Electric fence warning to South African homeowners

Criminals in South Africa are brazen, and ensuring your electric fence system is functioning properly is critical to protecting your property from potential break-ins.

According to Charnel Hattingh, head of marketing and communications at Fidelity Group, criminals will exploit any weaknesses they detect in electric fencing systems.

She highlighted three primary weaknesses that make an electric fence vulnerable to penetration:

• The homeowner believes the fence is electrified when it isn’t.
• The fence’s alarm isn’t working.
• The fence is not linked to a reputable armed response company.

“Criminals will try their luck and test whether a fence is electrified,” said Hattingh.

“They may attempt to breach it and then hide nearby to see whether the alarm is sounded or whether an armed response vehicle arrives.”

“If neither happens, they will take advantage of these weaknesses within minutes,” she added.

Bull Security operations manager French Jooste told MyBroadband that crafty thieves have devised mechanisms for bypassing these perimeter defences even if the electric fence is functioning correctly.

Some of these include:

• V Stick — Used to lift electric wires away from the wall, creating space to climb through.
• Bending Fences — Some criminals may bend the fence downwards depending on how it’s installed.
• Breaking through Walls — Criminals might break through the wall below the fence.
• Conduit Pipe — These can be slipped over wires to prevent them from touching, allowing for safe handling and manipulation.
• Climbing Over Wall Corners — Using added height or assistance to scale wall corners.
• Multiple Cuts in the Fence — Cutting in several places simultaneously to facilitate entry.
• Isolating with High-Tension Cables — Criminals can set up a section of fence with high-tension cables and then sever the wires between them.

Jooste explained it’s critical that homeowners use a reputable installer for the electric fence system and ensure they come out to conduct a proper site assessment.

He said homeowners and installers should consider various criteria when deciding which fence will provide the best protection.

These include ensuring it can’t be bypassed easily, is difficult to climb over, and that there are no places to hide.

“A security fence will not help much if it is easy for a burglar to cut through it, go under it or around it. To prevent this from happening, make sure you get a fence that is installed through a professional installer,” said Jooste.

“Your fence must be at least 2.5 meters tall. The taller the fence, the better. This does, however, come at an added cost.”

He also emphasised the importance of linking electric fences to household alarm systems and armed responders.

“When an intruder either touches a live wire or cuts any wire on an electric fence, this will result in the alarm triggering. Make sure this is linked to your alarm system!” stated Jooste.

Ensuring you’re protected

Both Hattingh and Jooste provided extensive recommendations on ensuring your home is protected.

As Hattingh explained, it is critical to ensure your fence is electrified by regularly checking that it is armed, that your battery backup is sufficient to last through load-shedding, and trimming any foliage that could interfere with the fence.

She also advised speaking to your installer about anti-lift brackets and other devices to protect the fence from being tampered with.

Regarding the battery backup, Joosted advises installing a Sherlo 6.4-amp charger with an 18-amp battery.

“This will assist in keeping your fence functional when there is a power outage,” he said.

Hattingh and Jooste agree that homeowners should never rely solely on their electric fence and should instead have layers of security spanning from the perimeter to the interior of a home.

“Make sure you have a second barrier installed. For example, smart AVlytics cameras that work on human detection and are also linked and monitored by your security company, especially on your perimeter walls. It’s a no-brainer,” said Jooste.

Hattingh also advised using garden beams and sensor lighting as a second layer of defence.

“The third layer is good security gates, door locks, and burglar proofing, and the fourth layer is an alarm system and panic buttons,” she said.

“Enveloped in these layers of security, a family should be safe. Add to this good personal security habits, and your home environment should be a safehaven for everyone living there.”