Kangaroos Eating Your Lettuce? It's Time To Consider An Exclusion Fence Before Planting New Crops
There is little more frustrating than having a garden filled with freshly grown vegetables wiped out by a hoard of hungry kangaroos. With spring arriving in Australia, now is the perfect time to get planting your vegetable gardens, and it is also a good time to take a closer look at your current fencing. As someone who has seen kangaroos wandering in your area in the past, you'll be surprised at just how effective an exclusion fence can be.
Are Wild Kangaroos Really A Problem?
It is annoying to lose your vegetables to kangaroos for sure, but are these magnificent creatures really that much of an issue when they wander into urban areas to feed? The answer is a resounding yes, particularly if you have young children or pets at home.
When a kangaroo feels threatened, they will attack. However, they do not treat an attack on a human any different to an attack on another kangaroo. Kangaroos kick out hard with their hind legs as well as pushing or punching with their forepaws. A strike from an adult male kangaroo will hurt an adult, but when they hit a child then hospitalisation can result.
What Is An Exclusion Fence?
An exclusion fence is one designed to keep kangaroos and other wandering pests out. Not only do kangaroos eat all the goodies in your garden, but they also trample your plants while moving around.
A news story about a farmer in Queensland who was fed up with kangaroos devastating his farm property is of interest. The farmer put up 35 km of fencing to keep the kangaroos out. A picture showing the ground growth on each side of the fence is quite astounding.
Obviously, you don't have 35 km of back garden to be surrounded, but you can achieve great results on a smaller scale while keeping the kangaroos out of your yard.
How To Design An Exclusion Fence
When you design an exclusion fence, talk to your fencing contractor about your desire to keep kangaroos out while still having a fence that is stylish to look at. These points, however, are a good starting point for your discussion with the contractor:
- Kangaroos jump small fences, so the new fence should be as high as local council regulations allow.
- Choose aluminium fencing over wood as it is stronger. Kangaroos will push over weakened fences to get in a garden. Wood fences do lose their strength over time if moisture is allowed to permeate the planks. Once too much moisture seeps into the wood it begins to rot from the inside out.
- Make sure the fence is sturdy by having the upright posts placed closer together. This makes the material between the posts stronger and able to withstand a kangaroo pushing on it.
- Taut wire strung between the vertical posts behind the aluminium sheets adds an extra backup stop mechanism. If the aluminium panel fails, the wire pushes against the body of the advancing kangaroo and may encourage them to retreat.
- Remove tree branches that hang over the fenceline as this creates a shaded area for kangaroos to gather. A group of kangaroos gathered together put a weight strain on the fence when they lean against it.
While commercial crop growers sometimes use electric fencing to deter kangaroos, this is not a viable choice when you have kids or animals on your property.
Contact a fencing contractor from a company like Amazing Fencing to get has further ideas about the best way to keep kangaroos off your property and out of your growing greens. The sooner you fortify your fence, the faster you can get on with the task of planting all your favourite vegetables for the prime growing months that are just ahead.
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