Rattlesnake fencing in Calabasas, California

Why Calabasas yards need it

Calabasas sits in the Santa Monica Mountains, and the dry chaparral that surrounds these neighborhoods is prime rattlesnake habitat. Southern Pacific rattlesnakes move through the brush in the warm months and follow the cool, the shade, and the rodents right up to a graded pad, a pool deck, or a garden. On lots that back onto open space, a snake in the yard is a genuine safety concern, especially where there are children or dogs. A standard fence does nothing to stop one, because a snake goes under the rail or through the pickets, not over the top.

Rattlesnake fencing closes that gap. It is a proven, low-profile addition that turns a boundary fence into a barrier a snake cannot get through, which is why it is a routine request here rather than a novelty.

How the mesh works

The barrier is a fine galvanized steel mesh with openings around a quarter inch, small enough that even a hatchling rattlesnake cannot squeeze through. The install is in the detail:

• Along the base. The mesh lines the lower portion of the fence, high enough that a snake cannot climb over the top of it.
• Buried at the bottom. The bottom edge is trenched several inches into the ground so a snake cannot push underneath, the most common failure point.
• Sealed at gates and posts. Gates get the same mesh with a tight ground clearance, and we close the gaps at posts, because a snake finds the one opening you miss.
• Angled outward where needed. On some installs the buried edge is turned outward to further discourage digging along the line.

Finished in dark galvanized or black, the mesh reads as part of the fence rather than an addition tacked on.

Which fence to line, and the fire zone

Rattlesnake mesh goes onto almost any fence, and the choice of host fence still follows the Calabasas fire rules. Because the whole city is a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, the fence closest to the house should be non-combustible, so pairing snake mesh with a wrought iron or tubular steel run near the structure gives you both the fire setback and the snake barrier in one line. Along a back property line, the mesh lines a chain link run cheaply; around a pool, it keeps the deck clear where the yard meets the brush. Wherever it goes, the galvanized mesh is itself non-combustible, so it never works against defensible space.

Setting mesh on a hillside

On the cut-and-fill pads and sloped lots common here, the burial detail is what makes the barrier work. As a fence steps or racks down a grade, the ground beside it is rarely level, so we follow the slope with the trench and keep the buried edge tight to the earth the whole way, rather than leaving the triangular gaps that open under a fence on a hill. Loose rock and dry hillside soil want to erode away from the line, so we backfill and compact along the mesh and check the low points where runoff crosses. The same care that keeps a hillside fence plumb keeps a snake barrier sealed, which is why we handle both on the same visit.

Rattlesnake fence pricing in Calabasas

Digging conditions, the height of mesh, and the number of gates and corners move the number. Added to a new iron or chain link fence, the mesh is at its most economical. The per foot figures live on Calabasas fence cost guide.

Keep reading

Put this beside the rest of fence installation in Calabasas.