Traps make for a very effective barrier ... I just don't have the stomach for it any more. With all the cats, skunks and mink here ... I'd be shoveling a hole every day to bury another victim. It is kinda grim work ... like an undertaker. I've done it close to 70 times ... tiresome.
I recall there were several traps on the property protecting the chickens in the hen house enclosure with the orange plastic wrap. Chances are pretty high that the predators were "eliminated" before they tried to get into the chicken area (chewing thru the plastic). If you kill all the predators in your area ... there's no way of knowing whether or not your fence even keeps them out.
Kelly in Moxee
Get me a guard goose?!
We've been toying with the idea of a catch and release trap. Release any pets we happen to catch, destroy Foxy.
The predators here are bigger and mostly stay away. We're overrun with turkeys, rabbits, frogs, deer right now, so there's plenty to be had without fighting the humans...
This message was edited Aug 5, 2008 9:11 AM
No, Kelly, actually there were no traps on the property--their were traps on the next property over, some distance away and those people were still having problems with predators. I think the explanation that the flexible quality of the plastic fence had a similar effect to that of the "floppy top" on the Australian exclusion fence may be a good one. Certainly most predators could gnaw through the fence--but for some reason they hadn't.
It would be difficult to prove or disprove the efficacy of the orange snow fencing without a controlled test--it may even be that for some reason predators in that area had developed an aversion to the fence--associating it with some other factor, like electric fencing, gun-fire etc. Hard to say it wasn't effective--without testing.
I've been thinking that many of these problem carnivores are taking what (to them anyway) seems the path of least resistance. If there's a high concentration of juicy food that THEY think they can dig or gnaw through to they will probably choose that over something which squishes or sticks to them inexplicably like soft fencing. I've seen things panic in bird netting that could never withstand a decent chew, apparently because it jumped back and attached to them when they touched it.
Moot point for me since I'm trying to maintain birdies' free rangin' lifestyle, but it would be interesting to see some test results.
Catscan,
I totally agree with your assessment about a test needing to be done. I recall the mention of eating raccoons ... and made an assumption they were trapping them and shooting them ... somehow stopping them before they got to the plastic with holes in it.
grownut, True as well about "free ranging" limit the use of traps to an extent. I've had 2 too many negative experiences with traps vs my poultry. The chickens always lose. It is frustrating to kill your pets accidentally when trying to trap a predator. Made me really mad ... like the predator was responsible for killing one more. Since we have 17 acres surrounding our 3 acre fenced compound ... we're able to move the traps ... out quite a distance away from the chickens and guineas that do forage beyond the fences. So far we haven't had any more fatalities. My box traps are harmless but the poultry haven't gone in them or gotten caught.
Kelly in Moxee
Bumping. Fox troubles in NC