Before or after ?
Ideally you're supposed to regularly clean out nestboxes in any case so as to remove any dead nestlings, fleas, and old nests allowing the birds to bring in fresh nesting materials. So any screws could be removed once the box was no longer considered viable.
This is of course on the assumption that these are closed boxes with an access hole.
michael adams
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Won't the boxes be visited every couple of years or so to check they are not restricting the growth of the trees, which would allow the use of secure fixings (eg nylon straps) which can be removed when the boxes reach the end of their natural lives?
Ask the sawmill
Hemp, but not tarred rope if you want it to rot. Some ropes also stretch or shrink as well so its worth bearing that in mind. I'll bow to others, but I'd just say, beware of some natural ropes as they are made of all sorts of crap.
As a matter of interest, why does it all need to be bio degradable? I would it not be better to simply take them down clean them up and remove your non bio degradable stuff at that time? Brian
I'd not want to be the bird in the box when your rope gives way in the middle of a gale. Brian
michael adams laid this down on his screen :
Might a suitable legal notice above the entrance to the nesting box, 'Use at your own risk' - obviate the risk of being sueded by an injured bird?
Also discolours Oak. The last *blue Oak* stain I followed turned out to be a fixing for a telephone cable run. Probably fitted around 60 years ago.
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Some Owl boxes put up here (edge of spinney facing 17 acres of permanent grass) were ignored by potential residents.
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Would leather straps be an option?
Wire? Or whatever they used to use for ship's rigging?
Or osier shoots?
yes it will and a lot worse than using an aluminium nail, aluminium being for the benefit of future sawyers, trees don't mind steel.
Or just long strands of willow, now I think of it ? Woven into a crude rope.
Aluminium nails are less harmful than lengths of wooden dowel, are they ?
michael adams
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You've invented the branch
Bill
Yes in that the penetration is immediatly sealed and very small compared with removing a plug to a depth which likely compromises the tree's ability to limit fungal action.
That is exactly why I am wondering if a rope of natural fibre will last as long as my wooden box or longer.
TW
No. I want a fixing which can be expected to outlast the wooden box, but not last forever.
TW
I want the whole arrangement to be immune to accusations of littering. I don't want it to last as long as it can but ultimately to biodegrade to nothing. I don't want the method of mounting to fail prematurely.
TW
Thanks, that's really useful info! TW
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