So sorry about the loss! Definitely remove the broken egg & make sure you don't have ants in the nest (clean up any mess best you can). Sialis.org tells you exactly what you can use to safely treat ants (think it's DE?). Whether for now or later, you can also put something on the pole to make it slippery (i.e.- Vaseline, garage door track grease) to keep ants from climbing pole. I do that with my pole for Hummingbird feeder since ants are attracted to sweet nectar. If there are ants in nest, it could've scared mom away, but still may be worth treating. Just don't know situation?

If ants aren't in nest box, keep the other egg in there until you know 100% for sure that it has been abandoned. Mom could still be incubating. Put a blade of grass in entrance & see if it ends up being moved. You could also dot the egg with a marker to see if it gets turned by Mama bb while you're not looking. The absolute last thing you could do is candle the egg.

According to where you are, it's getting late for nesting in some areas. That's where you have to consider the heat. The Sialis site also tells about appropriate temps for nesting & how to insulate boxes if necessary.

Also, in addition to snake netting, I'd get a proper pole with baffle on it (you may already have this). You may hear from another lady that frequents this site that has had snake experience where she set up a killer Krueger trap on her pole.

Lastly, don't give up! If it doesn't work out this season, they know where you are- would think they would return again next year. Best of luck!

Nicole

Great advice from Nicole. A snake got two of the eggs from my first nesting but I caught him in the act and disposed of it. I left the other two eggs but in a few days they were gone too. According to Sialis parents won't return to a nest that has been predated. Has anyone gone on to have success in this scenario?