MY MARTIN POLE SPLIT!

[Kathy in VA]

My 2” square aluminum Deluxe Gourd Rack pole swelled up and split! Recently I tried to lower the hub, but it wouldn’t slide all the way down the pole to rest on the rope-winder. I discovered a vertical crack, 8” long, about 5’ up from the ground, and the sidewalls of the pole were bulging out on all sides, stopping the hub from sliding down. I bought a new pole, since the gourds won’t drop down to eye level for safe nest checks, and the integrity/strength of the pole has been destroyed. But I need help in figuring out what caused my pole to crack, and how to prevent the same thing from happening on my new pole. The pole has been in use for about 20 years, but this has never happened before.

These poles now come with an aluminum ground stake, but my older pole has a steel ground stake with angle-iron welded to it, and 3’ of it sticks up out of the ground. I will not be digging out the huge mass of concrete to install the new aluminum ground stake, since I think my current stake is still strong and in good shape—and martins are due to arrive any day now.

I’m guessing that during the cold winter, water got inside the pole and expanded when it froze, forcing the pole to crack open. I have seen that happen on my smaller round steel bluebird poles. This old gourd rack pole did not come with a pole cap, so we made a square cap out of aluminum flashing, to cover the top. Perhaps as the cap aged, water seeped in at the corner slits where the metal folds down around the pole (I will inspect the cap when I take down the old pole.) Or perhaps Virginia’s drastic winter temperature fluctuations, with warm sunny days and night-time temperatures that dropped to anywhere from the teens to the thirties, made the inside of the pole sweat, causing condensation to run down and accumulate inside. Maybe water filled the small space between the ground stake and inner walls of the pole and froze, so the additional water that came in (or condensation that formed inside) collected above the ground stake, because ice blocked it from seeping down the sides of the ground stake and draining out the bottom…and moisture could not evaporate out the covered top.

The pole is anchored in the ground with a large mass of concrete, covered by a circle of mulch about 2” deep that surrounds the base of the pole. I dug down in the mulch and found that the bottom layer of the mulch has decomposed and turned into soil. We had a lot of rain and freezing rain, and maybe the moisture in that wet soil (mud) at the base of the pole froze into ice, also preventing trapped water from draining out. After I discovered the problem, my husband lifted the pole up by a few inches, on a warm day, so I could take some measurements of the ground stake (to be sure a new pole would fit over my old ground stake)—and some water did run out the bottom, when the pole was raised.

I bought a tight-fitting plastic cap with my new pole, which should definitely prevent any water from entering from the top. I will dig out the mulch that has turned into dirt at the pole’s base, to allow better drainage. But before I install the new pole over my existing ground stake, does anyone have knowledge they can share about what actually caused the pole to swell and crack?—or solutions, to prevent this from happening on my new pole? I don’t want to reduce the strength of my pole, but I wondered about drilling drainage hole(s) near the base of the pole (above the mulch), to ensure an open escape route for any water that gets inside. I would welcome any suggestions on number, placement, or diameter, of drainage hole(s)....or other information/recommendations. Thanks!

[C.C.Martins]

Kathy,
Looks like water got in, froze and split it at a weak point. Your assessment is correct.
Drainage is key, while water will get into just about everything, some things you can do.
Put in the ground sleeve in such a way that any water will drain out the bottom...gravel will help with that.
Ensure the cap is secure on top but perhaps most important, make it in such a way that you can remove the pole, and ground stake and store it off season.
Then put the cap over the ground sleeve.
Less wear and tear and you can see the problems up close.
Our trio pole had a big bulge last year, caused by water and ice, replaced the whole thing.
Its fixable, just try to make it in such a way you need not worry.
Tom

[Jones4381]

I would have thought the water would just drain out of the bottom of the Aluminum pole that is larger than the ground stake it goes over. Be curious to hear from others that no more than i on this type of failure. I assume as CC stated water got in and was unable to get out...thanks for sharing as I haven't seen anyone share this type of thing before. Curious too on what types of preventive maintenance is suggested on these aluminum poles.

[jhcox]

Hey Kathy maybe on the new pole drill a drain hole in the pole to allow any water to drain out before it has an opportunity to freeze. Hope you get some help to get fixed soon.

