Product Advisory Update:
Troyer Horizontal Gourds

In our Thursday, March 17, 2005, posting to the Purple Martin Forum, we reported that recently acquired information confirmed that some Purple Martins can have difficulty exiting a Troyer Horizontal Gourd. This confirmation came from video taken inside a Troyer Gourd. The problem is that the inner surface of the Gourd's throat does not provide good traction for the exiting martin. Since our March 17 posting the PMCA, has been working closely with the manufacturer of the Troyer Horizontal Gourd, encouraging him to solve the problem. We are happy to report that the manufacturer has a simple solution in the offing.

The solution is to attach a strip of silicon shelving material along the inner slope and throat of the Gourd leading to the entrance. This material is commonly available at hardware and other stores. It is strong and durable, yet soft, pliable and porous. It is attached with two pop pins pushed through the material and two 1/4 inch holes drilled in the Gourd. See Troyer Horizontal Gourd Traction Kit

The manufacturer has informed the PMCA that new Troyer Horizontal Gourds will come with the traction strip pre-installed. Landlords who have previously purchased Troyer Horizontal Gourds will find a retrofit relatively easy to make. Materials and instructions will be provided free of charge by the manufacturer and are available through the PMCA. Call, e-mail or write the PMCA and request the Troyer Horizontal Gourd Traction Kit. Landlords may do this regardless of whether they originally obtained their Troyer Horizontal Gourds from the PMCA or not. Both the PMCA and the manufacturer want to be sure that anyone who wants a Kit gets one.

Even if landlords have not experienced any problems with their martins exiting Troyer Horizontal Gourds, the PMCA recommends that they take precautions to assure that martins can exit the Gourds easily, either by installing the Traction Kit, or by drilling small holes, scoring or otherwise roughing the inner surface of the Gourd. Additionally, placing a generous amount of nesting material in the Gourd, as originally recommended by the manufacturer for other reasons, will be helpful.

On behalf of Purple Martins and martin landlords everywhere, we thank PMCA members Shelly Harris of Norman, OK, Gilbert Scales of Marrero, LA, and Walter Stewart of Austin, TX, for calling attention to the problem. Ms. Harris provided the documenting video. We thank the manufacturer, Andy Troyer, of Conneautville, PA, for his sincere effort to improve the Troyer Horizontal Gourd. Finally, we thank Chuck Abare of Athens, AL, for kindly sharing his original idea of using silicon shelf material to provide traction inside the Troyer Horizontal Gourd.