Question About Lowering Martin Houses During Storms

BIOteacher012 · Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:42 am

I am still waiting to attract my first pair of martins in south central Wisconsin. I have a T14 with gourds underneath, still plugged but raised as well as two quad-tel poles from S&K. One of the poles was converted into a gourd rack, and the other pole has an S&K barn on it with gourds underneath. The T14 pole is the 3" aluminum one, so very sturdy. My concern/question is that I don't feel comfortable leaving the quad-tel poles raised during heavy winds for fear that they may get bent. The PMCA recommends not lowering houses after dark once you get martins. Last night, we had heavy thunderstorms......so here I am......running out into the yard at 1:00 am to lower my poles before the storms hit. What if those houses eventually have martins in them......will the martins get freaked out by me doing this? I won't always be able to lower houses during the daylight if a freak storm hits at night.

Your comments are much appreciated!!

Matt F. · Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:49 am

Hi Brian.
Hopefully others enter in also.
As for the S&K poles, depending on how open your site is, you may be able to lower the top section of the pole, and leave it that way.
Needless to say this would take a few feet off the housing height, but it would make the setup more robust, in terms of being able to take wind gusts without buckling or bending.

kcscriv · Tue Apr 30, 2013 9:05 am

I have the 3 piece poll and when i first started i was doing like you are,several years ago i left it 2 pole high and have never had a problem,it is the first thing to fill up!! I put 6 bo 11s under my barn and thats what seemed to work to get my martins. Good luck up in the north woods,i was born in ladysmith!!!!

daveh · Tue Apr 30, 2013 9:23 am

Brian, I've been told that you don't want to lower houses after dark. It spooks the birdsreal bad. So I drop mine before the storms arrive during the day when the birds see me.

There are times I'm not around so I try to get one of my daughters to lower them. They help me some on nest checks so they know how things work. Both live just a few minutes away. How nice. Sometimes there is no one around so I just hope for the best and that the storm somehow goes around me.

I drop my houses 3-5 ft. Doesn't seem to bother birds much. Really, the only poles I worry about are the Trio poles. They are light weight. I have shoved smaller pipe inside them to strenghthen. I think helps some.

dave

JL Murray · Tue Apr 30, 2013 9:46 am

Big Ditto on what Dave said!

A bad storm that comes up unexpectedly that you know could destroy your housing leaves you with a very tough choice.

Please!....PLEASE!!! keep in mind that it is extremely dangerous and could be very deadly to try to lower any metal pole during a storm due to lightning being present.

Not worth the risk of losing your life always better to keep an eye on the weather forecast and lower housing before storm's hit.

Robbo · Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:24 am

Another ditto, Before big storms I lower both T-14's to half mast and leave them until the next day, does not bother them.

~Ray~Gingerich · Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:31 am

I wonder sometimes if it's really a good thing to lower the poles with very young birds or eggs inside? If you notice when a pole is lowered the house makes a quick short arch in the wind. With the pole extended the arch takes a longer sweep without the quick back and forth motion but it's a hard call to make, maybe the shorter arch won't do any harm. I just try to estimate how much wind the pole can take without bending or breaking

Rick Meyer · Tue Apr 30, 2013 11:07 am

Has anyone done a study on what the max amount of wind certain pole types can take? I understand there are many variables........still would be interesting to see it.

JL Murray · Tue Apr 30, 2013 11:32 am

Rick Meyer wrote:Has anyone done a study on what the max amount of wind certain pole types can take? I understand there are many variables........still would be interesting to see it.

X2

kcscriv · Tue Apr 30, 2013 11:55 am

Like i said why raise and lower, leave it lower, i have a trio right next to my s&k tele and they choose the lower one first each year!

BIOteacher012 · Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:38 pm

Does the Quad-tel pole extend only to about 10 feet if you are using just the bottom two sections? Sounds like a great idea, but fairly low to the ground. Maybe this is what I will have to adjust to if I want to get rid of my worries about bent poles. I know that I don't have the money for another $200 pole right now, but worrying about bent poles is going to get pretty old everytime it gets stormy.

AidanRois · Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:42 pm

I'll chime in too. I have the house up on a tri-tel, and I never extend the full way. Everyday height is at 2 sections, while for storms I'll lower it all the way down. At the lowest height it's still about 6 feet. We have horrid storm weather around here and once they figured out what I was doing, they got over it quickly. As for timing, watch the forecast like a hawk. If there's any inkling that it'll storm badly, pull it down. For me, that's always something with thunderstorm, severe, or higher winds mentioned. It could be different for your area, but I watch carefully at 15-19 mph, but always pull it if it's going to be 20 mph or higher as far as winds go. As for timing, anytime during the day up to dusk. As a rule, I always give them at least 30 minutes to get home before it gets dark, so I never lower when it's getting on toward night.

ToyinPA · Tue Apr 30, 2013 1:19 pm

I had the S&K barns on tri-tel poles. I used to lower them before dark due to storms & I'd let them that way until day light. The martins never minded, even when they had chicks. I'd only lower them one level.

I now have T-10 Northstar houses on the heavy square poles with winches. I am also lowering them part way before storms. Straight line winds can do major damage, so I take no chances.

If you know storms are due just lower your houses & then wait for day light to raise them again. The martins get used to it.

Toy in PA

kcscriv · Tue Apr 30, 2013 1:50 pm

Bio, i would say with the two sections the tele is about 10 ft. Just be sure to use the bigger sections and not the thin one on top. what housing do you have? i have barn with 6 bo 11 under it,thats what brought my martins in i believe, Leaving it lower you do not have to worry about storms,we live in tornado ally so we get some dandys. good luck partner

BIOteacher012 · Tue Apr 30, 2013 2:29 pm

I have the quad-tel pole with the S&K barn on it and three gourds under it.....one gourd is a supergourd, one is a bo-nine, and one is a natureline gourd. The weight isn't too bad, and I currently have it up about 10-12 feet, with the the middle section up halfway and the upper section up only halfway. The other quad-tel pole is converted into a eggshell tray with 8 gourds hanging above the tray. The gourds range from Bo-elevens to Troyer horizontals and verticals. This quad-tel setup is a beast to raise and lower due to its weight. I keep it at about 8 feet in height and bought the new S&K pins to pull in and out instead of those nasty pushpins that came with the poles. This one seems to hold up okay in moderate wind, but is a beast to put up and down. I wish I had a winch on this one. My third setup is a T14 with eight gourds, 4 are excluder gourds and the other 4 are Troyer Horizontals. This one is my best setup with a winch system. I will maybe lower the top section on the two quads and just go with the two bottom sections extended to full length to give me the 10 foot height. I will post a picture of my setup one of these days for all of you to look at. I so appreciate all of your feedback so far.