Bear fence height?

[huntdoc]

Gotten some great help from a member here putting together a bear fence kit. Planning to have 2 strips of the electric 1 inch tape around camp and was curious what height folks try to put them. Still working on post ideas so I have flexibility to adjust at this point. Thanks.

 

[5 shot group]

I would say you want the top one at least 6-8 feet up. You don't want any bears jumping over it.

Honestly though, I believe the bottoms are usually around 8-12 inches up and the top one is around 16 inches above that.

I would check out some commercially made products and see if they say. If not, send them an email.

 

[Beendare]

Like I told you, I like 3 strands....the challenge it seems on the lowest strand is having wet grass or brush grounding out your fence. Thats been the case for me anyway in the Mtn around YNP and in Alaska- really the only 2 spots I use the fence. We typically have to do some clearing.

IMO, you want that lowest wire about 16", maybe lower if you can get it there. Then about 12" to 16" apart. A guy really doesn't have to go higher than 40"-48"...we typically set them a little over 3 feet tall.

Everything I've seen those bears won't jump the fence. They typically nose up to it and either sense the electrical current or get zapped. Seems to me they are more likely to tunnel under it than jump over.

THE KEY to those fences is to have a good ground rod. I've seen cases where a whimpy ground rod- a tent stake- made the fence ineffective.

...

 

[Akshphntr]

Sorry but most bear fences dont realy do a thing but let you sleep. A neighbor had a bear and moose go through his fence to get his chickens and i saw another on facebook. B etween their leather feet and thick hair the fence doesnt bother them. i am installing one around my coop but only to slow them down so i can get a shot off........

 

[Billy Goat]

I don't know anything about doing a temporary bear fence. I do build some electric apiary fences. A weak link in the fence is the ground rod. As beendare said. I can't imagine using a tent stake. In fact I'm not sure what I would use in the back country, I use an 8' grounding rod, sometimes two, no way I would carry that thing. Let alone the hammer it takes to get it in the ground.

I find it hard to believe that any bear would go through a properly built electric fence with 10k volts running through it ( referring to a small area such as a chicken coop). Maybe a larger area that an animal could be running and not see the fence it would hit it and go through it. Most people don't check the voltage on the fence. They know it's on and that's it. The grounding and the connections make all the difference.


I am a fence builder and I generally try to talk people out of electric. It's a fence that needs to be monitored, and nobody does that. Including myself. I like a build it and forget it fence.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Build them low because you WANT the bear to see and encounter the fence head-on as it walks.

The white tape conductor is also known as equine tape and is used in horse pastures for visibility. I brought it on a hunt once and it was a disaster on that one. The reason was high wind which really played hell with the wide tape. It whipped it hard enough to basically wreck the setup and require much additional work to reinforce poles. I think it's great stuff, but do think about the wind and where it gets used.

 

[Beendare]

I told Huntdoc this offline as I didn't want to ruffle any feathers, but here goes.

A lot of guys using and recommending the tape on this site. I too was using that tape for a few years- ITS TOTAL CRAP.

I found 2 things when actually testing my fence setup; Ground rod is crucial....a little tent stake doesn't cut it in most cases....and the tape with the woven SS wire is a very poor conductor. Either one of these gives you a false sense of security. If you use these fences a critical part of your kit is one of those fence testers. Some are very light and don't weigh anything.

Think about it, we are using very low impedance chargers, we need to max out the conductivity. Copper pipe for ground rod- check.

Copper wire in your fence cord or tape instead of the SS wire is a much better conductor- I've tested it and it makes a huge difference. My fence now packs a punch...vs the tiny spark that the SS wire tape gets you. They sell a rope that's a little bigger than paracord with copper wire- its a little more expensive but much better conductor. Its easier in the field too...though little bit heavier.

Sorry to disagree with past advice of some members here... testing is key.


...

 

[Billy Goat]

If using copper make sure to keep it clean. I don't have experience with it in the tape or the rope temporary fence but I have seen it used at the connections on permanent high tensile. Once it corrodes it really hurts the conductivity. Clean it best you can before hooking it up. For the use of a temporary fence it will be fine.

Also the wide fence know as tape sucks in the wind. I'd recommend using rope instead of tape and put flagging on it for visibility.

 

[Billy Goat]

Electric Fences as Bear Deterrents, Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Alaska Department of Fish and Game

www.adfg.alaska.gov

Found this. Just a reference for anyone who might be interested.

 

[Kevin Dill]

I've watched the results of a big cow getting bit by polywire and the tape, but that was with a pretty hot AC energizer at my farm. I'm good with conductors of stainless or aluminum. Copper is king among the conductive wires without any question. All I'm saying here is that for the very small amount of conductor used in a backcountry fence, I've had excellent conductivity with stainless and a good (verified by testing) ground stake. I haven't used the equine tape since the mini-disaster I had with it a few years back. I would only use it in an area protected by trees. Snow and ice are also much harder on the tape due to surface area and weight. The (supposed) big advantage it offers is visibility. I can partially overcome that through the use of flagging tape, or better yet strips of aluminum foil which conduct energy if licked or nuzzled.

