The fencing wouldn't stop the squirrels at all, and most any respectful rabbit can leap the 2'. Long ago I decided that most gardens are actually just a large oasis for the critters. Most fruit trees are too.

Also, be careful what you have to climb or lift your leg over. You're asking to catch your foot and fall. (Ask me how I know,)

Thanks, Kate. sigh. It sounds like I might not have green beans again this year. And I know what you mean about being careful what you climb over! — I have a 2’ wire fence around my old strawberry garden and I caught my sneaker on it once last year and almost went down. :p

How big is the bean patch? I protect my pole beans with a two foot tall fence that is about six feet in diameter.

tj

Good to know! My old strawberry garden is 4‘ wide and 16’ long, but already fenced, so I’ll use that for my green beans and cucumbers this year and hope for the best. Any harvest will be better than last year!

I think that, while most rabbits are capable of leaping 2', they only do it in a flight-from-predators situations. I have used 2' rabbit fencing with excellent result, though only to deter the rabbits. Squirrels and ground hogs are a different chapter in a much longer book. Actually, I've used 3' fencing that is then bent so that 1' is on the ground outside the garden, and the other 2' are standing upright surrounding the garden. The lower 1' is pinned down with ground staples to limit rabbits digging under the fencing, which is much more likely than them jumping over it.

I have heard from some that the chicken wire fencing is not durable enough to keep rabbits out. They can actually bite through the thin gage wire of the chicken fencing, if the veggies are tempting enough. I have not experienced this, but chose not to put it to the test.

A dog, with any kind of fence that allows it to patrol the yard/garden at unpredictable times of day/night, could also serve as a deterent of sorts.

You are apparently lucky enough not to have deer as pests. I hope that situations persists for you.

Martha

I had a thought and perhaps an experiment is in order. If your beans, etc. are against a wall or trellis: what if you put your fence very close to the plants themselves… not toughing, but near. The criiters couldn’t get inside, and rabbits don’t climb.

What made me think of this was what we use to do way back in Wisconsin to keep the animals and birds away until they got big enough to be on their own: put a toilet paper tube or paper towel tube around the bottom to protect the babies. I ’ve actually done it here in CA to keep the birds away from the young, tasty sprouts.

Or! you could make a ”door” of a large piece of thie fence in front of your plants, and just open it so you can pick.

That's the right solution, Kate! I can buy a smaller amount of 1" chicken wire and just fence off whatever rows I create for the green beans! Perfect. I will be sure to set it up so that I can open or remove the fence for harvesting. :)

I think the 2' fence would probably work for rabbits, but it's not going to keep the squirrels away, they climb everything. I agree with Kate, I think she's on the right track. I've not experienced rabbits chewing through chicken wire, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen.

Kate, I use the TP rolls when I plant young seedlings to deter the cutworms. I've tried everything else and the rolls seem to work the best. Only my electric fence stops the deer and even that doesn't stop the groundhogs.

Annie