Apparently my greenhouse isn't as invader proof as I thought!

[jpowell86]

My mornings always begin with a cup of coffee and a walk around the greenhouses. It is also part of my morning routine to go in a dump the Green Anoles out of my melleri's feeding bins. I have tried very hard to figure out how they are getting in. I have sealed every place I could think of sealing. The only thing I can imagine is that they are climbing in through the heat exhaust vents when they open. So, I guess they are timing their entries Mission Impossible style.

Today I had a new visitor. A green tree frog made his way in. I am beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable because this is the time of the year when the rat snakes really start taking advantage of my gardens. I need to figure out how all these little squatters are getting in. No new plants have come in, so I can't speculate that they hitched a ride in.

I guess I'm going to have to tie a little micro nanny cam to the top of a green anole and release him outside. This is driving me nuts.

 

[bobcochran]

I think you need Sherlock Holmes on this case!
The Anoles are going to be tough, anything they can get their head through, they're in.
Hardware cloth over your vents could eliminate that acess.

 

[jpowell86]

Sherlock Holmes would be a great place to start!

Hardware cloth is a good idea over the vents. I think I will give that a go.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I never worried about rat snakes--now you have me worried. Take care of my girl!

 

[Kboz1991]

Strap a mini cam to one. Will makea great video also haha

 

[jpowell86]

I never worried about rat snakes--now you have me worried. Take care of my girl!

I had my brothers come by today. Of course a little issue turned into multiple things that we should do. I don't like the cooling capabilities of my greenhouse at the present moment. Of course my one brother who thinks Thermal Dynamics is holy, was trying to convince me to build an entire shell around my pre-existing structure and have it sealed. He started to go into equations and reference some book when I walked inside, Lol.

I did however set four more cameras up to get a better understanding of what is going on out there. I also found raccoon prints on top of my greenhouse today. Which I'm sure I would have found every year, but just never looked. Regardless, I feel like I am going to have to set up a blind and do surveillance. I hope my cameras pick up the unwanted entrance.

 

[bobcochran]

Don't the Melleri eat anoles? I know a guy out here that used to buy anoles to feed his Melleri in the green house, now your trying to get rid of them as a pest, parasite issue aside.

 

[jpowell86]

Yes they do and will eat them. I try to keep it to a minimum though. But for the most part I do find that they will willingly hunt them down to eat them.

I am not worried so much about the anoles as I am snakes. I live beside a lake and I get all manor of snakes at my house. Within the last year, I have noticed more and more anoles entering my green house. Which makes me think that there is something I'm not seeing. Plus, my thought is that if they are coming in one location that frequently, they are leaving behind a nice little scent trail for the snakes to follow.

That is my major concern. The venomous snakes don't bother me, but the arboreal ones are making me think things out a little bit.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Yes they do and will eat them. I try to keep it to a minimum though. But for the most part I do find that they will willingly hunt them down to eat them.

I am not worried so much about the anoles as I am snakes. I live beside a lake and I get all manor of snakes at my house. Within the last year, I have noticed more and more anoles entering my green house. Which makes me think that there is something I'm not seeing. Plus, my thought is that if they are coming in one location that frequently, they are leaving behind a nice little scent trail for the snakes to follow.

That is my major concern. The venomous snakes don't bother me, but the arboreal ones are making me think things out a little bit.

I bet the anoles are breeding in your greenhouse.

You probably had the raccoon all over your greenhouse but just never noticed. They are really smart and really strong. Don't underestimate them.

 

[jpowell86]

I bet the anoles are breeding in your greenhouse.

You probably had the raccoon all over your greenhouse but just never noticed. They are really smart and really strong. Don't underestimate them.

I'm sure you're right about them breeding in my greenhouse. But, the ones I took out of the greenhouse today I marked with a marker. So, I should know tomorrow.

There is no part of me that underestimates a raccoon. My grandfather had two as pets. He kept them because he ran over and killed the mother. Those animals were sneaky, conniving, little boogers that could get into anything. They drove us crazy. They were also tough as nails.