Welcome to Charlie’s Electric Fencing

We specialize installing electric fences to keep out feral pigs on the East side of the Big Island of Hawai’i.

The following two videos, recorded with my trail camera, show how my fences repel feral pigs:

We install tough high quality electric fences to keep out FERAL PIGS on the East Side of the Big Island of Hawai’i.

  1. Professional Installation with high quality components. Our fences are built to last 20 to 30 years. I have been installing electric fences for 8 years.
Charlie Abel
My name is Charlie Abel, and I specialize in Electric fences to keep pigs out

So you’re considering an Electric Fence? Here’s the steps I suggest to help you decide:

Step 1: Read my entire website. Look at the pictures, watch the videos.

Step 2:  You can calculate a rough estimate for me to install an electric fence to see if it fits your budget or not. Figure $2. per foot of fence for a 2 or 3 wire hog fence. The price varies depending upon the terrain and difficulty of installation. I will decide which fence fits your needs. ($2. per foot is a rough estimate for a completed fully installed fence including time and all materials).

Step 3: If the fence fits your budget, the next step is to contact me and to get a rough estimate for your fence. These are the questions I will ask you in order to do this:

What is the total length of your fence? (The full length of the perimeter).

What is the shape of your fence? Are the sides straight or irregular? When I say straight, I mean you can put a string on the fence line and from corner to corner, the string will be perfectly straight, if not, then you have some direction changes that I need to plan for and bring posts for each direction change.

Is the fence line cleared? If not, you will need to clear it as I have enough to do installing fences and don’t want to do clearing work. I can give you the number of people who do weedeating.

It really helps if you know where the hogs are coming in. Look for hog trails and tracks. If you can’t tell where they come in, it may be useful to mount a trail camera in several locations at night to determine where they come in.

In planning a pig fence, the most effective fence totally encloses an area, such a square or rectangular fence, or a fence the goes up to an existing fence or something that the pigs can’t go over, such as a taller rockwall. If the fence just goes out and stops somewhere, the pigs may eventually find their way around it and you’re right back with pig problems again.

What is the soil like? Is it deep dirt or rocky? (Rocky soils require more installation time because each post hole frequently must be drilled, whereas in deep soil each post can be pounded in very quickly, reducing installation time and the overall cost of the fence). If your soil is very rock and full of large rocks, it is likely that I will tell you that electric fencing is inappropriate for this situation and I cannot install an electric fence there.

Will you need any gates installed? (I install gates using electrified ropes. If you want a metal type gate, you will need to hire someone to install it, and it’s best to have the gate installed first, so I can bring the electric fence right up to it. If the gate is installed after the electric fence, the installation of the gate most likely will disturb the electric fence and I will have to come and re-install it, costing you more money).

The amount of labor required which will affect the final amount of the fence will all depend upon the difficulty or ease of installation. For instance, if you have rocky ground and I need to spend 5-15 minutes drilling each post hole, then obviously it will take longer and cost more than if there is soft soil and I can just pound in each post in 15 seconds or so.

Step 4: After you know what you want, and you want me to install your fence, the next logical step is for me to come out to your property and see what it looks like, measure it, and give you an approximate estimate of what your investment would be. I estimate on the high side because I always want the final amount to be less than my estimate!

I charge $60. cash to come out and do an estimate, and if you go ahead and have me install the fence, I will deduct that $60. from the final invoice.

I view it as my job as an electric fence specialist to inform you of all the options you have so that you can choose exactly what you want for your fence. My policy is to fully inform customers and give them as much choice as possible.  When I install a fence, my goal is to install it with the best quality I can, for the lowest cost to you possible. This is how I generate new business, by making happy customers who give me referrals, since I do not advertise. To do this, I work as efficiently as possible, in an assembly line procedure when possible. I also don’t leave scraps of materials behind on your land because I pick up after myself. The reason I work like this is so that you are happy with my work and I get referrals from satisfied customers.

Note to Kona side customers – I am based in the Hilo area don’t do jobs on the Kona side of the Island. The long drive to Kona is just not worth it for me, and if I need to come do a 30 minute fix on your fence down the road, paying me for 4 or 5 hours round trip travel time for such a small job is not worth it for you. So for these reasons, it’s best to find someone locally to install your fence or do it yourself.

Why build an electric fence?

  • Cost is the main reason. You can build an effective fence in the range of $1 to $3. per linear foot of fence.  It is easier and faster to install than hog wire fencing.
  • It’s what I call the fence that “bites.” Hogs can push on, or dig under a hog wire fence because nothing happens when they touch it- the metal is just cold, but the electric fence is very hot.
  • It doesn’t kill or cause permanent damage to the animals, and is Vegan friendly. It simply gives them a strong message to go somewhere else.

Why not to build an electric fence:

  • You must maintain an electric fence. This means keep all the weeds and other debris off it. If you have a lot of weeds, this means you will likely need to weedeat under your fence about once a month. My guideline is “nothing touches the fence.”
  • You need to check your fence regularly, every couple days or so to make sure it is working properly.
  • An electric fence is not a “fence it and forget it” project, and for this reason, some people are just not suitable for an electric fence

Payment methods:

  1. Goldbacks – get them at https://www.goldback.com/
  2. Cash (Federal Reserve Notes)
  3. Check
  4. Paypal (add 2.99% to cover fee)
  5. Buy Goldbacks with your Credit Card and have them shipped to us.