Electric Predator Guard (pic)

[Kevin-GA]

Predator guards seem to be a hot topic this time of year as Martins are returning home. After reading numerous post last year on the subject I decided to go with the electric approach as it seemed to be the most efficient. The space between the winch handle and ground is about 30 inches and I had a cement column to contend with, so I used 1 1/2 inch PVC to build the frame (non-conductive). I decided to (not) glue the joints together and instead screw them together with #10 self drilling screws so if I made mistakes along the way I could take it apart and start over. I then covered the frame with 1/2 inch hardware cloth (wire) and used a small single wire to weave the corners together. Then took a piece of 1/2 inch poly material to seal the top so no Martin could fall in an get trapped or worse shocked. Ran the insulated wire in conduit from the transformer to the guard to keep hot wires from being strung across the yard. For any critter to reach the pole, it will have to crawl across 24 inches of (HOLY %@&$). Maybe this post will give some of you who are thinking about an electric guard some ideas to share. I have learned so much from reading post on this Forum, and would like to say thanks to all you Guys and Gals for your wealth of knowledge! We currently have around 40 martins with a few trickling in almost daily. It's sure starting out to be a good year and hope it continues throughout the season.
Wish you all the best!!

Returning Martins

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Looks excellent, and your poles and all look first class. You should be proud of this.

I do see an area of concern! The wire is very near the ground, and if the earth touches the wire, then of course, it will short out. If grass grows and a lot of the grass touches the wire, or large weeds touch the wire, it will short out. A simple solution would be to raise the wire about 8 or 10 inches. Raising the wire would not harm its effectiveness...Or you could simply raise the assembly up to the winch. This is simply a thought, not telling you what to do! Also, if no grass is allowed to grow, then that should be fine also as you have it.

[Kevin-GA]

Thanks Emil, I'm glad you like the setup, I value your opinion and concerns greatly and you are right about the grass, even though it is a low impedance charger, grass is still a concern, so I keep it sprayed with roundup. From the angle the pic is taken it does look low, but its actually about 4 to 5 inches off the ground. Your point is well taken, grounding is a major concern with any electric guard.
Thanks again

[rdhd]

K

[Kevin-GA]

Thanks Randy, you're right about dry soil affecting electric fence and its a hard problem to solve when your dealing with large areas in extreme drought conditions. I generally wet the area around the pole and ground stake once a week during dry times, just to make sure they will get a full jolt.

Thanks again

[~Ray~Gingerich]

I would be concerned about a racoon or possibly a snake getting on top, you could move the winch up a few feet then slide it up below the winch, your metal pole would be the ground, anything crawling up the post would get a jolt when making contact with your wire cage. You can always test the output by bringing a grounded metal object within 1/8inch of the wire, if you don't hear a snap or see the electric arc across to the grounded object it's not strong enough.
'

[cary-nw-fla]

Kevin,
What guage insulated wire did you use that you ran through the conduit?

[Kevin-GA]

Cary, I used #12 stranded copper. There is a special coated wire made for electric fence, but its kinda pricey. I talked with several cattle farmers and others that have used regular insulated #12 stranded and solid copper wire without any problems.
However, just to make sure I purchased a voltage tester for electric fence and every time I've checked it's maxing the tester out at 7000 volts.

[jeffwilliams72]

Kevin, did you fabricate that pole?
You're whole set-up is amazing!
What is the top plate of your guard made of?

[Kevin-GA]

Thanks Jeff, glad you like it, my dad and I built the rack back in 05. He passed back in Jan 2011, so its kinda special to me. It has withstood winds in access of 70 MPH and still stands strong, but I still get nervous during summer storms, you just never know what mother nature is going to dish out. I was hoping to build another circular rack during the off season, but the lord blessed me with a very busy year in the bodyshop, just couldn't find the time. The top piece you asked about on the guard is 1/2 inch poly material used by a local boat manufacture. It,s tough as nails, but easy to work with, and non conductive.
Thanks again

[jeffwilliams72]

Thanks Kevin, you & your dad did a great job on that system!
You mention a bodyshop, do you do insurance work or restoration or both? I have a '71 VW bus that I want to restore. I have been buying rubber seals, lenses,etc...preparing for the day that I can afford to have it done. Have you ever worked on one?
Thanks again for the info, I plan on copying your guard.

