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Last Updated on November 4, 2026

How to Build a Simple Garden Fence That Keeps Rabbits Out (Wood and Wire DIY)

My garden fence is 21 pressure-treated four-by-four posts set in dry fast-setting concrete, with a panel between the posts: two picture frames of one-by-four boards with four-foot welded wire sandwiched in the middle. The boards cover the cut edges of the wire, every panel comes off the same plywood template, and the wire is pulled tight with bar clamps before the rest of it is stapled. All you need is a miter saw, a drill and a few clamps. After three and a half years it still looks good, and UC IPM calls a fence probably the most long-term, effective way to protect plantings from rabbit damage.

This page is the written version of the video above. Before I built it, I looked at a lot of fence ideas, and this was the design that looked best to me. It came from a video by Mountainman Workshop, which is well worth watching. Below is how I built mine, from lining up the posts with string to the clamp setup that pulls the wire tight, and the one mistake I made at the bottom of the fence.

Materials and tools at a glance

Item	What I used	Notes
Posts	21 pressure-treated four-by-fours	Holes about 3 feet deep
Concrete	Fast-setting mix, poured into the hole dry	Soaked with the hose once the post is plumb and braced
Panel frames	One-by-four boards, two frames per panel	Boards cut two at a time on the miter saw
Wire	Welded wire, 1 by 2 inch openings, 4 feet tall	The most expensive part; I had to special order it
Fasteners	Staples for the wire, screws frame to frame, 4-inch coated pocket-hole screws panel to post	Pocket holes drilled with a Kreg XL jig
Tools	Miter saw, drill, bar clamps, post level, string line, aviation snips, plywood template with stop blocks	Two T-posts to hook the clamps to when stretching the wire
Base and finish	Landscape fabric and stone along the bottom, clear coat on the wood	Make the stone strip wider than you think you need

Why this design, and what about deer?

My main goal was for it to look good. I wanted this part of the yard to feel like its own garden space, and I needed to keep the rabbits out. What I liked about this design is that the boards cover the edges of the wire, so you don’t see cut ends or staples, and the panel looks finished from both sides.

People always ask about deer. At four feet tall, this fence is too short to stop a deer that really wants in, and we have a lot of deer here. In three and a half years, not one has jumped it. Don’t count on that. UC IPM says deer normally won’t jump a 6-foot fence but can clear 8 feet on level ground if chased, so it recommends a 7- or 8-foot fence (UC IPM is a California source, but deer jump the same here). It also notes that most existing fences can be made deer-proof by extending them 3 to 4 feet with mesh or smooth wire, so if deer are your main worry, plan taller posts from the start.

How the panels work

Each panel is two picture frames made from one-by-four boards, with the welded wire in between. On the back frame, the top and bottom boards run the full width between the posts, and the two side boards fit in between them. On the front frame it’s flipped: the side boards run the full height, and the top and bottom boards fit between them.

So the boards that fit in between get cut two board widths short of the full panel length. A one-by-four is actually three and a half inches wide, so that’s three and a half inches off each end, or seven inches total. When you screw the two frames together, every corner on the front crosses a joint on the back, so the panel locks itself square. The panels only look right if the posts are right, so the first step is laying them out.

Step 1: Lay out the posts

My garden is a big space, so this fence took 21 pressure-treated four-by-fours. The shed used to be where the garden is now, so we pushed it back. I ran string lines between PVC stakes to mark each side, and laid a tape measure right along the string.

Then I used the fence calculator on Blocklayer. You put in the total length and the post size, and it shows you where every post goes so all the panels come out the same width. On one side of mine, that worked out to seven feet, three and five thirty-seconds inches between posts (7 ft 3 5/32 in), and I tied a tag on the string at each mark. If you skip this step, you end up with one odd short panel at the end of a run, and it’s the first thing your eye goes to.

Step 2: Set the posts in dry concrete

I didn’t mix a single bag of concrete. I dug each hole right on its tag, about three feet deep. The post drops in, and I check the depth with a tape so the tops come out close to even. A post level straps right on and shows plumb in both directions, so you can let go of the post and still read the bubbles.

For concrete I used a fast-setting mix, poured straight into the hole dry. Once the post is plumb, I brace it with a couple of scrap boards and soak the dry mix with the hose. It sets up fast, and every one of these posts has stayed put through three New Hampshire winters.

Step 3: Cut the boards and build a template

Every opening is a little different, so I measured each one between the posts before cutting anything. I cut the boards two at a time on the miter saw, which keeps each pair exactly the same length.

The template is a couple of sheets of plywood on the ground with stop blocks screwed down at the corners. The blocks hold the boards square while you work, so every panel comes off the template the same size and shape.

