Hey guys,
Went out to add more bird netting and load and behold at the base
of one of the poles was a caught rat snake.It was about three and half feet long.I think I caught it last night.It was alomst 90 today so I"m surprised it survived all day in the heat.It did not try to bite me at all when I removed it.It was really tangled good.So snake season has begun in my neck of the woods.I would advise everyone out there to put netting
at the base of the pole,as well as a few feet up on the pole.If not for the netting I would have lost some martins for sure last night..Since it was about to get dark I put the snake in an aquarium and will release him in the morning a few miles down the road were starlings like to roost.Hee Hee...
caught rat snake
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klcretired
- Posts: 2174
- Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 3:06 am
- Location: Grand Prairie,Tx
Glad you caught that snake loco for purple , i got one a few years back but haven't caught any since.
Pictures Taken with Canon Rebel XT Digital using a Sigma 50-500 Long Lens.
Wishing everyone a Great Martin Year
Happy Martining for 2022 to everyone,
K.C.
[email protected]
Wishing everyone a Great Martin Year
Happy Martining for 2022 to everyone,
K.C.
[email protected]
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jmrogers-TX
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Sat Mar 18, 2006 11:03 am
- Location: Tomball
As a newbie I would like some info. on how to apply netting for snakes. And where do you buy the netting?
Jack
Jack
Jack M. Rogers
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Emil Pampell-Tx
- Posts: 6743
- Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:26 pm
- Location: Tx, Richmond (SW of Houston)
- Martin Colony History: First started in Gretna, La in 1969 with a small homemade house, have had martins ever since at 2 different homes in Texas
Bird netting is used to cover gardening crops, like peaches, plums, etc., and the netting is put over peaches to keep the birds from pecking them. Therefore, it is sold in garden centers, nurseries, etc.
If you could put the netting above ground, somewhere between 2ft and 4ft from the ground, and try to attach it like a womans skirt, with the bottom being larger than the top, and tie it at the top. The height depends upon your pole setup, but I like it about 3ft above ground. The idea is to have the bottom of the skirt large so that the snake tries to crawl thru it, (rather than the snake trying to go over it). It comes in different sizes, the 3/4in squares will catch large snakes, but if you have small snakes, you may need the 1/2in above the 3/4in, as the tiny rat snakes can get thru the 3/4in netting
If you could put the netting above ground, somewhere between 2ft and 4ft from the ground, and try to attach it like a womans skirt, with the bottom being larger than the top, and tie it at the top. The height depends upon your pole setup, but I like it about 3ft above ground. The idea is to have the bottom of the skirt large so that the snake tries to crawl thru it, (rather than the snake trying to go over it). It comes in different sizes, the 3/4in squares will catch large snakes, but if you have small snakes, you may need the 1/2in above the 3/4in, as the tiny rat snakes can get thru the 3/4in netting
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loco for purple
- Posts: 187
- Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:06 pm
- Location: arlington/texas
Jack,
I bought my bird netting from lowes.You can also find it at home depot or ant hardware store.You can use wire to install it on the pole, maybe 4 to 5
ft up the pole.You bunch it on the pole,I try to shape it into a mushroom form and then tie the wire around.You have to imagine seeing the snake go up he pole,and that it must go tru the netting.That it how it gets caught like a fish,but this time its the snakes scales and there is no escape.I learned last year from steve k. that it is a good idea to install the netting a the base of the pole on the ground. Since then not one snake has made it up the pole.They always ge caught at the base of the pole.You should also install a pvc pipe around he pole for the small snakes.They can sometimes get tru because the are not big enough to get caught.You can go to any construction sight and ask the forman if they have any pipe that they are going to trash,they always do have some.If not ,the home depot carries these 6inch pvc pipes,the bigger the better.If you live in rural texas these snake guards are a must..Good luck.....
I bought my bird netting from lowes.You can also find it at home depot or ant hardware store.You can use wire to install it on the pole, maybe 4 to 5
ft up the pole.You bunch it on the pole,I try to shape it into a mushroom form and then tie the wire around.You have to imagine seeing the snake go up he pole,and that it must go tru the netting.That it how it gets caught like a fish,but this time its the snakes scales and there is no escape.I learned last year from steve k. that it is a good idea to install the netting a the base of the pole on the ground. Since then not one snake has made it up the pole.They always ge caught at the base of the pole.You should also install a pvc pipe around he pole for the small snakes.They can sometimes get tru because the are not big enough to get caught.You can go to any construction sight and ask the forman if they have any pipe that they are going to trash,they always do have some.If not ,the home depot carries these 6inch pvc pipes,the bigger the better.If you live in rural texas these snake guards are a must..Good luck.....