Last year a rat snake and hawks almost ended my season. I had 12 successful hawk attacks. A rat snake got 60 eggs and 5 babies.
This year only 5 successful hawks and I've caught two snakes. Success?
Oh, I think not.
I came home from a short vacation Sunday to find feathers and parts under one of my systems. There is mud on the pole and on the crossbars.
There is evidence that what ever it was stayed on the system to eat the babies.
I am thinking a raccoon. Any thoughts?
Sam
OH BOY!! WHAT NOW......................
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Sam Fertitta
- Posts: 129
- Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:43 am
- Location: Leesville, Louisiana
Pmca is solely responsible for ending a ten year drought to start a colony. Many Many Thanks!!!
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Guest
Wow, it never ends, does it? No wonder we worry!
I think it might be time to get an electric fence controller and do some wiring. That should stop anything from snakes to raccoons, etc. There are members who have done so; a case in point:
http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewt ... c&start=20
See the picture of the "colony marker."
Thanks to T Seber for his fine example (and I hope you don't mind the citation to your work)...
- Steve
I think it might be time to get an electric fence controller and do some wiring. That should stop anything from snakes to raccoons, etc. There are members who have done so; a case in point:
http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewt ... c&start=20
See the picture of the "colony marker."
Thanks to T Seber for his fine example (and I hope you don't mind the citation to your work)...
- Steve
Sam,
thats just awful news last year. I don't think I have read of anyone hit so hard by predators and I am glad it's been so much better for you this year inspite of what has recently happened.
That electric fense rig looks sweet too.
How did you catch those 2 snakes this year? I am not sure what that was because it sounds like it could be a nasty snake too.
Best of luck to you and to the rest of your birds and keep us posted when you snare the culprit. I bet you will get him soon whoever he is.
thats just awful news last year. I don't think I have read of anyone hit so hard by predators and I am glad it's been so much better for you this year inspite of what has recently happened.
That electric fense rig looks sweet too.
How did you catch those 2 snakes this year? I am not sure what that was because it sounds like it could be a nasty snake too.
Best of luck to you and to the rest of your birds and keep us posted when you snare the culprit. I bet you will get him soon whoever he is.
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Peggy Riley
- Posts: 885
- Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:21 pm
- Location: TX/Tolar
Sounds like raccoons to me too. They will leave parts like the wings and tails. Other than the electric methods maybe a trash can guard would suffice for the remainder of the year.
I'm sorry to hear of your problems. I lost two sets of bluebird last year to raccoons. I thought I had it fixed but they came back. I hope you get some good suggestions from others.
Peggy
I'm sorry to hear of your problems. I lost two sets of bluebird last year to raccoons. I thought I had it fixed but they came back. I hope you get some good suggestions from others.
Peggy
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Mary Dawnsong
- Posts: 1685
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 8:17 pm
- Location: Michigan, Livingston County
Hi Sam,
Such bad news. It does sound like a raccoon. Did it get past a pole guard for ground predators?
Raccoons definitely climb martin poles and they can quickly destroy a martin colony. Here is an older chain by Billie, asking why their martins haven't returned. Billie's second post in the chain reveals that a raccoon had wiped out 4 of their 5 houses the prior season:
http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2863
Good luck, Mary
Such bad news. It does sound like a raccoon. Did it get past a pole guard for ground predators?
Raccoons definitely climb martin poles and they can quickly destroy a martin colony. Here is an older chain by Billie, asking why their martins haven't returned. Billie's second post in the chain reveals that a raccoon had wiped out 4 of their 5 houses the prior season:
http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2863
Good luck, Mary
Click here to see my colony
"In Michigan every martin matters"
"In Michigan every martin matters"
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Sam Fertitta
- Posts: 129
- Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:43 am
- Location: Leesville, Louisiana
Great responses............On the electric fences, I know from personal experience that they will light people up if you touch it. Will it at any time get to the birds? I would imagine that ground makes it "hot". True?
No affect on birds?
I like the idea of electrified poles if I can be sure that any small children will not get zapped. In the photo Thurman had pvc around the bottom. Was that to keep kids safe?
I have had a live trap out for 2 nights with no luck. Raccoons are tricky... they get the bait and do not spring the trap. Tonight I am going to try two things differently.
1. Make the bait harder to get out.
2. Develope a hair trigger.
We will see. Wish me luck.
Thanks again.
Sam
No affect on birds?
I like the idea of electrified poles if I can be sure that any small children will not get zapped. In the photo Thurman had pvc around the bottom. Was that to keep kids safe?
I have had a live trap out for 2 nights with no luck. Raccoons are tricky... they get the bait and do not spring the trap. Tonight I am going to try two things differently.
1. Make the bait harder to get out.
2. Develope a hair trigger.
We will see. Wish me luck.
Thanks again.
Sam
Pmca is solely responsible for ending a ten year drought to start a colony. Many Many Thanks!!!
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Guest
What kind of poles do you use? I now have evidence that raccoons can climb metal poles (it happened at my bird feeders). I am going to try "greasing" the poles with vaseline.
