Electric Garden Fence

The electric fence surrounding our gardening just didn't seem to be working up to snuff the other day. There was abundant evidence that an armadillo had made several unauthorized tilling forays into the garden, and Jo said she'd watched a coon enter and leave the garden through the electric fence, barely giving a glance back over his shoulder upon exiting -- like maybe he'd felt a little tingle but certainly didn't get zapped. When I touched the little fence tester doodad to the wires, the light flashed as it should, but the pulse of light was weak.

I decided that the tall grass under the fence might be draining off too much of the juice. Even though our grass is growing slowly these days, it had still gotten tall enough to reach the bottom fence wire, especially on the west end of the garden. So...... I dragged out my trusty Weedeater and trimmed the grass under the fence all the way around. While trimming on the back side of the garden, I also discovered that a metal pepper cage had rolled up against the electric fence.

When I finished trimming, I again tested the fence. This time I was getting a bright flash of light and even an audible click whenever the fence cycled on. That ought to be enough juice to zap any raccoon. I'm not really certain what effect the electric fence will have on an armadillo unless he touches his nose to the wire. Trimming the grass may have helped, but I suspect that removing the wire cage accounted for the majority of the improvement.

Electric Garden Fence