Help getting martins in my houses

[Duane33067]

I need tips to attract martins in my new houses , my neighbor gets them in his houses and his are 200 yards from mine and in two year all I get in mine are the brown birds so this year I duct taped all holes and am waiting on martins to be seen at my neighbors before I take tape off. Please tell me if there is more I can do to get martins in my houses. Thanks

[avesrun]

How open is your site? How close is the nearest tree to your Martin house?

[kimball911]

Could you ask your neighbor for some tips? When you say "Brown birds" are you referring to sparrows? You have to get rid of them. I trapped 12 today (not exaggerating) they can take over your colony. Read everything you can and look at other sites. This forum is a great place to start.

[John Miller]

you should be able to attract a few. You do need very open as stated, especially open flyways way out to the horizon on at least three sides.

I'd need to see your housing. Sometimes there are problems with the design or entrances, but I'd need to know more.

Gourds really work well, and if you can, I highly recommend the starter gourd racks the PMCA offers - the price is competitive and the gourds -- Excluder or Troyer -- are both as good as it gets. Erect one of these small racks in the most open part of your yard...that's my best tip.

John M

[threelilkids]

Adding to everyone who gave great tips, try using the same type housing your neighbor has, that is want worked for me. Good luck, Mary

[Waydog]

Adding to the previous stated....open flyways to PM's are like candy...or crack...or anything else addictive! That is a major key for attraction! They seem to hone in on available areas where they can cruise up high with an open zone for predator detection, and an easy escape route ....provides a good view for them in all aspects of coming and going

[DebA]

My tip added to these suggestions is to convert your house from a small 6x6 room to 6x12. I know it makes one feel like they can host half the martins but half is better than none. My first year I was so thankful I read this here because as I watched the babies grow I couldn't believe how a nest of four took up so much space. Let alone five or six. When it is super hot I think a bit of space would be heavenly for them. Plus the theory of them being able to get further into the nest protecting them from hawks or owls trying to reach in.

When you remove your duct tape be certain to use something to also remove any sticky residue that might snag their feathers and stick. I have used old socks to plug the holes. I now use a thick piece of Styrofoam from packing. It works perfectly.

The good news here for you is you do have purple martins so close by so attracting them in your immediate area is already a done deal. Good luck this season!

Deb

[~Ray~Gingerich]

You are saying houses. If you don't have a few gourds you might try adding some to your setup.