Can Badgers Climb or Dig Under Fences?

The short answer

Badgers can climb in a limited, clumsy way, but they very rarely need to. The real problem is underneath. Badgers are poor climbers and exceptional diggers, so on almost every site a badger will tunnel under a fence long before it attempts to go over one. That is why a standard panel or stock fence fails, and why genuine badger-proof fencing is designed to defeat digging at the base rather than simply adding height.

If you want to keep badgers out reliably and lawfully, the answer is not a taller fence. It is the right barrier installed in the right place, after a survey has confirmed what is happening on your land.

Can badgers climb fences?

Badgers are heavy, low-slung, powerfully built animals. Their bodies are made for pushing through undergrowth and excavating soil, not for scaling vertical surfaces. Compared with foxes, cats or deer, they are genuinely poor climbers.

That said, a badger can sometimes scramble over a fence if it offers easy footing, for example:

• Low fencing under roughly waist height with horizontal rails to grip
• Wide-mesh stock or chain-link fencing that acts like a ladder
• Fencing backed by a bank, log pile, compost heap or other “step up”

So climbing is possible, but it is the exception. On the vast majority of sites, height is not what lets a badger through.

Can badgers dig under fences?

Yes, and this is where the trouble almost always starts. Badgers are among the most capable diggers of any British mammal. They construct extensive underground setts and follow well-worn routes across the landscape, often the same paths used for generations. When a fence blocks a familiar route to food, shelter or territory, a badger will simply dig beneath it.

A few things make digging such a persistent problem:

• Strength. Badgers shift soil quickly with powerful forelimbs and long claws.
• Persistence. They are creatures of habit and will return repeatedly to a blocked route.
• No “safe” depth. A plainly buried fence can be undermined; going deeper alone is not a dependable fix.

This is why simply burying the bottom of an ordinary fence is rarely enough. The barrier has to be engineered specifically for the way badgers behave.

What actually stops badgers: badger-proof fencing

Effective badger-proof fencing treats the base of the fence as the critical zone. Rather than relying on depth or height alone, a properly designed scheme combines:

• A buried or turned-out stainless-steel mesh apron at the base, so digging meets a barrier rather than soft soil
• The correct mesh gauge, height and post spacing for the pressure on your particular site
• One-way gates where badgers need to be able to leave an area but not return
• Routing that respects established badger pathways, so animals are guided to safe routes rather than abruptly cut off

Done well, this is the difference between a fence that holds for years and one a badger tunnels beneath within a single season. Crown & Burrow designs and installs this kind of badger fencing as standard, always built on survey evidence rather than guesswork.

Why a survey comes first

Before any fence is specified, it is important to understand what is on your land. A badger survey confirms sett status and activity using field signs, bait-marking and camera monitoring, and maps the routes badgers use. That evidence shapes a fencing design that works, and just as importantly, it tells us whether the law requires a licence.

The law: you cannot just block badgers in or out

Badgers and their setts are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. It is an offence to kill, injure or take a badger, to damage, destroy or obstruct a sett, or to disturb a badger while it is in a sett. Penalties can include an unlimited fine and up to six months’ imprisonment.

In practical terms, that means:

• Fencing badgers out of an area with no sett is generally lawful.
• Any work that disturbs, closes or blocks access to a sett requires a Natural England licence.
• Licensed sett-closure or exclusion work can only be carried out outside the breeding closed season — closures are permitted roughly 1 July to 30 November, with the closed season running approximately 1 December to 30 June.

Crown & Burrow is a Natural England-licensed badger ecology firm. Where a scheme interacts with a sett, we handle licensed sett closures using one-way gates and stainless-steel mesh over a minimum 21-day exclusion period, alongside artificial or alternative setts where displacement is unavoidable. This keeps the work both humane and legally compliant.

How to keep badgers out, step by step

1. Confirm the activity with a survey — whether badgers are present, whether a sett is involved and which routes they use.
2. Check the legal position — if a sett is affected, a licence and the right seasonal timing are required first.
3. Design for digging, not climbing — fencing with a buried or turned-out mesh apron, correct height and gauge, and one-way gates where needed.
4. Install and monitor along the surveyed lines so the exclusion stays effective.

What affects the cost?

Every site is different, so we quote per project rather than from a fixed list. The main factors that influence cost are:

• Site size and the length of fencing or exclusion line required
• Sett type and number present, and whether any sett is affected
• The survey phase needed to gather robust evidence
• Seasonal constraints, since licensed sett work is restricted to roughly 1 July to 30 November
• Whether a Natural England licence and supporting mitigation are required

A survey gives us what we need to scope the work accurately and quote fairly for your specific situation.

Talk to a licensed badger ecologist

If badgers are getting into your garden, paddock or development site, the dependable fix is the right barrier, lawfully installed, after a proper survey. Book a badger survey with Crown & Burrow on 01483 387478 or email badgers@crownandburrow.co.uk, and we will advise on the legal, humane way to keep badgers out for good.