Today I was pulling out bindweed all wrapped through some old netting from last summer, and found a grass snake. I realised when it didn't disappear, it was stuck in the netting.
It took ages with a pair of small scissors, to snip away all the netting and free it. I couldn't get the last of it, which seemed to be stuck in its mouth and it wouldn't open it for me, not surprisingly.
I released it and immediately pulled out and binned the rest of the netting, but found in it the remains of an earlier snake casualty :'( I've taken the rest of the netting out of the garden. It's good for growing beans up and sweet peas and keeping cats off the beds. But I don't want to kill more snakes.
I was really fascinated by being able to hold a snake, and amazed such an exotic creature could be in my garden. So sort of pleased and guilty all in one day :-[
That's a shame, Pigeonseed. I have yet to see a grass snake. We didn't have them back on the island. (Nor badgers, foxes, squirrels and a few others). It's amazing how snakes feel though, isn't it? So much strength in that tiny little tube of a body.
Hopefully I can make you feel less guilty by saying that us big clumsy tool-using animals just have a "collateral damage" associated with us. We step on countless creatures, trap them in our houses to starve, kill them because they are somehow scary or disgusting to us, run them over in cars, etc.
Thing is, you were only trying to grow and protect your food source and that's a fair enough thing to do in the game of life. Keep the netting, you need it. Chances are it probably won't happen again. It's been a weird year with insects in low supply. The snakes might have been deperate for food and willing to move through an area that wasn't too good for them to be moving through.
And please, please, don't take the glass out of your window if a sparrow flies into it ;)
We found a grass snake trapped in netting last summer. I recognise the careful net snipping with scissors, one particularly tight bit was wedged round it's middle.
Luckily ours seemed no worse for the ordeal and we put it out of harms way in some long grass.
It's a fine balance isn't it - we want the reward of crops we have taken so much care of. But sometimes birds, frogs/toads snakes and other animals get caught out by our crop protection devices. ;)
Instead of netting try using some of that metal grid they sell at builders' merchants for reinforcin concrete. It's not expensive and is sturdy and usually comes in 5m x 2m sheets.
I have made our back fence for the veggie plot from this and it's great for growing pumpkins, beans and sweet peas and its permanent. I used the large gauge which allows our cats through to the field behind and also pheasants in for scoffing bird food.
I've also used some cut to 1.5 metres high to keep the cows along the other side from eating my holly hedge which was getting broad rather than high as they snipped of all teh soft new growth each spring. It makes a fine clematis support to screen off the woodland bit of my garden from the main border and that works a treat. The other use is as squares cut and attached to posts with plumbing brackets so they can swing like a gate and thus keep the dogs out of my work area and veggie plot. They close with a simple hook on another post.
Quote from: Gordonmull on September 04, 2012, 00:35:25
And please, please, don't take the glass out of your window if a sparrow flies into it ;)
;D ;D
I'll bear that in mind. I'm also aware it's quite illogical to deliberately kill slugs and snails but feel guilty about killing snakes.
I think I could just use some of the big roll of debris netting I have at the allotment, to screen off areas of garden from pooing cats.
I think the problem is also old netting, overgrown and undisturbed for a few months low to the ground - natural hunting and hibernating ground for snakes. There's also some unused netting stored in one of my compost bays at the lotties, so I think I'll store that in my shed.