Cautionary tale about plastic netting

A couple years ago my brother purchased some cheap 1/2 inch mesh plastic netting advertised as something to
prevent deer from breaching an area or to stop predators such as coyotes or to prevent birds from getting at the
fruit in trees. It did none of that but last year did manage to catch and strangle a cedar waxwing bird and this year
trapped in a tangle of the mesh 3 big black snakes, size about 4 to 5 feet long in some of that netting that had fallen
to the ground. The snakes were found to be alive, but just barely. They were freed and crawled away on their own
to continue their duty as rat catchers.

An added note about predator security regarding chicks or other small critters being kept confined. Trying to go cheap
sometimes ends up being more costly than intended. The black snakes have managed to get into the coops to steal
chicken eggs on a couple occasions. And recently, one got into a brooder with a bunch of quail chicks. It killed 17 of  
them apparently because they were too big to swallow and spit them back out. But it ate 14 others completely. The rest
of the chicks were unharmed. The snake was long and lumpy looking having had its fill of quail chicks. He was set free
because it is easier to recoup quail chicks than it is to be rid of one or more rats that a black snake can dispatch much
more proficiently than my brother and myself.

The thing about doing short-cuts is that you often end up being the one with cuts. Do it right or expect a higher rate of
failures. Really make sure things are secure... not just a covering and hope for the best because hope doesn't stop
predators.

Michael Bradford wrote:

The thing about doing short-cuts is that you often end up being the one with cuts. Do it right or expect a higher rate of
failures. Really make sure things are secure... not just a covering and hope for the best because hope doesn't stop
predators.

I've been taught this lesson many times, but still haven't fully learned from it.

Nice post.

We just freed a snake in our neighborhood a few days ago from this awful plastic netting that is used for "erosion control" on the side of the road. After heavy rain, this netting became exposed in many places. We cut the poor guy out. This plastic material is so tough that it had damaged my Leatherman trauma shears! No animal could stand a chance. We did not realize the poor creature's home was nearby and, as soon as he was freed, he got tangled again! It is unlikely that this snake will survive, but we have tried our best. Very heartbreaking experience. I want to make sure I never use anything like this knowingly and I am trying to spread the word.

We thought about getting some bird netting before as we lose a lot of our fruit. It is just not worth it for me.