Could not agree more that hardware cloth is 100 times better than chicken wire.
The chicken wire is so flimsy its almost usleless, which hardware cloth like they sell here - ( http://www.bwire.com/index.html - Galvanized or Stainless Steel) is tough for a small animal to move and tip/tear...
2" x 4" seems to be the correct and most popular size, but what alloy is best? I would think stainless steel to avoid the mesh from getting rusted (good list of alloys seen here: http://www.bwire.com/ ) but thats just my opinion.
I am glad you pointed out that everyone here should bury the...