DIY tutorial on how to build a protective cover with hinges for your raised garden bed to prevent animals from attacking your vegetables. This DIY garden bed cover with fencing is a beginner friendly project that you can tackle over a weekend, as it doesn’t require fancy tools or skills.
Get the PDF
I have everything that you need for DIY raised bed cover in this post. But it is a long read. If it’s more convenient, you can purchase the PDF file for only $4.99.
It has the full tutorial with all the pictures, optimized in a book format, faster to read, and free of ads. This way you can print it out and bring it with you when you are shopping for materials or building this project.
Why do you need a garden bed cover for your raised bed?
When I first started my vegetable garden on my two raised beds, I didn’t know the importance of having a protective cover for my garden beds. Soon enough, I noticed a lot of my seedlings and vegetables got chewed up down to the ground. It took me a while to figure out it was the squirrels who ate up all of our vegetable crop.
It’s definitely very discouraging to see that happen so I tried numerous ways to repel the squirrels, such as spraying chili water over my plants, or adding an owl statue, but none of them worked.
One day I decided to design and build a protective cover for my raised garden beds that will serve as a cage, in the effort to protect my vegetables from small animals. And I’ms so glad with this DIY garden bed cover! My vegetables are thriving, no more loss of leaves or seedlings!
Now I can grow whatever vegetables and fruits I like without worrying if squirrels like them as well. This DIY garden bed cover will work for other animals as well, such as raccoons, deer, and others.
DIY raised garden bed cover finished dimensions
For my garden beds, I have two standard 3′ by 6′ raised beds, similar to this one. The finished DIY garden bed cover is about 6 feet wide, 4 feet tall, and slightly less than 3 feet deep.
Why less than 3 feet deep? There are two reasons:
- I have 1/2″ irrigation tubing sitting on top of the back edge of the raised bed.
- the fence between our yard and our neighbor’s is quite old so the top portion is slightly leaning to our side.
By reducing the depth I’m able to address those two factors.
In terms of deciding this garden bed cover and doors height, I need this protective cover to be fairly tall to account for large plants and vines, such as artichokes, peas, and cucumbers. I landed on 4 feet as the height.
And for construction, each garden cover has a pair of doors, attached to the cover frame with hinges. I also installed two barrel bolt on the top frame to make sure I can close them securely.
Also this DIY garden cover is completely covered by chicken wire for all sides except the bottom.
DIY garden bed cover video
If you are a visual learner, I made a 5-minute video on our process of building this DIY garden bed cover with doors and hinges:
I recommend you watch this video to get an idea on what the whole process looks like, then continue reading for DIY materials and step by step instructions 🙂
If you want to watch more videos like this, be sure to subscribe to my Youtube Channel.
DIY raised bed cover tools and materials
The material listed below are for one 3′ by 6′ raised bed cover:
Exterior grade 2 in. x 2 in. x 8 ft wood board
Chicken wire. I use 3′ wide chicken wire because it matches well with my 3′ by 6′ raised bed. I used 30′ per garden bed cover.
Miter saw to cut the wood
1/2″ spade bit and drill
Stapler. You can choose a electric stapler to save some elbow grease
Stainless steel staples (exterior grade)
Brass hinges x 4 (exterior grade)
Brass barrel bolt x 2 (exterior grade)
DIY raised garden bed cover instructions
Here’s the diagram I created in SketchUp. This shows how the pieces attach together.
For my 3′ by 6′ garden bed (similar to this raised bed), I cut 2 by 2 boards to the following size:
Note that I leave 1″ out from the depth because I have irrigation tubing sitting on the back edge of the raised bed. You might need to adjust the number based on your situation.
Each cover should be customized for your garden bed, I would encourage you to draw a diagram on paper or SketchUp, to determine the size you’d like to cut.
DIY raised bed cover project cut list
Frame: (4) * 73″; (4) * 32″; (4)*48″
2 doors: (4) * 31.5″; (4) * 47.25″
Step 1. Cut 2in x 2in x 8ft boards to size.
