Purple Martin Forum

Yea, I don't know why either. If you don't want to lose your colony to mites, you have to do something a little more aggressive than nest change as the PMCA recommends. It seems to me if you remove the nest and replace it with a clean nest, the compartment and birds are still infested with mites. Th...

https://seedbarn.com/products/garden-insect-dust-permethrin-1-lb?variant=12534767779940 Hey Rob, Phil and I found this. Iv ordered 2 bottles. Do you think this would be safe for the Martins? It has several warnings on the label, and I couldn't read the entire label but it said nothing about applyin...

Mine too. I only have three houses, so a pound of Sevin lasts a long time. Also, dampness can reduce the effectiveness, so if the birds were active in the rain and returned to the houses, that might cause problems. It makes you wonder what the birds do against mites in the wild when they don't have ...

I had one of those in my earlier Martin landlord days. I too closed off the top compartments. It seems the wasps really liked the holes for access to build their nests. I'm sure the Martins didn't care much for the wasps moving in with them. I took some window screen material and epoxied it in place...

I got excited when I saw a bird in my trap today, well until I learned it was a female Cardinal. Luckily she wasn't in there long and flew out just fine. This was baited with cracked corn. Never caught anything other than a HOSP with that. Wondering if putting fake eggs(or real ones) would attract ...

Dang! You guys are neck and neck. Nail em! Spare o doors are gold, pure gold. Take good care of it. Even if you don't have a trio house, its easy enough to knock together a bird house and hang the spare o door on it...can make it moveable too. This set up is near our gourd rack, two trap gourds and...

Could be last season was a bumper crop of baby birds, and those had to find elsewhere to live, or they came back early and the ASY had to find another home. They came to move in with you.

Depending on the brand, you could get it done for free as routine warranty work. Contact their customer service and explain what you have and what you need. Most scope companies offer lifetime warranty even if you are not the original owner.

My problem is I can't supplemental feed. I leave for work when it's dark, and return home when it's practically dark. Once I tried putting dead crickets on the porches, but as soon as I did, the local mockingbirds quickly flew up and ate them.

Have you considered going to his house and speaking with the people that live there about putting up his houses and caring for them? The houses might still be up and need some cleaning or other maintenance. They might appreciate someone (like yourself) continuing his legacy by caring for the colony....

For an inexpensive predator guard, I used 4 foot lengths of 6 inch pvc pipe. Sewer drain pvc is (was) pretty cheap. Cut a hole in the endcap only big enough to fit the pole through. If the hole is too big, a snake can still slither up the pole inside the predator guard and get past the cap. They wor...

Same here Tom. When it is getting dark, you have to be constantly watching the houses because they zoom in so fast you won't see them. Next morning, I will see them on the porches preening and waiting to take off.

I've never used the trap in the cavity. I control them by shooting with a pellet rifle. I would think that if they already have a nest made and you could put a trap in that cavity, it should capture the sparrow. If you tear the nest out but don't get rid of the sparrow, he/she will wreak havok to th...

I was thinking that after you dig as deep as possible, maybe you could build a 6 or 12 inch high box form around the base of the pole and put more concrete in that. It would certainly beef up your base and support for the pole. Let us know how it turns out.

Concrete. Wider is possible but Im still drilling through rock. Im thinking maybe another six inches. Filling this, essentially rock bowl , with concrete and I dont think the pole is going anywhere. What are you mounting on top of it?? Housing, feeding tray ?? 18 inches should be good, but another ...

What type of housing are you putting on it, and do you plan to set it in concrete, or just refill the hole with dirt?

Looks really good! I can't tell how close it is to the oak tree, but you should be getting some birds to look at it. I would probably move it more away from the fence and trees as long as it isn't too close to your house.

Put it up now. If you can, put up at least 1 more, preferably 2 more houses. Martins enjoy the "community" atmosphere, and the more the better. I think they feel safer in larger numbers. Also, I would paint the houses white, or a lighter color. Not so much to attract the Martins, but depen...

Avian Insect Liquidator. AIL. Bought in concentrate or ready to use spray. Simple, easy, extremely safe and very effective. Or sevin dust 5% around edges of nests. " Hey Dave. I did buy the Avian Insect Liquidadtor...not cheap for a small spray bottle. Thanks for that advice. Have had trouble ...

Put my houses up yesterday. Wife saw possible PM in one of the compartments this morning, but her cell phone picture she showed me was inconclusive at best. I hope to confirm sighting tomorrow.