Snakes!!!

[Kellye]

Hi all,
Last night we had a snake get in our box and it killed 3 ate 2 we got out there before it could eat the last one. Thankfully the other three must have already fledged.

I have Predator guards but they aren’t working for the giant black snakes that are longer than the guard.

I’m now looking into other guards and repellents. How does the netting guard do? And is there a special way to put the netting on the pole? Does it need to be a certain size of netting? When looking through photos it seemed to work well.. And have any of you used snake repellents?
Thank you!
Kelly

[flyin-lowe]

A combination of 1/2 and 3/4 inch netting will usually get smaller and larger snakes. Some people use some stiff wire to almost make an umbrella shape above the other predator guard you have.

Also if you can post a picture of your current guard someone might be able to help with adjustments to make it more effective.

Here is an older post that shows a snake in some netting.


https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/view ... ng#p275887

[BillieJR]

I am so sorry, Kellye. I would crap if I came across a snake in or on my pole or houses/gourds. I shutter just to picture it in my mind. It's too bad about your babies. :(

[Kellye]

A combination of 1/2 and 3/4 inch netting will usually get smaller and larger snakes. Some people use some stiff wire to almost make an umbrella shape above the other predator guard you have.

Also if you can post a picture of your current guard someone might be able to help with adjustments to make it more effective.

Here is an older post that shows a snake in some netting.


https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/view ... ng#p275887

Thank you! This is very helpful! How do I attach the netting to the pole?
Thanks!
Kelly

[Kellye]

I am so sorry, Kellye. I would crap if I came across a snake in or on my pole or houses/gourds. I shutter just to picture it in my mind. It's too bad about your babies. :(

Thank you. It is sad. At lest the other three were able to get away, or had already fledged.
Thank you again!
Kelly

[jpp77]

That sucks! I'm fairly lucky because my rack is in a fenced in back yard and we have dogs. The Martins don't mind the dogs and we don't usually have an issue with snakes because of it. I just have to check for jumpers before letting dogs out.

[ron20m]

Me too!!!! For first time in 23 years I had a big rat snake in a Bo 11 gourd and 5 20 day old babies were gone.
I've tried netting in past, but I struggled with keeping it from getting in the way of raising gourds up and down.
I've done it off and on several years but never caught a snake in one and hadn't had troubles before or after with suddenly missing babies.
Now I will be forced to keep netting up.

[ron20m]

In past I've tried using a silicon spray to make the metal pole guard slick and placed some granules of "snake away" around the base. we had had a bunch of rain when my snake was caught so not sure if those would have been much good.

[flyin-lowe]

A combination of 1/2 and 3/4 inch netting will usually get smaller and larger snakes. Some people use some stiff wire to almost make an umbrella shape above the other predator guard you have.

Also if you can post a picture of your current guard someone might be able to help with adjustments to make it more effective.

Here is an older post that shows a snake in some netting.


https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/view ... ng#p275887

Thank you! This is very helpful! How do I attach the netting to the pole?
Thanks!
Kelly

The only one I ever made I used stiff wire and wrapped the wire around the pole and then had it arched out and down. I did several pieces this way. Picture an umbrella without the fabric. Then I draped the netting over the wires and used zip ties to help hold it in place. I pretty much held itself though once I started layering it on.

[Kellye]

Thank you all!! I’ll be getting all these things soon!
Thank you all again,
Kelly