You’ll need to cut those 2×2 boards into two type of pieces, one for building the garden cover frame structure, the other for diagonal braces to support the structure.
All the frame structure pieces are straight cut. All braces are 45 degree diagonal cut.
One trick to quickly produce the braces is to align the board to a point on your miter saw (you can use tape to mark it), and flip it back and forth between cutting. In my case, I used the line(right) on my miter saw to align the 2×2 boards.
If you have watched the video above, you’ll know what I’m talking about. This way you will be able to produce a lot of those pieces in a short amount of time, also they will be exactly the same size without pre-measuring.
To prepare the diagonal braces, I used 1/2″ spade bit to create a dent on each side, about 1″ from the edge. I have used spade bit quite a lot for counter sink screws.
Step 2. Build garden cover frame structure.
Now moving onto assembling the garden bed cover. For each connection, we drill a pilot hole and then screw in the 2″ exterior wood screw. You’ll want to choose exterior grade screws because they won’t rust and deteriorate your raided bed protective cover.
Also, drilling pilot holes is important for this project as without them the wood will tend to split while you attach them.
If you have a pocket hole jig, use it as it will make your life a lot easier.
We didn’t own a pocket hole tool back then, so we used two screws per corner where three 2×2 boards meet. We drilled each hole around 1/3 of the way instead of the exact center, that will give the second screw some space to pass through.
Attach a diagonal brace to straighten and strengthen the corner. You’ll need to attach braces for most of the straight corners except:
1. the front side. You want to leave it open so you can add doors.
2. the bottom side. This is to maximize the planting area of you garden bed without blocking the soil. Also the bottom side of the garden cover is just sitting on top of the raised bed, not really holding any weight by itself.
We started by building the back side first, reinforced it with braces on four corners, then move to the front side. Note for the front side of the garden bed cover, that you’ll want to skip reinforcement to leave space for doors.
You can reference my video to see how we were assembling the frame.
It’s recommended to dry fit your frame on top of your raised bed to make sure the cover fits well.
After assembly, you should have the basic frame structure of the garden bed cover and a pair of doors. For each door, we have all four corner reinforced with the braces. Now you are ready to attach chicken wire, which is also called poultry netting.
Step 3. Attach chicken wire.
To handle chicken wire, wear gloves to protect your hands. Note the main animals I’m trying to deter are squirrels and mouse, if your garden animal have stronger teeth, consider using garden fence such as this one.
Because my raised bed is 3′ deep, I’m able to lay 3′ wide chicken wire along three sides of the frame continuously without cutting it – from one side to top, then to the other side.
To attach chicken wire, we used stainless steel staples to make it weather resistant.
We used a manual stapler because it is cheaper, but you can use electric stapler as it will make your life a lot easier.
Most of the time the staples won’t go all the way in the wood (at least for our manual one), so we used a hammer to hammer them in more for security.
For corners with braces, cut the chicken wire with a wire cutter, then staple them with exterior grade staples.
For the back side (opposite of double doors), we used two panels of 3′ wide chicken wire, attaching them vertically, then used the extra wire which came with the rolls to weave these two panels.
Trim the excess chicken wire with a wire cutter.
Although both chicken wire and my raised bed is 3′ wide, there will be some extra chicken wire hanging out. I cut them and bent them with a plier to remove the sharp edge.
I went into detail in the video on how I dealt with sharp edge after cutting it.
We Attached chicken wire/poultry netting to all four sides of the garden cover frame, leaving front side and bottom side free of chicken wire.
Step 4. Install hinges and barrel bolts
Now attach hinges and barrel bolts. I used brass ones because they are more weather resistant than some other materials.
To ensure doors open widely, I unfold the hinge to its openest position, and marked the holes on the frame. Then drill and attach the hinge to the frame. I used 4 hinges per garden bed cover (2 for each door).
After that, I attached each door to the hinges, and test to make sure it opens and closes smoothly. It is recommended to attach the doors after you place the garden cover on top of your raised beds, since your garden bed may not be completely leveled.
Once the doors were attached. I installed the brass barrel bolts, one per door.
