Short answer
A fence can't stop ticks themselves, but it can keep out deer, which carry ticks into yards. Montgomery County recorded 606 Lyme disease cases in 2016 and 7,393 from 2000 to 2016. Penn State Extension says a whole-yard deer fence needs to be at least 7 ft, taller than most local codes allow. Mice, chipmunks and birds still bring ticks in, so pair any fence with a tidy fence line.
How ticks get into a yard
Ticks don't travel far on their own. They ride in on animals. Deer carry them across lawns and drop them in the shady edges where they bed down; small mammals and birds bring them in too. A fence works on the deer part of that equation and does very little about the rest.
The local numbers
- Montgomery County had 606 reported Lyme disease cases in 2016 and 7,393 between 2000 and 2016. Pennsylvania accounted for about 38% of U.S. cases at the time.
- Montgomery County has run an archery deer hunt at Lorimer Park in Abington since 2002, started at neighbors' request to reduce crashes and ticks.
- In 2019, a Huntingdon Valley homeowner asked Lower Moreland's Zoning Hearing Board for an 8-ft deer fence around the whole yard, citing Lyme disease.
What a fence can and can't do
| A fence can | A fence can't |
|---|---|
| Keep deer from browsing and bedding near the house, if it's tall enough | Stop mice, chipmunks or birds |
| Keep your dog out of the brushy woods edge | Kill ticks already in the yard |
| Define a mowed buffer between lawn and woods | Make a yard tick-free |
Height rules get in the way
Penn State's 7-ft whole-yard figure runs into local caps. Upper Dublin, Lower Gwynedd, Cheltenham and Whitemarsh hold side and rear fences to 6 ft. Abington does too, with a Zoning Hearing Board special exception for anything taller other than open wire fences. Lansdale is the exception that helps: the borough allows up to 8 ft if everything above 6 ft is see-through. Read our page on 8-ft deer fence variances before you plan on going taller.
Where a deer fence earns its keep
The yards with the most to gain are the ones that back onto deer habitat. Around Huntingdon Valley and Bryn Athyn, that means lots near Lorimer Park and the Pennypack Trail, which runs on the old rail bed through the area. In Blue Bell and Dresher it's the lots that border township open space and wooded stream corridors. On those lots, the woods-facing side is where deer come in, so it's the side to build tallest and tightest first; the street side is usually held to 4 ft or less anyway.
Fence-line habits that help
- Keep a mowed strip along the inside of the fence instead of letting brush grow into it.
- Don't stack firewood or brush against the fence; it gives small animals cover right at your lawn's edge.
- Clear leaf piles from the base of the fence in spring and fall.
- Keep gates closed; a deer fence with a gate left open is just a fence.
- If the woods side is the problem, put the play area and the garden on the far side of the yard from it.
For questions about tick bites or Lyme symptoms, talk to your doctor or the county health department. We can't advise on health; we can tell you what fence your township will allow and how to make it deer-tight.
At the estimate we'll walk the woods edge with you and show you where a deer-height section is allowed and where the code holds you to 6 ft.
Common questions
Will a 6-ft fence keep deer out?
Penn State's guidance for a whole yard is at least 7 ft, so a 6-ft fence may not. It helps more around a smaller area than around an open lawn.
Does chain link stop ticks?
No fence stops ticks. Chain link keeps dogs and larger animals in or out; it does nothing about ticks carried by mice and birds.
Are there deer programs near me?
Upper Dublin runs a police-administered deer program, and the county hunts Lorimer Park. Fences and culling work on the same problem from different ends.