Can Deer See My Yard Fencing?

by Jenn Smith January 13, 2020

When homeowners have had enough of deer damage on landscapes, they install deer fencing. They think their troubles with deer are over until the unimaginable happens: whitetails ram into the fence. What happened?

"Did I choose the wrong strength grade?""

Did I buy the wrong fence mesh?"

In the daytime, deer have poor vision - 20/100, in fact; and they have trouble seeing the black color of the fence mesh. It isn't entirely their fault though; fence mesh blends into lawns and gardens and creates a virtual invisible looking fence for everyone.

To help deer see fences, homeowners are encouraged to add white warning banners. These deer flags are white in color to symbolize a deer tail - hoisted up means danger to other deer. Having deer fence warning banners will teach whitetails that a structure is near and they should avoid contact.