Purple Martin Forum

I've always found that once they start building nest's they will stay at hat location. What gets people is they have TS going in and out of a gourd for a couple weeks and then open their PM housing, the the TS start going to it and by the time you close it back off and force them back to their gourd...

Unless you just can't do it I bet if you look around you will have a friend or neighbor that has some. It doesn't take much at all really. I have 52 cavities and usually if I stuff a single Wal Mart bag full it fill most of them. You can easily get that amount from under 1 tree. I have three pines i...

I don't think you violate any policy by mentioning the name of the product. People discuss Seven on here all the time. I am not certain about the product you are talking about but the issue with using Seven in the liquid form is that is loses it's effectiveness very quickly. Between the sun and rain...

Hopefully I don't sound argumentative, as that is not my intent. I am always interested in ways to help when it comes to Tree Swallows. I help a lot of people in my area with martins and TS are the biggest problem getting started. Have you tried the method that you are describing or are you planning...

The one's I have are real similar to this one that the PMCA sells, however it's about twice as deep. I think the deeper ones are made for starlings as well but with the SREH that isn't really necessary. If you end up going with tunnels they make some basic tunnel traps that are cheaper than these in...

I've heard of people moving them if they get into a gourd rack without the landloard knowing about it. In your case I would not give them the option. Leave the gourd rack gourds closed up so the only option they have is the near by shepherds hook. I know all to well the frustration of dealing with T...

Definitely going to need pictures to help you out. Once you take a picture of the gourd you will have to edit the photo to bring the size down for it to post on the forum.

I have been using T14's for many years. I do have SREH but no tunnels. They definitely will not hurt but with the depth of the T14 and your owl guards I don't see a need for them, again nothing wrong with using them. I would watch the scout reports and put your housing up when you see martins start ...

Do you have a picture or know which winch you have? Mine has some openings that a padlock might fit. I have seen some that you can remove the handle from easily, that could be one option.

I too have kept bees in the past. Much like martins you can spend a tone of time with them or just provide the basics and they can get by on there own. I lost most of my hives a couple winters ago and only have one or two going this winter. Right now with two kids in school sports and me coaching mo...

I can't remember what the technical name is for it but I have read reports of people doing this intentionally. Building larger colonies and then shutting them down to force the the martins to spread out to other colonies, so it's not unheard of. Do you know anything about the history of his colony, ...

Congrats on the arrivals. I wish I had the same success with bats that you have. I currently have a house up at my place and have placed several others at different locations. The numbers in Indiana have really been declining and not a lot of people have success with them in houses up here. Curious ...

Like many, I knew next to nothing about PM's when I started. That is why I used the S&K house because I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on housing if there were no martins in my area. Once I had it up and saw some visitors to my yard I found this forum and began to learn. I upgraded my hous...

Many people use these houses with success. A few modifications are recommended. The first is to double the size of the compartments, so they will be 12 inches deep but you will only have 6 instead of 12. To me, of bigger concern than the house is the tri tell poles they typically come with. My first...

Fortunately a majority of the fledges don't make it to the ground. Yes it happens from time to time. We live in the country and have a cat that is indoor(garage)/outdoor. He carries his catches to the back door and fortunately have only had a couple of PM's since I have lived here in 2012. They say ...

Are you moving to a purple martin friendly location? If I was thousands of miles away I would take them off your hands. I'm sure someone will snatch them up.

I have built 3 T14's. Last summer lumber prices were crazy and it was only about 50.00 cheaper to DIY than what I could have bought one from Troyers for. It was for a friend and he wanted me to build it rather than to buy one. I'm not sure if Troyers prices have changed any since Covid or not. I kno...

If you haven't already check the link in the thread I posted above. I built a square box that has a hole drilled in the middle. The box goes around the pole and my cable hooks to it. Then each section of the house bolts to the box. It's a pretty simple setup.

I just noticed the top picture appears to be a tilting pole but it also has a winch mounted on it. Maybe it was built just to service the pulley's or something, but it appears as if that house raises and lowers as is....... This thread has a picture of one of my T 14 "carriers" in it. Also one of my...

The pole needs to raise and lower so you can do nest checks, it's not a matter of being able to lift it up. If you have a house full of nests and eggs you cannot tilt it down to the ground, all the eggs and nest would be destroyed. You also shouldn't go all season without lowering it. Even if you pl...