RC. not many snakes out here/ Its still a concern but not a major one. I have a lab that hunts them. All we get are Gardner snakes. More worried about Raccoons and squirrels.
You definitely with the "inconspicuos gaurd" of the year award.
It should definitely keep squirells & coons out, house cat though may be able to jump above & grab a foot hole.
Snakes, you ask? It will never keep them out!!!!!!! I'm gonna go out on limb here and assume the "Gardner" snake you speak of is what we call a "Garter " snake. (see signature)
First let me set the stage, your profile says you're trying to attract birds for the second year. That is why you don't have a snake problem yet, but
when you get birds, and the subsequent numbers of mouths screaming to be fed, you will then be "trying" to get snakes. Think about it like this--you do everything possible to attract the martins who are picky---but all the snake needs is for there to be meal there---that being the martins you have worked so hard to attract. When eggs hatch and are discarded out of the cavity, not to mention the frequent vocalizations throughout the night---it's like a lit runway for any predator--especially like a tree climbing, cavity crawling around in, serpent son-of-a-**** garter snake.
I have been a landlord, well ok-there have been martins and houses around all my life. I just got my T-14 after hurricane Isabell, so I have only recently become a "landlord". This will be my third "intensely active season" with respect to my role as their attendant.
Here is my tale you should be interested in---------
Looking back at last years notes, the entry for 6-14-08 reads like this-"first sign of snakes is too late to do anything! 1 dead young on ground,1 dead young at entrance,1 baby unaccounted for, 1 dead ASY female at entrance, 1 live "25" inch garter snake in back of cavity, 2 dead young in belly of said snake, 1 ASY male unaccounted for----Asy male showed up lost & lonely that afternoon, flew around for about 20 minutes with a dragonfly in his mouth, he was very weary of his porch, finally passed dragonfly off to another male on the perches that fed to his young.-This nest check was made early because I observed what I thought to be a stick hanging out of the entrance--it turned out to be the dead mother's wing tip".
So I needed something quick- I had a house full of babys to protect and it turns out snakes can climb-who'da thunk it (sarcasim gets me everywhere). I had some slilck metal falshing laying around and figured it would be great, I think it 14 inches wide & I put three layers up makin a smooth surface ot about 42 inches. 12 days later garter snake number 2 wiped out pre-mature fledgling in fallout shelter (above flashing) ---look up and he's hangin out of the same freakin hole! (different snake though, I saw an alligator eat the first one) So I lower the house thinking he went in empty nest and I got off lucky just loosing the dropout--NOT-the cavity below him was completely wiped out of 6, 20 day old birds.
In total, 2 snakes killed around 12 birds in two attacks---now I know I must have better snake protection before hatching begins (and yeh, I gotta plan). You may never see a snake at your site, but please don't assume that plexiglass willl keep them down, I have since observed one climbing a tree almost vertically that he couldn't reach around. The plexiglass doesn't stick out far enough to keep the snake from coiling up around the pole and just squeezing himslef right on up and over, they are after a meal after all-that's a pretty strong urge. I just don't think a snake would even notice your handy work, much less be detered by it. The value of 2 cents just went down by half!
I don't know how to help with wifey-could be worse than the snakes
those suckers can climb anything less than 8" wide without a sweat, even climb vertical walls. I have seen a small solar powered fence chargers at home depot on sale for $40, the charge produced by these smaller units is harmless it just hurts like hell. And frankly if you really want piece of mind in a area infested with snakes this is the best way to go. Or simply settle for a nice large 6 -8" diameter 4' PVC pipe sprayed with WD40 once a week. Or the wobbling 8"X 24"stovepipe Baffle placed 5 feet up also sprayed once a week with WD40.