[Kathy in VA]

Thanks for the input, C.C.Martins/Tom! My system does not have a ground sleeve...it only has a steel ground stake that permanently sticks up out of concrete, and a pole that slides down over it until it lands on the concrete. Mine has no ground sleeve/socket that a removable ground stake slides down into. (But boy, I sure wish it did, though, for lots of reasons--and if I ever get another pole, I WILL get one with a ground sleeve/socket!)
That's a great idea about taking the pole down and bringing it in out of the weather, for the winter, but I LOVE watching my bluebirds and other feeder birds sitting on the martin pole's perch rods to hunt. I like to help them survive thru the winter, leaving that great hunting spot for them, and I prefer not to give up the joy the bluebirds bring me, watching them there. And if I remove the pole, I can't remove the rusty ground stake buried in concrete--and it's pretty ugly to have to look at it, wrapped in a black trash bag, sticking up 3' out of the concrete, all winter! I tried that, a few years, to keep my rope out of the sun and ice, but decided I'd rather replace the rope more often. Ugh. But not the whole pole!
However, you have given me a wonderful idea! Now that I have an old spare pole, I can swap out the poles each year, bringing the new pole in, in the fall, to store it out of the weather and protect it during winter, so no water can collect inside and burst it...and put up the old pole for the bluebirds to hunt from, all winter! Then I'll put the new pole up in its place in spring for martin season! The bluebirds won't care if their pole has a bulge and a crack! There's no weight of the gourds at the top, in winter, so winter winds/storms shouldn't cause it to break. I normally take the pole down each year in early spring, anyway, to wax it, inspect/tighten everything, and oil the pulleys. So this will just involve one more swap-out each year...but if it means not having to buy a new pole, it will be well worth it! Thanks for giving me the great idea!

Jones4381, thanks for replying. Yes, I would have thought water would run out the bottom, too--and that is what is supposed to happen. The fit of the pole over the ground stake is a snug fit, but not so snug a fit that water can't get in-between the pole and the inner supporting stake, if there IS water inside. My old-style ground stake has bigger gaps in two opposite corners, where the angle iron doesn't come all the way over to the edge of the stake. So perhaps that allows more water to collect in those corners. And if water is in there, it can turn into ice (blocking any more water from running down, to flow out the bottom) and can expand, forcing the pole walls apart...plus what I mentioned about the mud staying frozen under the mulch at the pole's base--liquid can't penetrate what is basically ice, for weeks on end, when we have long periods of cold temps.
You asked about preventive maintenance for poles...I had mentioned some of my suggestions, above...removing the pole and waxing it, to protect the aluminum and make the hub slide more freely up and down the pole, oiling all the pulleys, re-tightening all bolts, and inspecting everything, including the glide buttons (the nylon pressure points that the hub rides up and down the pole on)--sometimes they crack and fall out. I also wipe some used motor oil on the ground stake before I re-install the pole in spring, to make it easier to lift the pole off of it, in spring, and to keep it from rusting (surface rust will develop, but it doesn't eat thru the metal.) Larger gourd racks probably can't be removed to wax the pole, but you could wax the lower part of the pole that is reachable, or perhaps use a ladder to reach even higher. Even if you can't or don't wish to wax, just be sure to oil/tighten/inspect everything.
I see you got your first pair of martins last year! Congratulations! I hope they will return and your colony will grow and be very successful this year. If you have not heard of the annual Purple Martin Field Day in central Virginia (Louisa County), I help organize this event, and we would love to have you join us this year, on June 25, 2022! We can give you lots of tips on how to protect your martins and help your colony grow even faster! Here is the event's website: www.purplemartinfieldday.org !

[Kathy in VA]

jhcox, thanks for the idea and the encouragement; your post came in right after I submitted my previous reply, so I didn't want to appear to be overlooking you. Thanks.

[C.C.Martins]

Those blue birds are going to make out! I really like those birds.
I see your ground stake set up now, sorry I couldn't have helped with that. Iv 2 of those in the attic, id have liked to have used them but as a concession for my wife, the whole thing comes out off season. One rack is smack in the front yard so u know how it goes.
It is a huge split, wonder if its a defect? You maintain them really well.
Will you have a replacement for the season?

[Kathy in VA]

C.C.Martins, it is great to have a ground socket and removable ground stake, to be able to remove the whole pole if a landlord (or their spouse) wants or needs to. You are fortunate! You all don't have to look at the unsightly bare stake sticking up all winter. And you could easily take the ground stake and system with you if you move. I admire you for compromising, removing the pole in the off-season to keep peace at home. I am glad you are able to enjoy your martins in the middle of your front yard, during nesting season, but I can understand that not everyone likes an empty martin system for a front lawn yard ornament in the winter. My single rack is in the middle of my BACKyard (my spouse did not care to have it in the front yard, so I had to compromise on that one, also!), and I can see my martins out a big 6' x 6' window, from where I sit inside my house to eat every meal, so that's why I would rather not take the pole down and miss watching the bluebirds enjoying it.