[klcretired]

Hi Kevin,
I PM'd you , don't know if you got my message or not
would you please email me at [email protected]
I have a couple of questions to ask you
Thanks,
Kenny

[baileysambone]

Kevin,
What happens if a dog touches it ? Will it kill anything that comes in contact with it say a squirrel or small dog ?

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

baileysambone, an electric fence charger has a safety advantage, it shocks but it usually does not kill anything.

A brief lesson: The current from a fence charger is real low, and the current kills things. The current is real low, and it comes in bursts. A continuous current like an electric plug can quickly kill something if they do not let go.

The voltage from a fence charger is real high and that voltage shocks things. The voltage is low enough to where it will not hurt cattle, horses, dogs, people, children, cats, squirrels, people, etc.

The biggest things that I ever saw killed by an electric fence charger was lizards that crawled across 2 wires, and were unable to get off of the wires. It is strong enough to make stuff like racoons and snakes leave and never come back.

What happens is that something touches it, and it shocks them, so they jump away from it. It shocks the heck out things, and you will remember it if you touch it.. Our dogs will not get within 4ft of the electric fence. they stay away, so I turn the fence charger off most of the times around the garden, the dogs will not get close to it. I can put a wire up somewhere and the dogs will not get close to that wire.

[Kevin-GA]

Thanks Jeff, I have restored a couple VW beetles, but never a bus. I did some restoration work early on and soon learned if you want to make a living doing bodywork, you have to stick with insurance collision work.
Thanks again for the thumbs up on the system!

Hey Kenny, sent you an e-mail

Thanks Emil, you nailed it, I remember hunting quail with my grandfather years ago and one of his birddogs got on an electric fence, After that, If she saw anything that looked like a wire, it was an automatic twenty foot buffer.
(Amps will kill you, Voltage will make you hurt yourself)

[Brad-AL]

Kevin, you built one of the nicest homemade setups I have seen. From the way you attached the pole to the concrete, to the top of the rack, everthing looks top notch. Is your rack made from aluminum? Solid 1" square stock for arms?

You certainly took care in building the electric guard too. It looks very nice. I use electric predator guards too. One concern I have about yours is the flat plastic top. I would be concerned that a cat or raccoon would jump atop that without ever touching the hot wire. My guards are 3 feet tall and I still worry about that with mine.

Two solutions come to mind. You could put the harware cloth on top of the guard and insulate the pole for 6 inches above the top of the guard. That would insulate any Martin from being shocked that landed on top of the guard. You could also insulate and wrap a hot wire around the pole up a foot or so, and the bare platic top of your guard would insulate a bird.

[TheCav-MO]

Kevin that is a great looking set up you have there. I'm curious about what you used for cross arms also. It does look stout enough to take just about whatever mother nature throws your way.

[Kevin-GA]

Thanks Brad, Glad you like it and appreciate the compliment, the pole and rack is all steel here are some specs (The pole is 3/16 x 3 1/2" tubing and the sleeve is 3/16 x 4" tubing with 1 1/4" tubing for cross arms and 1/4" perches) The cross arms are 11 Gauge, I capped the ends so it just looks solid.

I appreciate your concerns and have thought about the same things, but animals whether wild or domestic are very curious. If you put a strange object in their environment (indoors or outdoors) the first thing their going to do is walk up cautiously and stick their nose to it or touch it. They may do a 30 inch vertical leap away from it, but I think its highly unlikely they would walk up to something strange and jump on it without checking it out first. A cat might try it but even if it were able to clear the guard, their claws or feet aren't equipped for climbing steel poles or steel cable. A raccoon could climb the cable but he would definitely give the guard a sniff test before trying and 7000 volts on the nose or paw would be a real deal breaker.
Thanks again,
Kevin



TheCav-MO, Thanks for the compliment.