Even if you have not done anything for your wood fence maintenance, it is never too late to begin and this is a good habit to develop. You do not want your house and property to become an eyesore, hopefully. So perhaps that will get your attention and inspire you to take regular action, but most importantly, maybe give your fence a good visual inspection. You would naturally want to know about issues and the various things that can attack your fence.

Be aware that sometimes bees will start living on your fence, and it really just depends on where you live and the climate. You will be able to easily spot something like this because you will see them unless they are at the far end of your fence.
Visual Inspection
Frequently giving your fence a visual inspection will allow you to spot these before they get too big. You know what will happen if you fail to catch this, the home they have made will become large and then they are all over the place. Maybe you do not know about the yellow jackets who eat wood just like termites do. There’s really not much to a wood fence as you probably have noticed by now; however, just about all fences will have a latched gate of some kind.
Anytime you are dealing with these factors, it only stands to reason that additional measures have to be taken into account. Any metal when left to the elements long enough will get to a point where they become no longer able to be used, and this may not be clear when you first get your fence. All you need is to periodically apply some oil to the mechanism, but you want to be careful that you do not put too much on it as this can cause other issues.
Scheduled Maintenance
Avoid any general advice about the best way to clean the fence, and you will not want to use anything harsh. There are some exceptions you may wish to take which can deviate from the scheduled maintenance. The only exception to this is if the wood is exposed from the stain that should be on it in the first place, and the best way to clean wood fences is with a mixture of water and bleach – very simple. Keep in mind that this typically will not be required for the entire fence structure, and in this instance spot cleaning will be perfect and thus reducing the amount of time needed. Then be sure you rinse well with water from your hose and then let it dry on its own.
One thing about a wood fence is that neglecting good maintenance procedures need to be in place all the time. Getting in the right habit of doing this will ensure that your fence stays in top condition. Hopefully you can make all this second nature, so that you are always aware of the status of your fence.