Here is where the electric fence magic lives. As you can see, it is also where the holiday lights end. This means that if you follow a strand of holiday lights you will find an electric fence at the end of the strand. I’m pretty sure this works everywhere.
Inside the tarp-covered former rabbit hutch (that has never seen a rabbit) we have the power supply for the holiday lights set up on a timer. Holiday lights are on from about 3:30pm to 10pm right now. The plug runs over the deck and through the woods and plugs in inside the house.
Also inside the magic tarp-covered hutch is the raccoon taser system. I like to call it “Bandit Blaster!” We went with a Havahart model because we don’t want to harm raccoons. But we went with medium-duty because we want to hear them swear just a little bit before they run away never to return. You can see three wires coming off the Havahart system. It’s really just two wires, but the ground wire plays two roles.
One end of the ground cable is clamped to this 8-foot long copper ground rod that is pounded into the ground. But because raccoons won’t be touching the ground to complete the electrical circuit and shock themselves, we had to go with a two-wire system at the top of the aviary fence. (Most electric fences rely on the animal touching the ground and the fence at the same time. This won’t protect the top of my aviary unless the raccoons are 8-feet tall. So we had to go with a 2-wire system).
This is the back side of the aviary that backs up to the ivy wall behind our yard. You can see the bottom wire of the two-wire system at the top of the photo. It runs along the length of the back of the aviary and around the corner. This is where raccoons come through the yard as they stop to lounge in the pools and use the aviary net as a hammock.
Here’s the other end. The top wire is the fence hot wire and the bottom wire is the ground wire. When raccoons try to climb up onto the top of the aviary, they touch both wires which completes the electrical circuit and shocks them. BZZZZ!
This is pretty much the model we got, except I bought a much longer ground rod, because I heard that makes it more reliable: http://www.havahart.com/store/pet-dog-supplies/ss-750rpx
With a raccoon taser system in the back and holiday lights up front, the aviary is ready for the dark winter of Seattle. Between the secure night pens, the day aviary with in-ground fencing and top netting, the nitegard lights, the shake-away urine-scented yard spray and now the electric fence… it’s pretty secure around here.
Sleep well, little duckies and cluckies.