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Louise Chambers
- Site Admin
- Posts: 6208
- Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2003 1:07 pm
- Location: Corpus Christi, TX
Lilyrose,
When I had raccoons raiding bird feeders, what stopped them was a pole guard for feeders, sized for raccoons (larger than one sized for squirrels). Grease will not stop them - many landlords can attest to that. The commercial raccoon guards are nice looking and can be found online or at wild bird stores. They are very similar to the stovepipe guards many landlords use. Relying on grease may seem like it's working, but eventually one will get by, so better safe than sorry -
Louise
When I had raccoons raiding bird feeders, what stopped them was a pole guard for feeders, sized for raccoons (larger than one sized for squirrels). Grease will not stop them - many landlords can attest to that. The commercial raccoon guards are nice looking and can be found online or at wild bird stores. They are very similar to the stovepipe guards many landlords use. Relying on grease may seem like it's working, but eventually one will get by, so better safe than sorry -
Louise
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Guest
Well, the way my feeder poles are constructed, I don't think I can use one. I'll try the greasing for now, and if it fails, I may have to use permanent control. Raccoons are one of the most persistent animals I have seen. They chewed the entire rim off the large plastic can and lid I used for storing cracked corn. I had to go buy metal cans for keeping all my bird food in, and I bungee cord the lid on to keep them out. It's exasperating!Louise Chambers wrote:Lilyrose,
When I had raccoons raiding bird feeders, what stopped them was a pole guard for feeders, sized for raccoons -
Louise
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Guest
Sam:
To answer your questions...
Yes electric fence zaps are painful to people too. They are designed to discourage much larger animals than us (horses, cows, etc.), so they will hurt.
Ground doesn't "make it hot" per se. When you touch an electric fence, you complete the circuit where ground is the other electrode, that's how you get a shock.
Even if you were to energize the pole (and martin housing - if it were metal) it would never harm the martins. Birds can land on un-insulated utility wires without harm. Why? Because they only touch the wire - one electrode - of the circuit. To get an electric shock, you must "complete the circuit" by touching both "polarities" of the applied voltage.
A good example would be: let's say that a 9 volt battery were enough to give you a shock. (It isn't of course, but I won't go into why - it's not quite necessary in order to understand this. If you become interested, I can give a lecture on this too.) Anyway, if I were to touch any one of the two terminals on the battery, I would never get a shock. If, however, I touched both terminals, that's how I would get a shock. When I touch both terminals, I complete the circuit and current can flow from one terminal to the other through me - and I feel a shock. I hope this is clear. If not, please let me know and I'll try to explain it better.
This is key to figuring out ways to make this work for your deterrent purpose, without undue risk of pain and annoyance to you and guests. I can elaborate on this too, if needed.
No, the PVC is not to protect anyone. The little PVC stubs in the ground are to route the wires between poles (insulate them from ground). The PVC pipe around each pole is his predator guard. Look closely and you'll see wires applied onto the PVC predator guards - these are the "electric fence." If anything touches them, it get's zapped. The idea here is that the wires are close enough together that anything that touches one wire is likely to touch the other wire, thereby getting a shock!
Actually, after looking at the photo again, the PVC pipes may not be predator guards; they're rather small in diameter (see * below). They do serve to prevent touching (electrically) the poles. He doesn't energize the martin poles themselves with his zap wiring and I don't think I would do so either, if I were to set this up (even though it could be done safely).
Good luck with the live traps! Like I said, if you need more explanation (this goes for anyone), please let me know.
*The basic way to make a good predator guard is to start with something with enough "girth" so that the predator cannot reach around it. Without the ability to hug it, they can't climb it (especially something slippery like PVC or smooth steel/metal). It also needs to be tall/high enough so that they can't simply jump over it and grab the pole and climb on up. This also goes for any zap wiring you install onto the guards; make sure the predators can't simply get over it.
Again, Thurman, I hope you don't mind us citing your work.
Let me know if you need more electrical help...
- Steve
To answer your questions...
Yes electric fence zaps are painful to people too. They are designed to discourage much larger animals than us (horses, cows, etc.), so they will hurt.
Ground doesn't "make it hot" per se. When you touch an electric fence, you complete the circuit where ground is the other electrode, that's how you get a shock.
Even if you were to energize the pole (and martin housing - if it were metal) it would never harm the martins. Birds can land on un-insulated utility wires without harm. Why? Because they only touch the wire - one electrode - of the circuit. To get an electric shock, you must "complete the circuit" by touching both "polarities" of the applied voltage.
A good example would be: let's say that a 9 volt battery were enough to give you a shock. (It isn't of course, but I won't go into why - it's not quite necessary in order to understand this. If you become interested, I can give a lecture on this too.) Anyway, if I were to touch any one of the two terminals on the battery, I would never get a shock. If, however, I touched both terminals, that's how I would get a shock. When I touch both terminals, I complete the circuit and current can flow from one terminal to the other through me - and I feel a shock. I hope this is clear. If not, please let me know and I'll try to explain it better.
This is key to figuring out ways to make this work for your deterrent purpose, without undue risk of pain and annoyance to you and guests. I can elaborate on this too, if needed.
No, the PVC is not to protect anyone. The little PVC stubs in the ground are to route the wires between poles (insulate them from ground). The PVC pipe around each pole is his predator guard. Look closely and you'll see wires applied onto the PVC predator guards - these are the "electric fence." If anything touches them, it get's zapped. The idea here is that the wires are close enough together that anything that touches one wire is likely to touch the other wire, thereby getting a shock!
Actually, after looking at the photo again, the PVC pipes may not be predator guards; they're rather small in diameter (see * below). They do serve to prevent touching (electrically) the poles. He doesn't energize the martin poles themselves with his zap wiring and I don't think I would do so either, if I were to set this up (even though it could be done safely).
Good luck with the live traps! Like I said, if you need more explanation (this goes for anyone), please let me know.
*The basic way to make a good predator guard is to start with something with enough "girth" so that the predator cannot reach around it. Without the ability to hug it, they can't climb it (especially something slippery like PVC or smooth steel/metal). It also needs to be tall/high enough so that they can't simply jump over it and grab the pole and climb on up. This also goes for any zap wiring you install onto the guards; make sure the predators can't simply get over it.
Again, Thurman, I hope you don't mind us citing your work.
Let me know if you need more electrical help...
- Steve