For my dollar, the 3 main things are 1) fresh batteries, 2) excellent grounding, and 3) snug wiring which holds up in weather.

 

[Legend]

You really need to run 3 wires. Hot on bottom, ground wire in the middle and hot on top. If you run all hot wires you NEED to be in wet soil as your grounding rod is o ly good as the soil. I live in MT and it is too dry. Any one who uses electric fences in MT needs to run a middle wire ground. This means the beer will have to touch 2 wires but when it does it will wake you up!

 

[fivebikies]

We use tape for gates over here in NZ.
So the wind doesnt destroy them we put some twists in them so they dont flutter.
I imagine the same between post/poles would work too,

 

[thnksno]

Like I told you, I like 3 strands....the challenge it seems on the lowest strand is having wet grass or brush grounding out your fence. Thats been the case for me anyway in the Mtn around YNP and in Alaska- really the only 2 spots I use the fence. We typically have to do some clearing.

IMO, you want that lowest wire about 16", maybe lower if you can get it there. Then about 12" to 16" apart. A guy really doesn't have to go higher than 40"-48"...we typically set them a little over 3 feet tall.

Everything I've seen those bears won't jump the fence. They typically nose up to it and either sense the electrical current or get zapped. Seems to me they are more likely to tunnel under it than jump over.

THE KEY to those fences is to have a good ground rod. I've seen cases where a whimpy ground rod- a tent stake- made the fence ineffective.

...

Well said, this is the best luck I’ve had too. It’s nice to have the top low enough where you can step over it and not have to open and close it.

I made my posts out of carbon arrows. I screw 2 together in the field. They go in the ground in Alaska. Montana sometimes not so much. There I just buy the regular insulators and zip tie them around trees and use the arrows where needed.

 

[Blockcaver]

Are zip ties adequate as insulators? Say cord around a tree, then zip tie loosely to the fence wire?

I’ve got a UDAP unit but never set it up despite hunting N BC with a healthy grizzly population and the fence along with me. We stopped hunting grizzly 2 years ago so am more concerned as time goes by. Thanks!

 

[sneaky]

Are zip ties adequate as insulators? Say cord around a tree, then zip tie loosely to the fence wire?

I’ve got a UDAP unit but never set it up despite hunting N BC with a healthy grizzly population and the fence along with me. We stopped hunting grizzly 2 years ago so am more concerned as time goes by. Thanks!

I think he is using insulators that he zip ties to the tree, not the zip tie as his insulator.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Beendare]

I sliced up a bicycle inner tube for the connections to the posts, put a twist in them....FWIW, it works well.
If I was doing a base camp, I would just use the firbergall poles Tractor supply,y sells.

A buddy made up some telescoping carbon arrow poles for me that I use for UL pack trips.

..

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[Reburn]

I'll admit I know jack squat about bears and their electrical sensitivities.
However electric fences I know. We have in service about 10 M63R stafix chargers and 10 M36R. We started changing over from gallager mr5000 a couple of years ago.
My money would be on a Stafix AN20 charger (the speedrite looks like a rebranded stafix) 87.00
Stafix 6mm extreme rope as your conductor it has 3 tinned copper and 3 stainless conductors.
Grounding is always going to be an issue. Three small ground stakes 4 feet apart in a line will be more effective then a single larger stake of equal inches.

 

[CBar]

I've watched the results of a big cow getting bit by polywire and the tape, but that was with a pretty hot AC energizer at my farm. I'm good with conductors of stainless or aluminum. Copper is king among the conductive wires without any question. All I'm saying here is that for the very small amount of conductor used in a backcountry fence, I've had excellent conductivity with stainless and a good (verified by testing) ground stake. I haven't used the equine tape since the mini-disaster I had with it a few years back. I would only use it in an area protected by trees. Snow and ice are also much harder on the tape due to surface area and weight. The (supposed) big advantage it offers is visibility. I can partially overcome that through the use of flagging tape, or better yet strips of aluminum foil which conduct energy if licked or nuzzled.

For my dollar, the 3 main things are 1) fresh batteries, 2) excellent grounding, and 3) snug wiring which holds up in weather.

+1 for this, and I'd add knock down any tall grass or bushes where you run your hot wire. You don't want anything coming into contact with the wire which gets wet and sucks the current out of your perimeter security.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Is the use of a bear fence common these days? 30 years of hunting and backpacking in the mountains and the idea of using one has never crossed my mind. Are guys using them at night or during the day while they’re out of camp?

 

[SniperHunter]

About any Electric Fence Charger will work, but for Bear I would get a charger that is also a weed cutter. One of the better ones is a "Mark 7" charger. Recommended for Livestock and Bear (predator) cost about $100.00
On the cheaper side there is the (Patriot P-5) sells for about $40.00. I use a (Holdem M-57) it will knock your socks off.