We have a problem of snake predation on B type nest boxes (entrance hole diameter: 32 mm). The culprit is the Aesclupian snake (Zamenis longissimus), and they eat eggs and nestlings alike. The nest boxes are hanged on trees at c. 3-4 m height at a periurban forest. We already tried to cover the tree trunks with plastic sheets (following Navalpotro et al. 2021, DOI: https://doi.org/10.32800/abc.2021.44.0103) and also relocated the nest boxes to more stand alone trees (the canopy of which does not (too much) overlap with neighboring trees; this is not always100% as it is not easy to do so in a forest. But all in vain. It seemingly worked for a week or two but then the predation continued and the situation is the same this year. I attached some pictures that can help evaluate the situation.
So the question is: do you have any good suggestion for this problem? Perhaps to treat the plastic sheets with some smelly material?
Thank you in advance!
Eek, I'm glad I live in New Zealand, where there are no snakes :)
You can try to hang the nest from a metal wire length more than the average length of adult snakes. Considering metal wire should be straight and without any endulations It will not hinder the birds but snakes will not reach your nest.
Install a snake guard .....two metal cones of larger and smaller diameter placed with the concave faces of the cones pointing towards the path of ascent or descent of the snake to the box....to bolster the hindrance you can then put on the polythene sheets as you have done already......or with a Noel guard
Hi Gabor, check out this paper published from a Spanish group, the study was done on great and blue tits. "A plastic device fixed around trees can deter snakes from predating bird nest boxes"
Navalpotro, H., Mazzoni, D., Senar, J. C.
Thank you for the helpful comments, you gave me some good ideas that I can work with. Unfortunately, the nest boxes we use are a bit specific (se the 3rd pic), therefore I cannot install a Noel guard on them. However, now we designed a spec. and cheap snake guard on some of the trees and are waiting to see if they work.
@ Michela: this was the first thing we tried (see my original post above) but it did not work. The snakes are probably capable of wrapping themeselves around the treetrunk by sheer muscle power regardless of the smooth plastic foil into which the tree trunks were wrapped.
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