Wasps/Hornets+Birdhouses

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Just a tip for those who have a problem with invasions in their birdhouses. You can prevent this by putting a light coat of vasaline on the ceilings. I keep a small jar in a baggie with a little paint brush and use this every year, no wasps or hornets will nest inside.

Little Quacker

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), April 21, 2002

Answers

THANKS for sharing the great tip. Every year wasps and yellow jackets take over my birdhouses and feeders. They're a real nuisance so I can't wait to try the vaseline!

-- pam (pam1@awesomenet.net), April 21, 2002.

Last summer I had a birdhouse hanging on a tree limb. I began to notice this little bird flying in and out - and realized she must have eggs in there. I would periodically climb up on an outside chair to peer in to see if the eggs hatched. . . watching for those baby birds! !

One morning as I peeked in the hole, I realized there was a difference. Seemed really dark inside. Within a millisecond I realized the darkness was the skin of a SNAKE ! ! ! ! Got myself out of there in a BIG hurry!. Realized the blacksnake was eating the eggs.

My grandson loves to hunt and catch snakes so that afternoon he came, and after much effort was able to work the snake out of the birdhouse, lumps in the belly and all. He took the snake to HIS house, where his mother ( and father) promptly had fits with ME for sending MY creatures to THEIR house. Laughing. The uproar directed towards ME was even worse the next morning when it was discovered the snake had thrown up baby BIRDS, not eggs, before getting out of Dodge, and that they now had one of MY wild critters on the lam at THEIR place.

Now the question - - how do you keep snakes out of birdhouses?

-- Judy (JMcFerrin@aol.com), April 21, 2002.


Re keeping snakes out of birdhouses, easily done. Place the birdhouse on a pole. The 'houses I put up on poles(many are on fence posts, but obviously that won't work where you are)are on metal pipe or have a "sleeve" of PVC stuff slipped over the pole. This not only looks nice it will also keep out anything else that might kill the birds. Poor black snake, he got nabbed! LOL My favorite way to mount a pole in the ground is to drive in a metal stake(?)about 4 ft. long, put two feet of it in the ground, then get the proper sized pipe to slip over this(I use 8 footers). Easy to take down for cleaning out the 'house each year, painting on the vasaline, and any maintenence needed. Hope this helps, e mail me if you would like photos, and I will try and not be so lame with this 'puter stuff and send them your way. Yayy, spring! LOL LQ

-- Little Quacker in So. OR (carouselxing@juno.com), April 21, 2002.

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