traditional ropes

[TimW]

I am involved in a project to put some small wooden structures like nesting boxes out in some woodland. The Desire is that they should be

100% (or at least 99%) biodegradable, so they last as long as poss but ultimately rot away to nothing. Fixing them in trees with synthetic ropes or straps is therefore obviously a complete no-no. So traditional rope is required.

There's a bewildering array of different materials - coir, hemp, flax etc and some treatments as well like tarred rope. Does anyone know what is a good choice here for just lasting a few years out in the weather? Is it better to have thicker rope for lasting, or just strong enough to do the job?

TW

[williamwright]

How very bonkers.

Bill

[Jethro_uk]

No idea, but for some reason I am reminded of seeing a bicycle that had been leaned against a tree and grown into the trunk a few feet off the ground (I think there was a story it belonged to a lad who went to WW1 and never came back).

Certainly didn't seem to harm the tree !

returning to the OP, surely anything used to *bind* to a trunk is going to suffer one of 2 fates. It's stronger than the trunks growth (unlikley) and the trunk subsumes it. Or it's weaker and at somepoint - no matter what it's made of - it will snap (hopefully not letting anything fall on anyone below ....).

AFAICR hemp is natural and vulnerable to damp.

[TimW]

Yes there is an element of bonkerishness but I believe it's a worthy cause.

TW

[TimW]

You are right that some thought should be given to the method of attachment. They don't need to be tightly bound to the trunk, maybe sitting on a branch and loosely held in place, or hanging down even.

TW

[Chris Hogg]

I can't believe it matters too much. It ain't rocket science! Any natural fibre rope will rot away eventually, although if the rope is tarred, it will take longer. There are some brief descriptions here

As the boxes aren't likely to be very big, you won't need an Atlantic liner mooring rope. I'd go for jute, but I have no specific experience on which to base that choice. I'm sure hemp or sisal would be just as good for what you want.

If you're fixing up bird-boxes, or boxes for small mammals, height above the ground can be important, as can the direction they face, design etc. but I assume you know that.

[nightjar]

The best rope for outdoor use is undoubtedly Manila. It can last up to

10 years either in dry or in wet but windy conditions. Not having a chance to dry out will, however, shorten its life. It needs to be pre-shrunk, by keeping in water overnight, when it will lose up to 10% of its length. Failing to do that will result in it shrinking when it first gets wet.

Sisal or hemp are unlikely to last more than three years outdoors and may last much less.

Tarred rope requires regular re-treatment to avoid the rope rotting and I suspect that pine tar is probably not something you want around nesting boxes.

[The Natural Philosopher]

That would be why prior to chains it was used exclusively by the Royal Navy and all merchant ships, then

[Dave Liquorice]

Aye. Wonder if the birdies will decide that strands of natural rope fibre make ideal nest material?

[Jethro_uk]

You mean *tarred* hemp. Like wot the sailors nick name of Jack Tar came from.

Or another type of hemp ?

[williamwright]

It's all about making you feel happier about yourself.

Bill

[williamwright]

Birds are terrible for this sort of thing. They do no end of damage to aerials and cables.

Bill

[williamwright]

Why not use whatever you want and then collect it after a couple of years and recycle it?

Bill

[williamwright]

Getting wet and then being dried is not damp.

Bill

[michael adams]

Drill an appropriate sized angled hole in the trunk, insert a length of wooden dowel and suspend the nest box from that,

Repeat as necessary

A shallow hole won't harm the tree in any way.

michael adams

...

[michael adams]

...

Actually you don't even need dowel. Just rough pegs fashioned from the same species of timber as the boxes. And level rather than angled holes. If the pegs are fittted securely to the box but a loose fit in the hole then when the box eventually falls down it should take the peg down with it.

[michael adams]

Isn't this risking unwarrented distress, never mind cruellty to any adult birds and nestlings who may find tjhemselves trapped in a nestbox which has plummeted to ground as a result of a rope failing "prematurely"

michael adams

...

[Fredxx]

What's wrong with iron nails?

Or Michael Adams' use of wooden pegs?

A rope around a tree will a variable life-time and may restrict growth in the area affected as well as the tree finally engulfing the rope.

There are also some plastics that do degrade.

[michael adams]

Indeed. It's true of all wholly biodegradable solutions, potentially. Which was rather my point.

It's just thst it took me three posts to finally arrive at that concluion,

Plus another one, having to explain it to people such as yourself, at the back of the class.

michael adams

...

>

[tabbypurr]

So you want a fixing that will drop the box to the ground every few years. I could ask, but there won't be any sensible reason.

A screw would be more sensible.

NT