Snake guards

[charlesgremillion]

Following the advice of several members on this forum, I want to set up snake guards next spring. . I have three S & K tri- poles and cannot seem to find any guards online, and S & K does not sell any predator guards at all , I would appreciate any advice members have on this subject, especially photographs and plans . Still a novice with a lot to learn. Thanks in advance.

[C.C.Martins]

Hi! A worthy cause, lost some eggs to a snake this year..
I can recommend two types for you. If you Google Kathy freeze snake guard on u tube she's got a great setup and its quick, inexpensive and effective. We caught three snakes with it. Another easy make is one that chuck Abare makes can be found by googling chuck abare, purple martins. On the left of his page he has home made snake guard plans. same thing easy to make, have 4 of them now. Neat thing about his is that it can open up by way of a hinge in the back and close secured by a latch. Reason I think it will work for you is chuck made his for a round pole...did that for our trio. I was also able to cut the center for a 2 inch square pole-fits like a glove. You could cut your center to fit your pole.
So id suggest a combination of them both; we plan on putting he Kathy freeze type lower down under the predator guard and the other above it.
I hope iv helped, I live in a normal neighborhood and found a small rat snake trying to climb up early in the am, our satellite site is in a preserve so has lots of snakes so please take no chances.
Hope this helps, there are other options but I like these.

One ps: they are referred to as snake guards but it will catch the snake. They try to climb through the netting and get tangled up. They have to be cut out, all 3 snakes we caught were not happy but released unharmed. Just have to replace the netting.
Ok, ok, one more ps: if you decide on chucks design you will find a big gap in your netting where the latch goes opposite of the hinge. Gaps are a problem. To fix that I stapled heavy gage wire to the underside so it extends out 7 inches past the gap or break in the guard. I can now weave the netting over the wire and bend or cross them when the guard is secured to the pole. Gaps in netting are now closed.

Tom

[charlesgremillion]

Thanks, I really appreciate your advice

[flyin-lowe]

Ill have to look but S&K used to sell baffle guards for their poles. I am not sure how effective they are but in combination with some snake netting they get the job done.

[HaydenB]

PMCA sells the baffles that will fit the S&K Tri-Poles, I have two of them. Above them I use snake netting and caught two last year. They got past the baffles, but not the netting.

[HaydenB]

PMCA sells the baffles that will fit the S&K Tri-Poles, I have two of them. Above them I use snake netting and caught two last year. They got past the baffles, but not the netting.

[brent]

Tom, what size bird netting do you use? Kathy suggest 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Do you think combining both is best? Last year my Bluebirds were attacked by a rat snake even though I had netting. Caught it on it's way down because it had eaten one of the chicks. I think it was able to breach the netting because I used 3/4 inch. Brent

[C.C.Martins]

Morning Brent, should have said that; its important....its 3/4 inch. A combo would be better, correct. Chucks instructions said to "pleat" the netting when stapling it to the guard, its nice and tight and overlaps. here's a picture on the trio pole. if you look close you can see the 10 gauge wire sticking out to the right used to close the gap in the net when its closed. I used heavy staples to secure it to the underside of the top piece. This one will go over the guard, will have another (Kathy Freeze style) under the guard.

Tom

[brent]

Thanks Tom. Do you have a picture of the square pole snake guard? My poles are 3" square. Bluebird is round pole. Brent

[C.C.Martins]

yep, here's one for the square pole; its cut to 2 inches. 3 inches won't take much adjustment.

[brent]

Great! Thanks.

[brent]

Tom, one other question. What type of wood did you use? Well another...are the dimensions the same as Chuck Abare's? Brent

[C.C.Martins]

I went with pine, they didn't have cedar and oak was WAY too much. Paint will protect it anyway. here's a picture opened. there are tons of types to use, we'll use a combination of both. I think the point is to get the netting away from the pole and flared out as best you can. I liked the simplicity of these. In fact, you really dont need to cut it in half. why not keep it on the pole permanently during the season and move it down when making nest checks? a simple suggestion from Mr Barrow....I wish id have thought of that...but Im a pig in a rut that way.

Yep went with chucks plans, have to follow them close, best to print them. when making the center cut my wire guide and center holes were off a bit, but used a file and good to go. we should have cut it in half first. Or not cut at all; anyway, here's a picture of it opened.