Question on Wing Entrapment Guards for Excluder II Entrance?

[Hanover Bill]

I am looking for some advice on wing entrapment guards for Excluder II entrance plates on a T-14.

Unfortunately I lost an ASY male last season to wing entrapment, and now that we are getting close to the time when males will be sparring for compartments I am thinking about guards.

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to obtain guards for that particular entrance plate, or on how to make them.

Thanks in Advance;
Hanover Bill.

[Louise Chambers]

Bill, the plastic wing protectors that the PMCA shop carries are designed for crescent and Conley II entrances, but I don't think they are as wide as an Excluder entrance. You could make a wooden wing guard to add on the outside, if you have some tools such as a jigsaw.

[John Miller]

You can make your own using 3 inch diameter thin wall drain pipe.. ... wrote about this a few days ago for a MS landlord here. I'll find the thread.

but here is a photo:

http://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o50 ... c8f589.jpg


thread discussing
http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29740

[Ron Alsop]

Hi Bill, I know you got your martins on 4/13 last year and have been watching for you to get them any day now--good luck! Ron

[Hanover Bill]

Thanks for all of the great advice. One more question, should the guards be on both sides of the entrance plate or is just one side sufficient, and if so which side is preferable?

Ron - I have 2 ASY males here now, first one arrived Apr. 10th. I guess I forgot to post it.

Hanover Bill.

[John Miller]

The inside is where fighting occurs, so that's where I put them, (some folks have tried outside and it would work, but to me looks funny). Last year for first season finally got by without a case. My photo is of one over a crescent in a Trendsetter, but you can cut these to fit over excluder II. You'll need to evaluate whether these on inside of your particular house will interfere with the nest tray...in Trendsetters I have trimmed back some of my trays and made a lot of new trays that are notched back. think it out, specific to your housing. If one were cutting holes in the house wooden door initially and the wood was 1/2 inch thick, making the hole for the entrance plate snug around the SREH itself may be all that's needed. John

[4th Gen Martin Fan]

John,
I do not have access to an Excluder II entrance at this time.
Does the Excluder II require spreading out of the 3" PVC pipe like the wider, original Snyder Excluder entrances did.
I remember that you advised heating up the PVC pipe in hot water and widening the PVC pipe to accommodate the wider, original Excluder entrances.
I know that there is a post about the hot water treatment to PVC pipe. Do you remember the link to that discussion?
Sorry to ask a question that you have probably answered a zillion times already.
Wing entrapment guards on the inside to decrease the risk make the most sense to me also.
I remember a CAD designed wing entrapment guard by Andrew, DornCounty, for the original Snyder Excluder entrance but I do not remember if he intends to produce the product. Setup production costs are always so daunting.

Back to this topic, I am working on applying your PVC pipe WEPs to a mentee's house. I want to thank Emil and you for the advise a few weeks ago. That post helped me to safely cut the PVC pipe with my miter saw.
Mark.

[John Miller]

Mark I did not heat and widen mine for excluder II. This means I sat the arch at little higher, and not intersecting the sides but snug. You can cut these with a hack saw as Sharon mentioned - doesn't have to be perfectly straight. Just cut rings about 3/4 inch wide and use tin snips then to cut out an arch. Not sure cutting the pipe in half first will give you enough left for the excluder II. You can experiment.

[Matt F.]

Just to clarify, I think Bill was asking about wing entrapment protectors for the Excluder II entrance?
I was under the impression (and the product description indicates the same) the PMCA protectors work for Excluder II entrances, but of course not for the wider, original Excluders.

[Louise Chambers]

The WEP will fit onto an Excluder gourd with Excluder II entrance nicely - but not original Excluder, as Matt said.