You can use an electric fence to keep out kangaroos, wallabies, feral pigs, foxes, dingoes, dogs, hares, emus and koalas.
Conditions can vary widely from one area to the next and so there isn’t a specific design for controlling wild animals on all farms. However, we have suggested a few:
Rabbits and hares
Market gardeners use miniature electric fences to control hares and rabbits. You can put rabbit proof netting in the ground as an earth and a tightly strained live wire about 50 mm to 75 mm above the netting. Design the rest of the fence to suit the normal stock conditions for your paddock.
Alternatively, use a hot wire no higher than 130 mm above the ground.
Kangaroos
Some farmers claim control of kangaroos using a three-wire cattle fence, while others say six or seven or even 12 wires are needed. Certainly, for smaller kangaroos and wallabies more than three wires are needed. These animals will try and push under a fence, especially where there is any depression in the ground.
The bottom wire must always closely follow the ground contours. Make sure the fence is held down over even the smallest depression, otherwise kangaroos will find the spot and make it into a gateway.
Always alternate live wires with earth wires. If you need to increase the height to stop kangaroos jumping over the fence, increase it two at a time—an earth and a live.
Electric Fence for Kangaroos
Some have controlled kangaroos with an electrified trip wire in conjunction with a three- or four-wire electric fence. The trip wire is set 150 mm out from the fence and 200 mm above the ground. The trip wire can be mounted on offsetters or attached to insulating wooden posts set into the ground.
Dogs
It is difficult to get an electrical connection with dogs because they don’t have sweat glands in their skin. You need seven tight wires with dose spacings if you want to control them with an electric fence. You need to have the bottom wire as close to the ground as 50 mm and it should be an earth wire animals go over, not under, so they get a shock when they touch the live wire above it.
If the wires are close to the ground and to each other you need an energiser with lots of stored energy (joules).
Feral pigs
Feral pigs usually tend to push under a fence and form a regular track.
Farmers have tried several different methods of reinforcing an existing fence to control pigs:
• two electrified wires; top wire 300 mm from the ground, bottom wire 150 mm out from the existing fence
• one electrified wire 230 mm high 150 mm out from the fence
• one electrified wire 150 mm high 150 mm out from the fence.
The height of the wires depends on the type of fence you are reinforcing. The idea is to make sure the pig comes into contact with the live wire and the fence wire (which is earthed) before it is too far through the fence.
If the electrified offset wire is too close to the existing fence pressure from the pests can cause the wire to catch on the fence and short out.
If electrified wires are too close to the soil, grasses touching the wires can cause leakage. To avoid these problems, set the electrified wire out from the fence wire and up from the fence wire at least 150 mm.
Fastening the live wires in a fence for pigs. You can use small hardwood posts approximately 50 mm x 25mm x 460 mm long if they have been pressure treated with creosote.
Alternatively you can use offsetters. If you reinforce an existing
fence make sure all the existing fence wires have good continuous electrical connection to the earth terminal on the energiser. Avoid rusty wires.