I placed the longer part of the barrel bolts on the door because there’s more vertical space. If that’s the case with you, make sure you get the barrel bolts that can lock in position when installed that way.
Step 5. Attach garden bed covers to your raised beds
To attach the protective covers to raised garden beds, I simply let the cover sit on the raised bed structure.
Originally I was planning to add a couple screws to attach the bottom frame to the raised bed, but I skipped it because the cover’s weight seems to be enough to hold it in place just fine.
You can attach this garden bed cover by screwing it into the raised bed. If you need to separate the cover from raised bed often, you can use a few barrel bolt to hold them together – which I learnt from one of my readers.
Step 6. Test, tweak, and enjoy your DIY garden bed cover
That’s all the steps for this DIY garden cover and you made to the end, well almost! Now I’d suggest you to test our the doors and hardwares, making sure everything function well.
If there are any glitches, don’t be afraid to tweak it until things open and lock smoothly. I did some tweaking on the door hinges and barrel bolts until the door open and close well.
So that is it! I hope you enjoy this DIY raised garden bed cover tutorial and leave me a comment if you have any questions.
Get the PDF
I have everything that you need for DIY raised bed cover in this post. But it is a long read. If it’s more convenient, you can purchase the PDF file for only $4.99.
It has the full tutorial with all the pictures, optimized in a book format, faster to read, and free of ads. This way you can print it out and bring it with you when you are shopping for materials or building this project.
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This idea is amazing! I have to build something like that in my garden because I have got a big problem with animals that come and destroy mine work. Last year I had a tough time as they destroyed all of my lettuce. Leaves were totally eaten, there was left only a waste! This year I decided to grow some but in containers on my balcony..It works but it’s not the same as growing in my yard where I have got much bigger space. This time I have grown only a few lettuces which seeds I ordered on https://gardenseedsmarket.com/butterhead-lettuce-edyta-ozarowska-large-and-vividly-green.html ..They are still growing, it’s amazing to look at them getting bigger every day! Thanks for your post, I have got it in my mind!
Hey Lara,
I’m so glad it’s helpful to you! I had the exact same problem as you last year – the squirrels ate all my pea, squash, bean leaves that I barely harvested anything from my garden. This year with the help of DIY’ed garden cover I’m finally able to grow vegetables again 🙂
How did you attach the cover to the base? Or did you just set it on top of the raised bed? Trying to figure out how to refresh the soil in there if the cage is attached to the base
I don’t attach it because it sit on my raised bed just fine with its weight. Also with double door open you might be able to refresh the soil with the raised bed cover on. Hope that helps!
Hi, I’m just wondering if you’re still relying on just weight to keep in place ? I made something very similar last summer,to keep cats out, but they blew off in the autumn storms so need attached. Pondering how to do so whilst maintaining detachability.
Cheers,
Pete
Yes I am, the weather has been pretty mild from where I live so I haven’t had any need to secure them, also I never take them out either.
If I were to secure them, I will drive in a few outdoor screws but that doesn’t offer easy detachbility. You could try adding some bolt or latches to secure the bottom to the raised bed.
Thanks – I think I’ll screw on an adjacent rail and use horizontal pegs through them to secure.
Maybe the barrel bolts on the bed and the cover. That way you can detach them but they wont blow away?
Hi. This is awesome; however, I don’t see any instruction for making the doors, such as measurements and how you covered them with chicken wire. I look forward to building a couple of these for a new planting space. Thanks!
Denise
I do t have door measurement in the post. also I include how I staple chicken wire to the raised bed cover doors.
In my area ground squirrels and moles are a big problem, eating root veg from below. So I need heavy wire layers under the raised bed to protect my veg.
That’s probably a good idea! wire on the garden bed cover and also in the groud!
Do you plan to install barrel bolts at the bottom of the doors?
Perhaps it would be good to do as the wooden boards tend to warp after a while.
yes that’s a very good point! I might need to install them in the future as the door frames started to warp a bit
Hi,
This was very informative and I love your idea! I am trying to build this for a raised bed that is 18 inches tall, 4 feet wide, and 10 feet long. I am having trouble understanding how to convert your measurements to mine. Can you help me? I would like the cage with doors to be 5 feet tall.
