Where there were 3 rat snakes, now there are 4

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TrkrBob1949
Posts: 100
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 7:20 pm
Location: Louisiana/Belle Bower

I got a phone call this morning from the lady who had 3 rat snakes in her gourdrack yesterday. Her husband went and got the netting off my abandoned birdhouse pole as I suggested, and installed it on the gourdrack pole that was attacked by the 3 rat snakes. Well, she is a believer in the netting now because there was a fourth rat snake trapped in the netting this morning! She said, "I really didn't understand how the netting was going to work until I saw that snake with his head and neck trapped in it this morning."

Wow, 4 rat snakes in two days going up the same pole. They must be infested with rat snakes! Either that or her gourdrack is known as a local hotspot as a rat snake diner. I don't know, though. With that much activity it must be the equivalent of a rat snake "Hooter's."

But, you know, there are still going to be landlords that read this who are going to say, "Duh, any idiot knows that snakes can't climb poles. Duh, I wonder where my martins have disappeared to already. Uh-duh." :?:


Sincerely, Bob Bozeman
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
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The Olsons
Posts: 3200
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:57 pm
Location: North Padre Island, TX

Bob,

Gosh, I do not even want to imagine what would have happened if they would have not put up the netting.... :x

As I said before, the netting is not expensive and it does not take a lot of time or effort to attach/install it to the pole. There are several landlords here on the Forum who shared the way they attach the netting and have avoided many snake attacks herewith. Why take a chance when one can save their martins and their babie's' lives with an easy fix!?!?!?!?!?

Thank you for updating us on that colony and the snake infestation and reminding us on how easy it is for a snake to get into bird housing. They can even climb on glass, metal, wooden walls, stucco walls, pretty much everything, unless.....they get caught in netting.

Astrid
Love it or leave it~~~Astrid :-)
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Guest

Before I knew any better :oops: I purchased an S&K barrel type predator guard to go with my S&K house. I love the set up because it is so easy to use and I think I am protected from owls by doubling each cavity size, and the upside down barrel protects from pole critters -snakes, 'coons, squirrels, etc :?:

Is there an advantage to using the netting? My five babies are due the 30th, and I checked once before and thought I was safe. Also how does the netting keep away 4 legged pole predators?

Thank You
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The Olsons
Posts: 3200
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:57 pm
Location: North Padre Island, TX

Liz,

I also have a predator guard, but when I heard from landlords about snake attacks by climbing the guard I added the netting below the predator guard. The advantage of adding the netting is getting any snake that tries to climb your bird pole gets caught. I am adding a picture of the snake we caught last year 2 DAYS after we added the netting. I was beside myself thinking what would have happened had I not added the netting. I personally always think better safe than sorry, which sometimes comes across as being overprotective. But that is ok with me, as long as I do everything I can to protect my martins :grin:

My husband is holding the 6' dead rat snake (she had two bite wounds from some other type of predator) with some netting still around her. We tried to cut her out of the netting when we realized she was dead. In the background you see one of our systems with the predator guard and some of the netting underneath. The snake was found in that netting......
Love it or leave it~~~Astrid :-)
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Guest

Astrid -

Threee things:

Big Bad Snake

I have pred Guard about 18-20" diam, guess you don't get too many 'coons on your dock. Pelicans?

What kinda Sailboat :?: :?: :?: If I could change anything in my life, it would be to have chihuahuas before I had Kids :wink:
And I woulda hit my hubby over the head with a frying pan when he decided to sell our Panama City Beach house and Sailboat because of the hurricanes. :roll:
Our coastline was concave so we didn't get as good winds as convex Destin. In fact we got very poor winds for our little heavy displacement Compac :cry:

Don't think my Medicare would cover me anyway :lol:
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The Olsons
Posts: 3200
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:57 pm
Location: North Padre Island, TX

Liz,

We have coons around here. Last year one failed climbing the pole (after eating three oranges from my mini orange tree) because the predator guard stopped him. I heard him fall down in the middle of the night and when I looked outside I saw him run away.....

We have a resident Pelican in our "backyard". We named him "Phil" and he patrols the canal several times a day. Sometimes he scares me because he gets awfully close to our house or the sailboat. I do not know if he is distracted or his eye sight is not the best anymore. Of course, there are many more Pelicans (mainly brown), but he is "ours" :roll: :oops:

The boat is 36' Endevaour (30 years old)....the martins love to use it as an "exercise perch" for their freshly fledged babies. They make them hang on the lines I guess to practice balance. I have some pictures I need to dig out and post. It is sooo funny to watch the drill. I am not very happy to live in a hurricane prone area myself, but when I see how much destruction all these tornadoes cause I think I rather stay where I am.

I am going to use my frying pan now to fry some burgers, too windy for the BBQ grill.

Astrid :wink:
Love it or leave it~~~Astrid :-)
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