Beyond Boundaries: Creating Wildlife-Friendly Living Fences & Safe Garden Borders

• Fences, while serving essential functions like marking property or keeping pets safe, can pose significant risks to wildlife movement and survival.
• Poorly designed fences, like sharp metal posts or low-visibility wires, can cause injury, entanglement, and even death for birds and mammals.
• Choosing or modifying fences with wildlife needs in mind — such as allowing ground clearance, ensuring visibility, and using safe materials — is crucial.
• Wildlife-friendly living fences, made from suitable plants, offer a beautiful and functional way to create borders while providing valuable habitat.

Our gardens and landscapes are more than just extensions of our homes; they are part of a larger ecosystem. As our communities expand, the boundaries we create, like fences, can inadvertently impact the wild neighbors we share space with. While fences serve practical purposes – defining property lines, ensuring privacy, or keeping pets and children safe – a thoughtful approach to their design can transform them from barriers into beneficial elements for local wildlife. This is where the concept of wildlife-friendly living fences and other safe border solutions comes into play, allowing us to harmoniously blend our needs with those of the natural world.

Why Our Fences Matter to Wildlife

Across various landscapes, from vast open spaces to suburban backyards, fences crisscross the land. While intended for human purposes, these structures are encountered daily by wildlife navigating their habitat. Many species rely on established paths to find food, water, and shelter, or to migrate between seasonal ranges. Fences not designed with animal movement in mind can become hazardous obstacles.

The Hidden Dangers of Common Fences

Certain fence types, unfortunately, pose particular threats:

• Barbed Wire: Often used in rural or larger properties, the sharp barbs can snag fur, feathers, and skin, leading to painful injuries or deadly entanglement. The loose top wires can trap hooves or legs.
• Pointed Metal Fences (like Wrought Iron): The decorative sharp finials or points commonly found on these fences in residential areas are incredibly dangerous. Animals, particularly deer and elk trying to jump over, can be impaled, an injury that is often fatal.
• Low-Visibility Wires: Thin wires, especially common in field or pasture fencing, are hard for birds to see, particularly in flight. Collisions can cause broken wings, ruptured organs, and make them vulnerable to predators.

Sadly, a deer carcass tangled in old barbed wire fencing, illustrating a fatal wildlife encounter

Even if an animal manages to free itself from a fence entanglement, the cuts, bruises, or dislocated limbs suffered can lead to secondary infections, starvation (if a young animal is separated from its parent), or increased risk from predators due to impaired mobility. The less visible impacts include restricting gene flow by limiting movement between populations, making them less resilient.

Impacts on Different Critters

While large mammals like deer and elk are often highlighted due to visible impalement incidents, a variety of animals are affected:

• Large Mammals: Impalement, entanglement, separation of young from mothers, and restricted migration are major concerns.
• Birds: Collisions leading to injury or death are frequent, especially with low-visibility fencing.
• Smaller Mammals: Creatures like rabbits, foxes, or coyotes can also get tangled or have their movements restricted.

Wildlife technician carefully cutting a deceased deer free from being impaled on a pointed metal fence post

Understanding these risks empowers us to make better choices for our garden boundaries.

Choosing Your Boundary: Embracing Wildlife-Friendly Options

The ideal scenario for wildlife movement is no fence at all. However, this isn’t always practical for property owners. Fortunately, many excellent fence options exist that balance human needs with animal safety.

The Beauty and Benefits of Wildlife-Friendly Living Fences

One of the most beautiful and ecologically beneficial choices for a garden border is a living fence. Instead of inert materials, a living fence uses strategically planted trees, shrubs, or dense groundcovers to create a natural boundary.

The advantages are numerous:

• Habitat: Living fences provide essential cover, nesting sites, and foraging opportunities for birds, insects (including pollinators!), and small mammals.
• Connectivity: Unlike solid barriers, denser plantings still allow many smaller creatures to move through, maintaining vital habitat connections.
• Aesthetics: They offer lush greenery, seasonal color, and a softer, more natural look than artificial fences.
• Sustainability: They absorb carbon dioxide, reduce noise, and can improve soil health.

