Picture of three rat snakes caught in gourdrack

[TrkrBob1949]

Here is a picture of the three rat snakes found in the gourdrack I reported on earlier.

Now do you still think that you don't need snake netting on your birdhouse poles? Do you still want to remain in your present state of denial and gamble with the lives of your purple martin colony?, "Duh, ain't no snake gonna eat my martins, uh-duh."

[KathyF]

Eeeeeeekkkk!!! I couldn't even get the snake's SKIN out of my garage, much less hold 3 (of which one still looks like it's moving!!) real ones!!!

Someone would just have to put me away-I'd be a puddle on the ground, I couldn't do it.

The one of the snake coiled around the pole is a real eye-opener.

[TrkrBob1949]

Kathy:

Aw, you can pick up a snake, there's nothing to it. Just make sure they're dead, that's all. This young boy made the mistake of handling 3 live rat snakes. After the photo was taken they ganged up on him and swallowed him whole before the photogapher could come to his aid.

[Guest]

And that is the way snakes become rogue man-eaters. You should never let a snake eat a human or they will never satisfied with rats anymore.

[Guest]

I feel for you!

I put up a metal "guard" at the base of my pole. I had a rat snake that evidently used it to help climb! As I was doing my nest checks on the Goliad last month, I pulled out an unusually heavy nest tray. I came face-to-face with a 36 inch rat snake. He ate the mother and eggs and couldn't fit back out the SREH!

That was his last meal.

Netting is imperative if you live in an area that includes bird-eating snakes!

[KathyF]

Kathy:

Aw, you can pick up a snake, there's nothing to it. Just make sure they're dead, that's all. This young boy made the mistake of handling 3 live rat snakes. After the photo was taken they ganged up on him and swallowed him whole before the photogapher could come to his aid.

SEE - I KNEW it- you can't trust them!!!!!!

After the movie, "Sssssssss", well, that was enough for me!

[Guest]

Thanks for posting the pix. I'm now a convert after seeing them.

[cbyeagley]

I know I have read something about this type of snake guard, but, do you get this stuff at Lowe's or somewhere like that, and, then, do you just wrap it around the bottom of the pole? What do you secure it to the pole with? Is there a particular way to wrap it that is more effective. I was getting ready to order another metal predator guard for our Quad Pod (since we didn't have Martins last year, we took it off and used it for one of our bluebird houses). We use the metal predator guards on our bluebird houses and they are used by not only bluebirds, but tree swallows, and chickadees, and the guards have saved our birds. We found out the hard way a couple of years ago when one of our bluebird pairs tried four different times to have babies. Twice, her nest was raided for the eggs, then we lost a set of babies. After that we installed the metal stovepipe style predator guard. Unfortunately, something airborne got the next set of babies, but we haven't had anymore snake problems, and other than that one airborne problem, we haven't lost any more babies. Now, if only those Purple Martins would come stay at our place.

[Guest]

this is what i did=went to lowes and bought what is called deer netting, go 2 old wire coat hangers and some duct tape, wrapped the coat hangers around the pole so that they became a cross, i taped netting right above the cross area, then i bunched up netting using the coat hanger hooks to hold the bunches... this works just fine=no snakes yet but will work i am sure. below the hanger is netting that hangs freely-do not tape bottom of netting to pole. i used about 4 ft of this netting for this purpose
hope this helps

[KathyF]

"Tim in Arkansas" posted this awhile back - it's a great instructive guide to putting up netting:

http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9318