Trying to insert the trip wire into the hole of the entrance tunnel. Does anyone have a simple method to instal the wire into the hole? Preparing to eliminate some HS as the season ends.
Jerry
Troyer Horizontal Gourd Trap
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jcassiday
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:38 am
- Location: Iowa/Grundy Center
- Martin Colony History: first house 2006, 2007 built and installed T-14 with wood pole, 2012 installed Troyer tunnels on 12 openings, 2014 installed new aluminum pole and four troyer horizontal gourds. 2015 first successful pair, 2016 four pair fledged 16. 2017 will install four more Troyer horizontal gourds a total 23 cavities.
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John Barrow
- Posts: 982
- Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 4:12 pm
- Location: Corpus Christi / Sandia , Texas
Jerry, I have some Troyer gourds with the built in wing entrapment guard. The inner hole the trap wire goes in is positioned in a tunnel that extends about half an inch inside the gourd from the entrance face. I reach in with my left hand and locate the extension above the wing entrapment bar and guide the catch loop there with my right hand. You are trying to hit the hole in the extension which is noticeably inside the entrance plate. Your initial tendency is to hit the hole at the entrance plate itself but that will cause you to miss the hole in the extension.
I have also filed the lead end of the trap mechanism into a sharper point. In fact I also shorten the traps I use to catch sparrows to a shorter overall length--about 3 total inches. The stock length works well for starlings which are quite a bit larger, but with sparrows it helps to use a shorter trap mechanism so that the catch loop remains inside the tunnel. If it is too far inside the gourd it will be beyond the tunnel and the sparrows can, and will, fly around it in the larger opening of the gourd itself.
I have also filed the lead end of the trap mechanism into a sharper point. In fact I also shorten the traps I use to catch sparrows to a shorter overall length--about 3 total inches. The stock length works well for starlings which are quite a bit larger, but with sparrows it helps to use a shorter trap mechanism so that the catch loop remains inside the tunnel. If it is too far inside the gourd it will be beyond the tunnel and the sparrows can, and will, fly around it in the larger opening of the gourd itself.
~~TEAMED WITH A MARTIN GODDESS~~
Member/Mentor-PMCA. I do regular nestchecks and participate in PROJECT MARTINWATCH!! Coordinated 3 geolocator studies-2009, 2010 & 2013. State and Fed licensed bander (retired Jan., 2020)
Member/Mentor-PMCA. I do regular nestchecks and participate in PROJECT MARTINWATCH!! Coordinated 3 geolocator studies-2009, 2010 & 2013. State and Fed licensed bander (retired Jan., 2020)
After you do it several times it gets a bit easier. I suggest that you sit down with one of the gourds and practice a while. Andy Troyer said that after making the first batch of tunnels with the wing entrapment guard, he discovered how difficult it was to set the traps. He has since fixed this problem by extending the tube that the wire goes into which makes it much easier.
2009 One ASY pair 5 eggs 5 fledged 2010 2 pair 5 fledged 2011 8 pair 27 fledged 2012 14 pair 38 fledged
2013 20 pair 64 fledged 2014 19 pair fledged 84 2015 26 pair fledged 124 2016 36 pair fledged 156 2017 40 pair fledged 156
PMCA member
2013 20 pair 64 fledged 2014 19 pair fledged 84 2015 26 pair fledged 124 2016 36 pair fledged 156 2017 40 pair fledged 156
PMCA member