Choosing the right plants is key. Opt for native species whenever possible, as they offer the most significant benefits to local wildlife. Consider plants with dense growth habits for screening, and those that produce berries, seeds, or nectar.

Example: A Wildlife-Friendly Hedge Shrub

Many Viburnum species make excellent living fences, offering dense cover, attractive flowers, and berries relished by birds.

• Scientific Name: Viburnum spp.
• Common Name: Viburnum, Arrowwood, Nannyberry, etc. (varies by species)
• Zone: Typically 3-8 (depends on species)
• Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
• Humidity: Average
• Water: Medium

Choosing a mix of species can increase biodiversity and provide resources throughout the year.

Other Safe Fence Styles for Home Landscapes

When a living fence isn’t the primary option or needs supplementation, consider these designs:

• Minimal Boundaries: For simply marking property lines, options like spaced posts (without connecting wires), flexible fiberglass markers, or even signs can suffice without impeding movement.
• Strategic Fencing: Instead of fencing your entire property, fence only the areas that need protection, like vegetable gardens (to exclude deer) or play areas (to contain children/pets). This saves money, time, and leaves open corridors for wildlife.
• Bollards: Short, sturdy posts can define driveways or parking areas, preventing vehicle access without creating a linear barrier wildlife cannot cross.
• Wildlife Exclusion Fences: If you need to keep larger animals like deer or elk out of a specific area (like a valuable garden), an 8-foot-tall fence is generally effective. This height discourages jumping over and minimizes the risk of injury on the fence itself. Check local ordinances for height restrictions. Make the top highly visible with flagging or a top rail.

Diagram comparing residential fence designs that are harmful to wildlife versus those designed to be safe and wildlife-friendly

Making Existing Fences Safer

Even if you have existing fences, small modifications can make a big difference:

• Increase Visibility: Add fence markers, flagging tape, or even recycled materials like strips of cloth or plastic bottles to wire fences, especially at eye-level for birds and deer. This helps animals see the barrier and avoid collisions.
• Modify Wire Spacing: On multi-strand wire fences (like barbed wire), ensure the bottom wire is at least 16 inches from the ground to allow fawns and smaller animals to crawl underneath safely. The top wire should be no higher than 40-42 inches to allow larger animals to jump over more safely. Ideally, ensure ample space (around 12 inches) between the top and second wire to reduce leg entanglement risk.

A long-eared owl tangled in low-visibility barbed wire fence wires, highlighting the danger of collisions for birds

Designing Your Wildlife Haven

When planning your garden or landscape design, think about the fence as an opportunity, not just a barrier. Consider the flow of wildlife in your area (do deer regularly cross a certain spot? are birds using a particular tree line?). Can you strategically place a living fence or other wildlife-friendly barrier to guide their movement safely, away from hazards like roads, or towards beneficial areas like a water source or safe corridor? Every thoughtful choice contributes to creating a more welcoming and safer environment.

Wildlife experts constructing a new fence section designed with wildlife movement needs in mind

Real-Life Impact: Small Changes, Big Results

Conservation organizations and wildlife agencies work tirelessly on large-scale fence modification and removal projects in wilder areas to improve migration corridors. These efforts demonstrate the significant positive impact that can be achieved. But the principles apply equally to our backyards. Choosing a wildlife-friendly living fence or modifying a single section of wire fence in your garden might seem small, but collectively, our individual choices create a network of safer spaces for wildlife right in our communities. It’s a tangible way to support the natural world around us.

Example of a newly installed wildlife-friendly fence featuring properly spaced wires and safe top rail design

Choosing wildlife-friendly living fences and other safe border options allows us to meet our needs for privacy and security while actively contributing to the health and safety of the animals that enrich our lives. It’s a rewarding aspect of gardening and landscaping that transforms a simple boundary into a vital part of the local ecosystem.

Making informed decisions about our fences is a powerful way to practice responsible stewardship and create gardens that are not only beautiful for us but also a safe haven for wildlife.

What type of fences do you have? Have you considered adding a living fence or modifying an existing one for wildlife? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below! Explore more tips on creating a thriving backyard ecosystem on Thelittle.garden.