How Electric Fences Keep Your Garden Safe

Modern agriculture uses some time tested techniques humans have utilized for thousands of years, but there have been significant advances as well. Especially in the market for pest control. Crop loss on the farm is mostly avoidable, if you have the right equipment. You can’t control the weather, but you can control the environment around your property. Here is how electric fences have kept gardens safe for hundreds of year.

History

The electric fence was first described as a network of electrified wires protecting a display in a museum. It was invented by Fanny Trollope, whose design does not resemble the farm fencing currently used to keep pests from gardens and farms. Another design, powered by a water wheel, debuted in 1888. It wasn’t very successful, but it spurred others to try. The fencing rose to prominence in the early 1930s, when fencing was used to control livestock and keep them penned up.

Uses

Electric fence supplies are used almost anywhere that farming will occur. Its primary function is to keep animals and pests away from the garden, or fenced into a particular area. Early version of these devices usually didn’t regulate voltage well, so accidental deaths of livestock and humans were common. Today, farmers ground devices and distribute voltage evenly throughout the setup. Farmers also use a single electrified wire to strengthen existing fences, which is a more cost-effective method of revamping a fence.

Design

The basic design involves an electrical pulse that is sent through a power energizer. The fence uses two terminals: one is hooked directly to the energizer, while the other is buried in the earth where the line is grounded. In order for the fence to trigger, an animal would need to touch the wiring with its feet on the ground. The effects of that electrical pulse vary. It may be stronger depending on the contact with the fence, voltage running through the line, and the route the current runs through to get to the body.

Materials

The most common material for fencing is a steel wire, but there are other varieties as well. Synthetic fibers woven into a high-tensile cord around metal is another option, as is barbed wire. Some fences have certain bars electrified, or may only run a current through the top of the fence. Synthetic webbing is a recent development that makes it harder for smaller critters to sneak past without the deterrent.

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Jason Governo writes on behalf of Farm Supply Store, which sells electric fencing and supplies for farmers online.