In reply to Post #29
similar thing with foxes, a bloke shut the chickens up secure every night for months, and on the one night its forgotten the fox walks in a kills them all,, I'm asked,
"how did it know I left the door open"?
"It didn't,, it came every night."
it came the next night too,, but it didn't leave.

In reply to Post #28
I'm never complacent..I've got double solar panels,double wiring ,self closing gates x2,locks on the main service entrance..

We are 80 % double meshed,as n when needed,...I change the battery once a fortnight ,as my system goes on low pulse if the battery dips out,that way I can charge the spare batteries multiple times..

I have spare mesh ,spare poles there ,in situ,and a complete repair ,emergency kit in my 4x4..

I'm borderd on this particular lake by a side stream and a main river,both are spate,when it rains hard ,...I start to pray for sure...

The rest is down to luck and the almighty above..!..

Oh ,...forgot to say I joined a small clay pit ,syndicate they'd spent 0000s of hours and around 7k doing the tornado mesh fencing...anyway within the first trip I'd found so many areas where a big dog could have got in ,they wasn't happy ,especially all that money spent on a fence that in reality was far to high and was only good for keeping humans out due to its height,any way the biggest anomalies, in particular were the lack of clearing around the perimeter of the mesh ...ie the perimeter needs to be easily accessible for checking ,this fence was left to regrow,the foliage, which is in my humble opinion a huge oversight...I could go on ,but ...well.....

In reply to Post #31
That's right. They will keep trying and if you let the system that keeps them out they will break in. With tragic results.

In reply to Post #33
I believe when the fence at Taverham Mill was repaired, an otter was left inside with a few bad consequences

In reply to Post #30
There's a really good book by two Australians, John Marsden and Shaun Tan called 'the rabbits' ....

Turns the story of the rabbit population boom into an allegory about colonisation

I think you might like it

In reply to Post #34
two small fenced waters close to me are completely fenced, one has had to remind people to "shut the bloody gate behind them", and that includes anglers, as well as the pizza deliveries, and those visiting the noddys when the pub chucks out. oddly enough they would be the first to complain there were no fish to catch.

the other is almost unbelievable,, the entire place is fenced like fort knox, cctv, regular fence patrols, the whole nine yards,
but one summer when the owner had the house doors front and back opened at the same time an otter came through the damn house to gain access to the lake, it didn't end well, as it didn't account for the family dogs.
as a precaution they now have stable doors back and front.
another testament to show how used to humans and habitation these recently introduced things are in comparison to the shy,reclusive creatures they once were, I guess once they have cleared an area of all food sources, they will become more brazen in searching for a new source.

In reply to Post #36
We have a seal running riot in my local reservoir at the moment, theres been 3 failed rescue attempts as it was slightly injured and now they are not allowed to try again due to the seals injuries that are now healed so it no longer deemed a rescue. Not quite sure what the future holds for the reservoir now

In reply to Post #32
Mate, ive seen sooooo many fences in my time when ive helped fisheries re trapping.

Some of them are so poor, i feel sorry for the people who had been ill advised

In reply to Post #36
the amount of times otters have gained access to fenced waters through gates being left open is ridiculous. no shock really as 99% of modern day carp anglers are thick a pig

In reply to Post #38
I honestly can't see how anyone can “Cock-up” a basic Otter Fence, I remember some on this forum saying “Rabbit/Deer Mesh won't last, it won't keep them out” well 12 years on it's still going strong, it's needed a new perimeter skirt adding at around 7 years old.

But the new one has not been dug into the ground this time (won't be making that mistake again) Rotten Posts need changing every year, but it's no big deal: 5 mins to un-bolt the Out-Rigger, pop a couple of Staples out and change it, re-fit Out-rigger or for 75p fit a new one.

In reply to Post #40
all about maintenance hey.

Ive been replacing our wooden posts as they either rot of get broken with the re-cycled plastic ones...very impressed, a bit more expensive, but they wont need replacing for years

In reply to Post #40
Same as you Kieth..

As the mesh starts to deteriorate, which is mainly the bottom ,touching the ground ,I just replace the lower,putting in a three foot section ,but as long as needed,feeding the mesh under the isolators in our case ,and pinning the mesh direct to the ground following the existing lines of the fence ...

I do it on my own whilst fishing ,it's easy ....,...double meshing gives even greater piece of mind..as well..

I believe our fence is in the region of 11 to 12 years old in a wild and damp environment, as well...even our posts are still good ..

But ,I'm never complacent, always looking for signs on the site,spraint,small kill signage near the river and so on...the main sprinting stone not been used for a few months now,maybe the guard has changed ,as I knew the resident male was getting on in years..

In reply to Post #41
I might look into these recycled posts Josh ,didn't know about them ..

In reply to Post #43
I'll find out where we got them from mate and let you know.

I bought 20 of them, and just replace the damaged ones and have 10 spare in case of emergencies.

In reply to Post #44
Thank you..