Really no need to comment. This is for Thom @rhoing so he can evaluate my rat snake baffle - trying to protect my bluebirds.
Thom, the cardinals around here build their nests in holly bushes. Why? Perhaps the snakes don't like the prickly leaves? Now, I don't mind saying this was a little labor intensive on my old hands folding the chicken wire like a fan. It is narrower gathered at the top and pulled out to flare at the bottom - like a pleated skirt. I haven't begun to cut the wires arbitrarily up and down to give it lots of prickles. I'll bend some toward the tree and some away from it. But want your honest opinion before I start that!
I found out that rat snakes can climb anything but PVC. I guess the surface is too smooth. They can even climb vinyl siding. Yikes! However, the cardinals don't seem to have the problem with rat snakes that the bluebirds do. I can't wrap the tree in PVC, so I was hoping maybe I could create a prickly baffle out of chicken wire. Necessity is the mother of invention... Right? Let me know what you think or if you have any other ideas.
I have three more houses on power line poles with grounding wires, so I can't use a baffle on those. Unfortunately, the rat snake got into one of the houses on one of these poles. I also have three more on the back fence and I might be able to make a baffle that will go sideways for those.
I posted a photo 11 years ago of a snake that was caught in some landscaping netting. (I think it's generally/often used to keep straw on newly-planted grass seed?) https://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-03-22
With a sufficiently-small mesh, you *can* prevent a snake from passing through your barrier.
I don't know if this is necessary — or if it's even feasible given the flexibility of the wire mesh — but I have the thought of mounting the baffle (1) upside-down with (2) two bands of wire and then (3) pulling the top down.
This would create a double-sided boundary at the top of the path a snake would have to climb to pass through your barrier. Perhaps this is a Plan B if your Plan A above doesn't work.
If the above "design idea" isn't clear, here's an alternative two-sided approach—
Wrap a sheet of chicken wire tightly at the top and the bottom.
Then put a baffle over that. I would put the top of the baffle below the top of the first sheet. Again, the goal is to have the snake's path two-sided with pricklies for all or part of the constructions.
@rhoing I'm clear on the last part. Not so clear on the middle part. Maybe you could draw me a picture? And I'm wondering what I can do with the mesh around the power line poles since I don't think they would interfere with the ground wire. ???
@marlboromaam I just thought of a better way to describe the middle part — Think about pulling up a sock and then pushing the top hem *down* toward your foot, creating an upside-down cuff. I was thinking about a chicken-wire "cuff" to trap or discourage a predator from climbing higher.
@wakelys I really would like to find one some morning stuck between the prickles - then I'd know it works. =)
https://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-03-22
With a sufficiently-small mesh, you *can* prevent a snake from passing through your barrier.
I don't know if this is necessary — or if it's even feasible given the flexibility of the wire mesh — but I have the thought of mounting the baffle (1) upside-down with (2) two bands of wire and then (3) pulling the top down.
This would create a double-sided boundary at the top of the path a snake would have to climb to pass through your barrier. Perhaps this is a Plan B if your Plan A above doesn't work.
If the above "design idea" isn't clear, here's an alternative two-sided approach—
Wrap a sheet of chicken wire tightly at the top and the bottom.
Then put a baffle over that. I would put the top of the baffle below the top of the first sheet. Again, the goal is to have the snake's path two-sided with pricklies for all or part of the constructions.