Hi Carla, I’d recommend you draw it out on a paper with what your measurement and work backwards. It would take some time but totally worth it. Good luck with your project 🙂
Hi! Thank you for these instructions. I’m excited to build some to deter squirrels from our many raised beds.
I’m pretty new to woodworking. Could you tell me what the spade bit is for? Is it necessary to use it, or can I simply drill into the braces? Not sure if this matters, but I did buy a pocket jig to make angled holes.
Thank you!
Hi Sarah, so happy you are planning to build this cover for your raised bed!
Regarding the spade bit, no you don’t necessarily need it. The reason I used spade bit is because 1. I don’t have a pocket jig. 2. If I don’t make a pocket, I have to use a super long screw for the joint.
Hi! I’m interested in building this for the spring. I can’t seem to find a dimension for the diagonal braces. Am I missing these in the article, or does it not matter how long you cut them, as long as they have the correct angle. Thanks!
It doesn’t matter as it is only used to support the frame 🙂
I love this!!! Can you tell us estimate cost of all this?
Hi Masha, it’s been a while so I don’t remember but I have linked the materials of this project so hopefully it gives you a sense of the cost 🙂
Great enclosure, we made a few very similar for our VEG TRUG raised planters and plan to build your same design this spring. I have two suggestions for anyone planning to build one. In my area, a suburb of Chicago, we have available coated wire screen, both chicken wire and square fabric. I would recommend the green coated 1/2″ square wire fabric. Field mice and small chipmunks can get through the octagon of chicken wire and the green coating keeps it from rusting over the next few years. Second, do not use a hook and eye style locking. You definitely need the bolt style you used. both the squirrels and the chipmunks learned to lift the hook to open the door
Thanks for your great suggestions Nick!
Great hardening ideas, but even better background music! Who is the artist?
Thanks Sarah! The music is from Youtube free music library haha.
Thank you so much for these clear instructions. I was successful in creating this fruit/veggie cage to protect my tomato plants from squirrels and other critters this season! Another benefit is that I can string tomatoes attaching the twine to the top of the cage, rather than individual cages for each plant. I added a waterproof coating to the wood in hopes that my hard work lasts longer. Thank you again!
omg that is smart! tying tomato to the wire is very helpful since tomato plants tend to fall over a lot.
Do you find that bees and other beneficial insects are deterred by the fencing?
I haven’t had that problem so far as insets can fly through the chicken wires.
This is great. Just made one myself using your plans. I didn’t have room for doors so I replaced the hinges with barrel bolts so instead of doors, I have removable panels.
Thank you Kelin for this post. We have just installed two raised beds, each 4 ft x 8 ft (about 1.2 m x 2.4 m). Last year our container plants (tomatoes, peppers, &c.) had trouble with deer, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and opossums, so we aren’t messing about and before planting anything straight away built covers over the raised beds, based very much on your design. We ordered 2×2 cedar from a lumber yard, which probably cost more than the regular wood from the hardware store but will survive much longer. (This is in North Carolina, a rather wet climate and where termites are naturally endemic in the soil.) It looks like comments here cannot include pictures, but to describe them: each cover has two doors (each 2 ft wide, so the openings are 4 ft wide) on each long side. Each cover is held in place by four 6-inch (15 cm) long, 3/8 inch (10 mm) diameter eye bolts sunk through the cover base into deep holes drilled in the raised-bed timbers (which are 2×6). The bolts are not screwed in or fastened in any way; they just sit in the holes. This should be enough so that if deer casually bump into the covers, they will not be knocked off the raised beds. (Ours are not against a fence like yours that would serve as a backstop.) But we can still pull the bolts and take the covers off if needed for serious maintenance.
About how much time did it take you to build and install this project?
Thank you for the video and instructions for this bed cover. I really like that the doors open., which gives you complete access to the garden. I have two elevated garden beds that are 2′ x 4′ that I would like to make the covers for. I will have to figure out how to adjust the measurements.