Super-Duper Snake Guard

[wastrox]

Does anyone have a photo and more details instructions for contructing the snake guard Steve writes about in this article found in the Archives?

http://www.purplemartin.org/forumarchiv ... kepred.htm

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey Brenda,

Are you talking about the "plastic skirt" guard? This guard did work for me in Florida where I previously lived and I even watched several rat snakes try to climb up the slick wobbly agricultural plastic and fall off. My guards flared out some and the snake had nothing to coil around or cling to.

However, the plastic deteriorates from sun damage and once the plastic becomes somewhat brittle then it loses its slickness and rat snakes may be able to crawl up it. So I no longer use it.

Also if the guard doesn't flare out or is wrapped too tightly around the pole, then rat snakes may be able to climb up the plastic. It can be difficult getting the plastic to form properly around the pole so that the plastic gradually flares out.

I don't have any pictures of this guard.

Rather than use the plastic, I just stay with netting. The other night I caught a HUGE black rat snake in one of my net traps made from 3/4 inch netting. This snake was thick and he/she only got about six inches of its head/neck through the netting. But that was enough to catch the snake which was still alive. I am not afraid of rat snakes so we cut the snake out of the netting and released the snake several miles down the road in a wooded area. We don't kill rat snakes as they are beneficial to the ecosystem.

Steve

[wastrox]

Thanks Steve. You are not concerned about martins getting caught in the netting? I saw a post somewhere where a landlord found a dead martin in the netting after a really bad storm. Do you use the netting and the baffle? Do you have a photo to show me? I see some people just wrap it around the pole basically. Not sure how exactly the skirt is done.

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey Brenda,

No, I am not real concerned about martins becoming caught in the netting. I have had several martin fledglings that became caught by their feet and I successfully removed the youngsters. The key is to carefully monitor your net traps daily.

The same situation concerns using srehs. Martins become stuck in these entrances, so the landlord must monitor his/her colony and make sure any entrapped martin is released.

I don't use baffles on my martin poles. It would probably be wise to do so because of possible raccoon issues. We live in very open locations and there are coyotes in our area. Coyotes will hunt raccoons in the open and the raccoons tend to stay in more wooded areas. I may eventually try a dual system: a baffle and a net trap.

Here is a link to some photos of one of my double layered net traps. I mainly use 3/4 inch netting because it will catch most large rat snakes and the 1/2 inch netting is hard to find. This post describes how I make my net traps and there are other ways of doing it, too.

http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic ... +layer+net

Steve

[Craig Dyer]

Brenda,

I have successfully used the cylindrical pole guards sold on the PMCA website for many years. Not to say that a large determined rat snake can't defeat one, but I have yet to experience it (maybe I'm just lucky). My former martin colony was adjacent to the Trinity river bottoms. Rat snakes were ubiquitous. I often saw them in my yard during the daytime and their shed skins were further evidence of their presence. Not once in the seven years that I maintained my colony in that location did a snake defeat the pole guards. The netting is probably a better deterrent, but I find it unsightly, and once a snake has become entangled you've got to deal with it (up close & personal). I've taken heat in the past for saying this, but I don't believe in killing the rat snake. They prey on rodents and as Steve says are beneficial to the environment.

[Greg Borke MO]

I am trying something new that I came up with and so far so good.
Carpet tack strips zip tied around the bottom of the pole and 36 inches up from the bottom. I don't think a snake can push and constrict around a pole that has hundred of sharp points, just picking up a carpet tack strip you have to be careful.

[M.Stephens]

Greg,
Your idea has been thought of before.
Rat snake skin is tough. I don't think carpet tack strips are going to pierce the snakes skin and if it does it won't stop a determined rat snake...just help it to propel itself up the pole.

[M.Stephens]

Brenda the best way to stop a snake IMO is the electric fence charger. I believe Thurman Seber was the first to come up with the idea of using the electric fence guard as a snake and all around ground predator deterrent.

Snake netting applied properly will work as Steve suggests. I have used it successfully and have had snakes caught in it and have had them defeat it too.

I captured a rat snake in netting today. I use the netting to keep them off the patio. I've already had 4 snakes in the last couple of weeks either on or attempting to get there.

This 3 foot rat snake in this video was cut out of the netting and released after I used it in this experiment. I know my electric guards work but I have always wanted to see them actually work on a snake.

https://youtu.be/VD78eWMJX2w

[Greg Borke MO]

Yes it has been thought of befor Mr Stehpens back in 04 when I first made this post and I was using it than. It may or may not work but my racks are in a area with black snakes some of them I have seen well over 4ft.
I remember years ago when the fence charger idea came to thought and I do believe it was Thurman who thought up this idea and it was proved to work. I remember pics of this concept,,it's a great Idea !!! And it does work well but you need a charger, a battery, wire, and a solar panel to charge the battery.

[wastrox]

I installed netting today. Not sure how good of a job I did but it will have to suffice until the other volunteer gets out there with the baffle. I like the electric idea but it sounds pretty involved. Is there an article somewhere on details?

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Brenda, I use electric and love it! Here's a picture of how I do my 2"poles, the wire runs up about 4 ft then I make a circle near the top seperated from the pole by 1" It's really not that hard to do


Wood poles are different since the pole itself is not grounded, I drive a seperate 3ft. metal rod near the pole and run a ground wire near the hot wire

[M.Stephens]

Ray that's what I use one that runs off 110v. Setting up a fence charger is the best line of defense against any ground predator there is. They aren't hard to set up at all.

[cary-nw-fla]

Thanks everyone for posting your information & experiences with snakes.
Thanks Malcolm for showing the elect charger effect with the snake.
Snakes have been my biggest issue as far as predators @ my colony. I try to inform all who have martins near me of the problem with snakes even though they may not actually see them.