There are some basics to understanding why electric fences work with cattle and sheep and pets and domesticated animals. Yes, it is a shocking experience for a cow or Fido to hit the fence for the first time but it doesn't take long for domestic and even wild animals to learn that touching the fence delivers an unpleasant shock. After a while, you could turn off the electricity and they wouldn't go near it. Thank B.F. Skinner's work in behavioral sciences for that. The same holds for wild animals; they learn too. However, snakes and reptiles present logistical problems, not necessarily behavioral problems, of two kinds. One is the conditions under which electric fences can be used successfully as a deterrent and the other requires a lot of maintenance.
Challenging
Among the top three considerations in building a successful electrical fence -- one that delivers a charge sufficient to deter animals from trying to get past it -- reptiles present a challenge that makes the top consideration difficult. Because snakes, in particular, move so low to the ground that without constant weed and pasture maintenance the fence will likely be in constant contact with vegetative growth. Unless the fence is supercharged, contact with pasture growth alone will drain current to levels insufficient to deter entry. Reptiles also climb, so the electrical fence must be low enough that normal entry is prohibitive and high enough that they won't climb over it.
Two Scenarios
The first scenario is an easy one but does not present itself frequently. The scenario is this: You don't want a snake infestation in a desert. For the most part, nobody cares. The only practical uses of electrical fencing to deter snakes in a desert are to keep them off military bases and desert airports where they can hide amidst cargo that is being shipped all over the world. The only documented case of a snake caught and killed by an electrical fence is at the Silent Valley Ranch in South Africa. The fence wasn't constructed for the purpose of keeping out snakes as noted by the 10-inch spacing between the electrified wiring. It just so happened that this Python got stuck after eating an intact Impala whole and got stuck.
Impractical but Possible
For military and airport uses, the cost is negligible when factored into the overall operational budget. For a farmer who wants to keep snakes from eating his chickens, it requires a lot of effort, maintenance and cost. Unless the farmer is losing a lot of livestock to snakes, an electrified fence is a questionable alternative to other deterrents. For desert use, several strands of highly conductive wire should be tightly strung starting at about inch above ground and at inch intervals to prevent climbing snakes and leaping reptiles. An alternative to running wire every inch could be the use of highly-conductive wire mesh between the top and bottom strands of wire, electrifying the entire mesh. A copper ground post should be pounded into the ground and the sand kept moist to assure conductivity.
Farming
Animal farming occurs mostly in pastures and areas of a lot of weed growth. To keep the weeds and natural vegetation from encroaching on the electrified fence it is necessary to dig a two-foot wide trench on either side of the fence line (preferably before installing the fence). Lay a heavy mil polyurethane sheet or sheet along the bottom of the trench and back fill the trench with stone. While normal electrified fencing is a fraction of the cost of barbed wire and equally as effective for domestic animals, when trying to keep out reptiles and snakes, this step is essential. A lot of maintenance will still be required to keep vegetation from contacting the fence which could possibly reduce the effectiveness of an electrified fence as a deterrent. Once the trench is dug and back-filled, follow the same procedure as you would if you were installing the fence in the desert.
Cautions
First of all, you may have just fenced in the snake infestation unless you know that it is coming from off the property you intend to protect. Also, snakes eat a lot of vermin that you might otherwise not want multiplying on your property, which could be worse than the snakes or reptiles.
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