for a while. It works on a solar battery and the shock isn't that bad, but it will deter the dogs. I was thinking of it for my yard to keep the deer out, but I was told deer will either jump it or roll under it, so having a 7ft fence built seemed surer.

I'd just completely clear everything away from the bottom of the fencing and then run an electric wire around the bottom of it attached to a solar battery. The dogs - and the gophers - will touch it once and that will be that.

Question: if you get a barrier in that the dogs can't get through, how are the gophers going to come out? Or will they be digging their way down to China under your deck?

 

[taxlady]

@dragnlaw You have experience with electric fences, what do you think of the idea of something electrified.

 

[dragnlaw]

For deer - not worth it - they jump.
for dogs - depending on their size. It works but if they are small dogs and the wire is too close to the ground, you will spend all your time wandering around checking to see if the wire is still on the insulators and not touching anything.
for gophers - don't know but I do know that gophers dig...

Buried wire, as in an invisible fence, is good for dogs - but probably not around a porch as the poor animal would get zapped trying to onto the porch or deck.
But unless you can put a collar on the varmits too, what's the point?

 

[Chef Munky]

Actually, you really can electrify the wire. I have friends who hotwired the top of their corral when they kept a stallion for a while. It works on a solar battery and the shock isn't that bad, but it will deter the dogs. I was thinking of it for my yard to keep the deer out, but I was told deer will either jump it or roll under it, so having a 7ft fence built seemed surer.

I'd just completely clear everything away from the bottom of the fencing and then run an electric wire around the bottom of it attached to a solar battery. The dogs - and the gophers - will touch it once and that will be that.

Question: if you get a barrier in that the dogs can't get through, how are the gophers going to come out? Or will they be digging their way down to China under your deck?

Have you ever run into an electrical hot wired fence?
I have. Tell ya what the burn marks it left on my face and neck as a kid wasn't funny! Why would anyone suggest such a cruel disgusting thing to deter my dogs?
My God!

 

[dragnlaw]

Sounds like you ran into a jury-rigged device. In Canada electric fences can only be to a specified strength. I believe the age is a 4 yr old child will not be harmed by it. Yes, some farmers will have stronger for bulls and cows, etc. But the horse fences and dog/cat/whatever's is regulated.
And YES, I have been zapped many times! It's why I wear bangs, to cover the zigzag mark on my forehead.

 

[rodentraiser]

Have you ever run into an electrical hot wired fence?
I have. Tell ya what the burn marks it left on my face and neck as a kid wasn't funny! Why would anyone suggest such a cruel disgusting thing to deter my dogs?
My God!

I don't know what kind of fence you were running into, but I know for a fact that the hot wire that went around my friend's corral wasn't anywhere near that strong. It had the strength of maybe just a bit more of a static electric shock. There's more tingling than pain and it certainly doesn't leave scars.

My dog got zapped on his ear once and just backed off and then forgot about it. He didn't yip or act like he was in any pain and I've grabbed enough of those wires to know it's more uncomfortable than painful when shocked.

The wires you ran into must have been put up wrong or they were for killer bulls or something.