[Greenbuilding] building a wall (not a building) out of strawbales

[LarenCorie]

From: Reuben Deumling <9watts at gmail.com>

> we used to talk about strawbale construction quite a bit
> here on the greenbuilding list and some of you surely know
> enough to set me straight.
> 
> I'm considering surrounding a large garden with a wall
> to keep the deer out. Since strawbales are plentiful and
> cheap around these parts I thought of them first.

Hi Reuben;

  I think you might first talk to a deer expert, or just
anyone familiar enough with them, to know how high
they can jump. I strongly suspect that your best wall
solution will be a very tall, very basic, fence.

  I have lived in the north woods for much of my life,
White tail deer can consistently jump nearly 8ft.  So,
a fence needs to be at least that tall. However, some
deer can clear nearly 12ft. A fence that is leaning out-
-ward at the top needs not be as tall.     But, a fence
that is less than 8ft will be ineffective.  I doubt that a
strawbale wall, that tall, would be anywhere near as
economical as wire fencing, though deer are also shy
of fences they can not see through.    But, once they
(or one of their deer buddies) knows what delicious
things are hiding behind that opaque wall, they will
never again hesitate to jump over it.

< http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/deerfences.html >

And, if you think that just applies to whitetail deer,
mule deer are just as good at jumping, maybe better.

< http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/deerfences.html >

< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwhjcwS1nyQ >

Rob Tom wrote;

> Or better yet, plant trees or shrubs to create the enclosure.

Hi Rob;

Even if it were thick enough that a hungry deer could not
get through it to food (not very likely, for a creature that
is designed to run through very dense forest) it wouldn't
stop smaller hungry critters, like a fence or wall could.

 -Laren Corie-
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