S&K Bo Nine Gourds. (Owl Guards?)

[Kyler]

Where can I get owl guards for the Bo Nine gourds? I know about the ones that they sell that is like the two porches with bars through them. But I have seen the owl guards that look like the two curved bars the goes on the rack itself and then it hangs over the gourd. I have the 12 unit gourd rack that S&K makes and the guards that the PMCA sells wont work. Does anyone know what im talking about? I just really want something to protect the martins if I get them in the gourds!!!
Thanks!

Kyler,

[Mhoover]

I made my own owl guards with #9 wire. They attach to the mounting rod that the gourd slides onto and then extend our over the gourd and down in front of it.

[Glynn B - LA]

Find the guards you like, purchase them and get creative to make them work for your particular setup. A lot of times there is no perfect fit but we can jerry rig anything and still make it look clean. Hosting martins will make you think.

Glynn

[Kyler]

Thanks both you guys I will see what I can do!!
Does any one have S&K gourds on this forum? And if they are having good results with them?

Kyler,

[Mhoover]

I have 10 S&Ks up, both 9 inch and 11 inch, with and without tunnels. The ones that are looked at the most are the 11 inch with tunnels.

[Jose Rodriguez]

I have the BO 9 gourds and having good luck with them. This is my 3rd year with Martins. I have twelve gourds and 8 pair of Martins with babies in their nests this season.

[Kyler]

Okay thanks! I'm the only landlord in Colby Kansas that has gourds so I think it might be a little hard to get them started in them. My plan for next year is to move one of my 12 unit gourd racks out in my front yard where my 3 houses are now.

Kyler,

[Jose Rodriguez]

P.S. I also built my own wire owl guards for my Bo nine gourds.

[Jose Rodriguez]

I'm going to try and show pictures of how I made my owl guards for my S&K Bo Nine Gourds. This will have to be in sections because of the limit of photos allowed on this site. I used metal h-stands that you can get online or from a local sign shop. These I believe are the 6"x24" h stands intended for outdoor signs. Home Improvement stores might have them, but not sure if its the same size here.

First I took the h-stands and bent them. In order to maintain a nice curve I used an empty propane can. I used a builders concrete block to steady the h-stand. You can barely see it in this photo. You can probably use any good size trash can like a kitchen trash can. I think it would have been better if the bend was the other way where that cross piece of the h-stand is touching the can for better support when installed.


Then after they were bent I took some wire cutters and took off one of the h-stands cross piece.


After that I bent about 1" at the end of the h-stand with a pair of pliers. this bent end will go in the two holes in the back of the gourds that you will see later. I added little rubber pieces at the end for fear of Martins getting hurt. I used a clear tube first cause I could not find the right size end cap for the metal. Then I used little white caps by Closet Maid. I put a little outdoor liquid nail in the cap to hold it on the little clear plastic tube. Like I mentioned before, I think that cross piece should of been underneath the bend.

[Jose Rodriguez]

As you can see here I drilled a 3/16 hole and used a small screw, and a plastic clamp to hold down the wire to the gourd. Here is where I meant that the cross piece of the h-stand should of been underneath. It might have been stronger resting against the gourd.


The bent part of the wire frame was inserted in the back top holes of the Bo nine gourds, and secured with a stainless steel screw. The screw was probably not needed. Just an extra precaution.


As you can see the screw and lock nut used to hold down the h-stand from the top was very small so as not to hurt the Martins.

[Jose Rodriguez]

Here is what they look like after I put the tunnels, and vent caps on my gourds. I hope this helps anyone that has Bo Nine gourds and is looking for a DIY owl guard. These h-stands could probably be modified to fit other gourds. This worked for me. Good luck everyone!

P.S. I also squeezed the wires close together in the from just a bit.

[Mhoover]

They are very nice looking, Jose. They are also much simpler than the ones that I made. Thanks for the info and pics.

[Kyler]

Hey thanks! I'm wondering which website did you get the H-stands from????

Kyler,

[Jose Rodriguez]

I apologize. I meant 10"x30" H-Stands. You can go to any sign shop and they will have them or Google H-Stands. Very affordable. There are heavier ones also, but I have not tried them and I think the 1" bend at the end will be hard to bend. These are your standard H-Stands that I am referring to.
Good luck!

[Jose Rodriguez]

And I apologize again! After looking at the the actual box. The h-stands are 6"x24" "H-Stakes", but it is actually 5.5'x23'. Sorry folks! My wife says I'm a bird brain!

[Jose Rodriguez]

And I apologize again! After looking at the the actual box. The h-stands are 6"x24" "H-Stakes", but it is actually 5.5"x23". Sorry folks! My wife says I'm a bird brain!

[Kyler]

Okay thanks! I think I found them online. I guess this is a winter project for next year!

Kyler,

[litefever1]

Jose,

Thank you for uploading the pictures of your owl guards and details for how you made them. They look excellent, do you have an update for how they performed last year? I'm considering following your example and would appreciate any advice you (or others with similar guards) may have to offer.

Thanks,

Grant

[Kyler]

Grant,
I'm planning on building this guards for my Bo9's under my TMC12. Sorry I'm no help now but I will be by the end of this year on how they work! Jose explanied them very well and I think the will be very easy to build by following his steps! There's guards for the S&K gourds but these still allow you to install the tunnels and they still work good! I'm pretty sure that they will perform very well because it still gives the martin room to fly in between the guard. I'm not sure how my martins will like them because I'm the only landlord that uses gourds in my area. I had them at my other sites but this is the first year at my new location. Hope you have a great year!

Kyler,

[litefever1]

Hi Kyler,

Thank you for responding to my question. I'm setting up now with no experience attracting and supporting Purple Martins and frankly need all the help I can get. Want to do this well and hoping not too many mistakes are made my first year.

Grant