Description
Hook Caps for PVC Deer Fence
HOOK CAPS SOLD IN PACKS OF 8, MINIMUM ORDER IS “1” FOR 8 Hook Caps
UPDATE: We recently created and have been testing a T-Post Connector to replace the clamps’ will have more info coming soon!
Make a Cheap Deer Fence
Already using T posts and cattle panels to trellis your produce? Need to keep the deer out of that produce but don’t want to build a permanent fence? You may find these Hook Caps a cheap and effective way to do that with some PVC pipe and some rolls of low-cost netting. I created this system because for the first time in 12 years of commercial farming, the deer were ravaging my cherry tomato plants due to a drought here in Northern Kentucky. I didn’t want to add another fence around the cattle panels that I used for trellising the tomato plants. I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money putting up a fence high enough that I’d end up taking down at the end of each season because I rotate crops. And I didn’t want to purchase a whole bunch of new materials but instead use some things I already had. After inspiration from a video about shade cloth, I used some PVC pipe I’d cut into 4′ lengths to protect a strawberry bed (a fail and the reason some of them are bowed) and tried holding the netting on top of the pipes with PVC corner and T pieces. The height of the net worked but the PVC connectors ripped the netting when I tried attaching or detaching them. Enter the 3D printed Hook Caps!
These Hook Caps go on top of PVC pipe and hold up the netting without ripping the netting. The PVC pipe should be attached to T-posts that are standalone or part of a cattle panel trellising system. These Hook Caps are sold in packs of 8 with discounts for multiple packs. 1 Pack would work for a 16’x16′ enclosure using 8 T posts. Order “1” for 8 Hook Caps.
If you have access to a 3D printer you can also print these Hook Caps for yourself for free. Please email [email protected] and we will send you a .STL file of the 3 pieces needed to build the Hook Caps.
Cheap Deer Fence PVC Caps Specifications
- Inner diameter: 13/16″ (most 1/2″ PVC pipe will have an outer diameter just under this for a snug fit)
- Weight: 21 grams per cap
- Material: PLA filament
- Color: some variety of green
- 1 pack of 8 caps can hold up netting around a 16’x16′ square garden if PVC pipes are spaced 8′ apart
How to Use
- Cut PVC pipe to whatever height you want above the T-post or cattle panels (experts recommend deer fencing to be at least 7′ high).
- Connect the Hook Caps to one end of the PVC pieces.
- Connect the other end of each PVC pipe to your T-post using 2 hose clamps or 2 bungee cords as part of a cattle panel system.
- Space PVC pipes/caps about 8′ apart.
- Unroll and attach the netting to the Hook Caps in straight line and around corners.
- You may also want to tie streamers to your netting to make it more obvious, depending on how dumb – or how aggressive – your neighborhood deer are.
Other useful items you may need for your Cheap Deer Fence
- Netting at least 5′ tall depending on height desired above T-Post and overlap on cattle panel: NETTING
- T-Posts at least 5′ tall: T-POSTS
- 1/2″ PVC Pipe cut in length desired (mine are 4′ long for a total of 9′ high fence): PVC
- Size 20 Hose Clamps to secure PVC to T-post: CLAMPS
- Tarp Straps/Bungee Cords: STRAPS
- 16′ L x 50″ H Cattle Panels: PANELS
See the video here of our system protecting the cherry tomatoes that the deer tried to ravage during a drought, thanks to my awesome Sun Sugar Farms employees for helping make the hook caps happen and for shooting this video:
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