Ground stakes are an important part of deer fencing that many people may overlook or deem unnecessary.  What they do not know is using ground stakes can not only hinder deer and other small animals from sneaking into your precious garden, but they also help prevent damage to your fence lengthening it’s life expectancy.

Ground stakes are used to secure the bottom of a deer fence to the ground.  There are 2 types of ground stakes: J hook rebar and kinked.

The 12 inch J hook rebar ground stakes are appropriate for rocky soils and unusually hard terrain. The 18 inch rebar ground stakes are great if you have a layer of leaves or pine needles above rocky ground or if you have sandy soil. The kinked ground stakes work well for most average ground types. 

Staking your fence to the ground is useful because they prevent deer from crawling under it.  A common misconception is that deer would prefer to jump over something rather than go under it.  In reality, deer are far more likely to try to crawl under your fence then jump over something that is 7.5’ tall because they don’t want to waste the energy or risk injury.

When a deer tries to go under a fence they can cause a lot of damage: tearing, sagging, or even lifting a post out of the ground, making a portion of your fence fall over.

All of this is completely avoidable by using ground stakes.  Staking your fence to the ground will not only help protect your garden, it will keep your fence taught and strong for many years.