Wildlife Tank Escape Ramp – 5 minutes

A grazing neighbor asked for help making wildlife ramps for some new livestock tanks he was installing. If you don’t know what a wildlife tank ramp is, it is simply a device to help wildlife escape from a livestock tank if they happen to get stuck in the tank. All kinds of critters will end up in a tank in search of water. Below is a short list that I have witnessed in tanks:

• Birds
• Squirles
• Rabbits
• Snakes
• Turtles

Turtles? Yes, even turtles end up in some stock tanks. Turtles in tanks is something unique to the Nebraska Sandhills where the tanks are different than a typical 2 foot tall farm store galvanized tank. In the Sandhills of Nebraska, Wildlife Ramps are generally referred to as Turtle Ramps.

In my work with NRCS, the first wildlife ramps I saw were heavy-duty fabricated steel ramps. What I show below is not as heavy-duty, much easier and cheaper to make. In addition, they should meet local USDA requirements for wildlife ramps if they are required for your area. Check with your local office for guidance on the ramp requirements for your situation. National Guidance for tank wildlife escape structures will be found in the Watering Facility (No.) (614) Conservation Practice Standard. I suggest you build 3 ramps and get your local USDA Office to approve them before making any additional ramps.

How To Make A Wildlife Tank Ramp in 5 Minutes For $5

Below are some details from the North Dakota “Wildlife Escape Ramp” document. This image gives an overview of the dimensions for a ramp to fit in a 2-foot-tall tank.

Note in the above instructions that they want a 28-inch by 28-inch piece of wire meshing. Something that is rigid and porous so critters can use their claws to crawl up the ramp. Note also that they want the wire mesh to be at least 14 gage material.

A number of years ago I installed some stonework using Galvanized Steel Lath. Using a search on the MENARDS website, I found the product, and it is 27-inch by 96-inch Dimpled Self-Furring Galvanized Steel Lath. One 96-inch panel sells for $15 in our area (after the typical 11% rebate). I can cut, three 27-inch by 27-inch squares from one panel.

Step 1: Tools

Acquire the tools you will need. Tape measure, steel cutting snips, and a piece of 2X4 around 30 inches long or longer.

Step 2: Measure

Measure along the 96″ length of the panel to find about 27.5 inches. In the picture below, I pull the panel out the back of the bed of a pickup truck so 27.5 inches of the panel is hanging over the end of the tailgate.

Step 3: Cut a square piece of lath

Using the end of the tailgate as your guide, making sure the cut will be square, use the steel snips to cut the lath.

Below is the result of your cut. Basically a 27-inch by 27-inch square piece of steel lath.

Step 4: Bend the lath

Arrange the cut piece of lath so you see a baseball diamond, not a square. Place the 2X4 extending from Home Plate to Second Base on the ballfield diamond piece of lath.

Holding the 2X4 firmly in place, bend one side of the ball diamond up 90 degrees.

Repeat the above bend process on the other side of the ball diamond.

Step 5: Place ramp in tank and secure

Below is the finished ramp placed in an empty stock tank. There are numerous ways to secure the ramp to the tank so I will leave the final step to your own ingenuity.

Tire Tank Ramps

The above instructions are quick and result in a cheap ramp for a straight-sided two-foot-tall livestock tank. If use old large equipment tires for livestock tanks, you will need to modify your cut or add extra cuts to account for the curvature of the rounded tire tank side walls. With a little trial and error, you should be able to cut the lath with a curve to account for the rounded side of a tire tank. It is key that the ramp tight fit against the side of the tank as the trapped wildlife will swim around the edge of the tank in search of the escape. As the critter swims, they need to run into the ramp (not be allowed to swim under the ramp) to find the ramp and climb out of the tank.