We already talked about all the different species that just love to invade gardens and yards, eating your crops and potentially killing your livestock. I barely even mentioned how to stop them, so that's exactly what we'll do in this article on how to keep wildlife away from your homestead.

Electric fences – why aren't they as effective as people think? How do you keep snakes away? And what's up with burrowing animals – how do you stop them from digging under a fence?

Let's get started.

Electric fences: great, but not omnipotent

An electrified fence is going to zap anything that touches it. It's a great way to keep bears, moose, and deer away, for example. These animals are too large to climb through the gaps between the power lines.

Wolves, however, can get around an electrified fence. They'll initially be scared away, but they're persistent animals, and they'll find a way to go around the fence if they're motivated enough.

However, if a wolf really wants to get into your yard, it will dig under the fence or carefully move between the lines. Mountain lions are another thing to unpack – they're incredible climbers (just like all big cats, really), and if a cougar wants to get into your yard, it will find a way.

Maybe it'll climb a pole or a tree and jump from there, or it will simply jump over the fence (if it's short enough).

Speaking of jumping – did you know that some deer can jump over a 7-foot fence? This is scientifically proven, believe it or not, so if you're installing a fence (be it electrified or not), it needs to be taller than that to stop deer.