Sailfish,

"I'm looking at planting a crop of either Butternut squash or sweet corn. I've been warned about deer."

That's an area with a lot of woods, rather similar to our place here in the Augusta area. The warning about deer is justified. And if you try to raise sweet corn, you can expect visits from squirrels, chipmunks, ground squirrels, and maybe even raccoons and groundhogs. It's possible to fence against deer (although they can on occasion jump an 8-foot fence), but it's effectively impossible to fence out squirrels and such, because they can climb or dig under any fence. Butternut squash should be lots less tempting to the local wildlife than corn. Nearly everything likes to eat corn.

MM

Do you have a dog that will chase off pests?

I plant pumpkins and squash with the corn . Deer don't like the vines against their legs. It slows down but doesn't stop the raccoons.

Welcome to Maine!