Step 4: Stretch the wire tight

The wire is welded wire with one-by-two-inch openings, four feet tall. It was the most expensive part of the whole fence, and I had to special order it. To unroll it, I slid a pipe through the roll and set it between two old fence posts, so it spins like a giant paper towel holder.

The back frame goes in the template first, and the wire rolls out right over it. This next part keeps the wire from going wavy. I staple the wire down along one end first. Then I clamp a board to the loose end and pull it tight with bar clamps hooked to a couple of T-posts. With the clamps holding the tension, I staple the rest of the way around. Then the extra wire comes off with a pair of aviation snips.

Step 5: Close up the panel

The front frame goes on top with the joints flipped, and I screw it down through the wire into the back frame. Now the wire is trapped between two layers of wood all the way around, so it has nowhere to go.

On the back of each panel, I drill pocket holes with a Kreg XL jig. It’s made for four-by-fours, and it lets you screw the panel to the post from the back where nobody sees it.

Step 6: Hang the panels level

This is the step that decides whether the whole fence looks level. Each panel gets carried to its opening and set between the posts. To keep every panel at the same height, I ran a string line along the posts at the bottom and lined each panel up to it. A level on top confirms it, and a couple of bar clamps hold the panel against the post while I drive the screws. The four-inch Kreg XL screws pull the panel tight to the post, and they’re coated for outdoor use. Working off the same string, the bottoms line up from one end of the fence to the other.

Step 7: Stone at the base, and my one mistake

After three and a half years, this is the step I’d do a little differently. I laid landscape fabric along the bottom of the fence and covered it with stone. It keeps the bottom boards up out of wet soil, and that bottom rail is the first place a wood fence like this starts to rot.

Here’s my one mistake. I didn’t make the stone strip wide enough, so grass still creeps in and I still have to weed along it. Make yours wider than you think you need. I also brushed on a clear coat to protect the wood, and after three winters it’s still holding up well.

Will it keep rabbits out?

My goal was to keep rabbits out, and this fence is built for that. The extension advice below is not something I did; it’s what to check your own build against. UC IPM says cottontails won’t jump a 2-foot fence and suggests 3 feet above ground to discourage jumping. It says poultry netting on light stakes is enough to control rabbits as long as the mesh is no larger than 1 inch, which keeps young rabbits out too. It recommends 48-inch-tall wire with the bottom either buried at least 6 to 10 inches or staked tight to the ground so rabbits can’t pass underneath, tight-fitting gates with a sill, and a regular walk along the fence to check for digging. University of Maryland Extension says even a simple 2-foot chicken wire fence works if the bottom is secured to the ground or buried a few inches.

This build uses 4-foot welded wire with 1-by-2-inch openings and a stone strip along the base. The 2-inch side of those openings is larger than the 1 inch UC IPM recommends for young rabbits, and the video doesn’t show the bottom edge buried or staked. If rabbits are your main problem, bury or stake the bottom, and if young rabbits are a worry where you live, choose 1-inch mesh or add a strip of 1-inch poultry netting along the lower part of the panels.

Plan the beds before the posts go in

Space the posts evenly, build every panel on one template, and pull the wire tight before you staple, and your fence will still look good years from now. If you’re fencing in a new garden area, sketch the beds first so the fence fits the garden. Plan My Garden is free to start: enter your zip code and it finds your frost dates, draw your beds, pick your crops, and it places each plant at square-foot spacing and builds a planting schedule from those frost dates.

Quick questions

How tall does a garden fence need to be to keep rabbits out?

About 2 to 3 feet above ground stops rabbits from jumping. UC IPM says cottontails won’t jump a 2-foot fence and suggests 3 feet above ground to discourage jumping. University of Maryland Extension says a simple 2-foot chicken wire fence works if the bottom is secured to the ground or buried a few inches. The bottom edge matters more than height: UC IPM says to bury 48-inch wire at least 6 to 10 inches or stake the bottom edge tight to the ground. This build uses 4-foot welded wire.

Will a 4-foot fence keep deer out?

Don’t count on it. UC IPM says deer normally won’t jump a 6-foot fence but can clear 8 feet when chased, and it recommends a 7- or 8-foot fence. Mine is 4 feet and no deer has jumped it in three and a half years, but a 4-foot fence is not something to count on.

What size wire mesh keeps rabbits out?

UC IPM says mesh no larger than 1 inch excludes young rabbits. This build uses 1-by-2-inch welded wire, so the 2-inch side is larger than that. For small young rabbits, choose wire with 1-inch openings or add a strip of 1-inch poultry netting along the bottom of the panels.

Do you have to mix concrete for fence posts?

I didn’t. I poured fast-setting mix into each hole dry, plumbed and braced the post, and soaked the mix with a hose. Every post has stayed put through three New Hampshire winters.