How do you stop wallabies?

3 posts

Member for

12 years 6 months
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 09/23/2011 - 16:27

How do you stop wallabies?

Hello,

I have recently planted a small grove of hazelnut trees. They are doing their best to grow but so far none of them have any leaves because wallabies strip them naked as soon as a bud appears. I suspect that if they don't succeed in growing some leaves pretty soon, it will be all over.

I have an electric fence with five strands in it - 150mm, 300mm, 600mm, 1000 mm and 1500 mm. I have alternate strands of the fence connected to to different fence controllers, for rendundancy. But still they are coming through. It seems they are willing to put up with the electric shock to get at the young trees. I think they may be leaping through the strands sometimes, so they ar not touching the ground when they touch the wires, hence not getting any shock.

What else can I do?

thanks

Colin

Last seen: 12/26/2018 - 09:21
Joined: 05/31/2011 - 09:44

I have seen electric fences stop both wallabies and kangaroos so it should be effective. They tend to jump over a fence when they are pressured, preferring to go under. If they are jumping through the fence and not touching the ground, try running some earth wires in between your live wires, that way when they go through the fence they will hopefully touch both wires and get a charge. If the ground is dry or if the soil is sandy often a ground earth will not work. Do you know what charge your fence is putting out?

Last seen: 09/17/2019 - 18:07
Joined: 11/23/2011 - 09:38

Hi Colin,

 You haven't said how many trees you have planted. However, in this area (Bundaberg region) many peple who have smaller orchards put a cage made of chook mesh around each tree. Four stakes 1m out from the tree canopy with chook mesh around them, some people also use old feed bags. The reason for putting the stakes 1m out from the outer canopy of the tree is that the wallaby's neck is too short to stretch that far. It might be worth a try anyway.

cheers,

Barb

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