I also use the pole for starling-trapping thru the winter/early spring, placing several round-holed gourds on the rack, with traps installed in them. I never use round-holed gourds for martin nesting...martins get only gourds with Starling-Resistant Entrance Holes. I typically only arm the starling traps when I start seeing starling(s) visiting. The bluebirds have their own nestboxes available all winter, but sometimes they roost in the starling-trapping SuperGourd at night, even when the trap is set/armed!--apparently they have learned how to jump over the trip wire to get in and out of the gourd! I have seen them jump in---and come out....without tripping the trap. Amazing! Bluebirds occasionally do get trapped, but they are completely unharmed and I remove and release them promptly. But bluebirds are never permitted to breed/nest in gourds on my gourd rack, so if they start carrying nest material into a gourd, I have to use the rubber snake trick to deter them--they often lose interest in a gourd pretty quickly if they see a 'snake' in it. Obviously, I don't use rubber snakes in gourds, if martins are around!

I don't really feel the pole was defective, or a problem probably would have developed sooner, since I've had the gourd rack between 15 and 20 years. I've never heard of a manufacturer offering a lifetime warranty on these poles, so it's just one of those things that sometimes happens.
Thanks for the compliment, but part of my work in babying my pole is for selfish reasons...I have back problems, and since my rack has a rope, and not a winch, it is alot easier on my back to raise the heavy hub/stainless steel gourd arms/12 gourds, when the pulleys are recently lubricated and the pole is smooth from spring cleaning/waxing--especially near season's end after the pole has gotten more dirty and the gourds are filled with bird nests and baby birds. During the few years I have tried to get by without waxing and oiling, late-season raising of the hub is far more difficult.

I have already bought/received a new pole, and as soon as I get it prepped, and my husband can be here to help me take down the old pole, I'll swap out the hub/arms and rope, and he'll help me erect the new pole, to get it into service, ready for scout arrival! Thankfully, it was back in mid-January that I (attempted to) lower the starling-trapping gourds to arm the traps; and that's when I discovered I had a BIG problem--since the hub jammed up and would not come all the way down. Then I saw the big crack. So I had time to order and receive a new pole. So I'm all set--my martins won't be homeless, when they come back! Even if they show up before I get the new pole up, I can remove the starling-trapping gourds and hang some martin gourds, and then swap out the pole some sunny day when they are away from the site. Thanks again for mentioning taking the new pole down in winter, so water can't freeze inside of it and burst it--that prompted me to realize I CAN have my cake--and eat it too! (New pole stored out of danger...and old pole in its place, helping bluebirds find food--and warming my soul, while I enjoy watching them during the cold winter months!)

Now if only I could find a cheap used Deluxe Gourd Rack hub, so I could leave a rope/pulleys/hub set on each pole--for hanging martin-nesting gourds on the summer pole, and for hanging starling-trapping gourds on the winter pole...and to keep my new rope out of the winter weather. I had planned to just swap out my current hub onto the new pole, add the new rope, and save the old pole to build a feeding station...so I did not buy a new hub or gourd arms--which would have been much more expensive. But I'll come up with some other system for holding gourds up on the pole, or buy a nestbox trap, to continue starling control in the winter/early spring when we still have cold temps, rains, and snows, before my new pole can go up. Thanks again for your help!
I see you are doing alot to help in the conservation of martins, with your large home colony and a satellite colony--thank you for helping the martins!

[C.C.Martins]

Kathy,
What a wonderful set up! It sounds like you are quite set, I worry a bit if a landlord needs to get their houses up but cannot...not in your case. Thanks for your kind words, ours isn't the best of locations, typical yard and my neighbor has a stinking ash tree that will eventually grow too big. Thus the front rack. It will be my future i think.
It serves as early warning for hawks too, no more sneaking up on them. The satelite site has lots of room to expand, they are supportive and do a fantastic job helping local wildlife, so have plans....
Maybe one fine day well have space to have them all in one spot in front of a big window and like you, watch their antics. Sounds like you guys are great stewards for the birds. And yes, its good for the soul.
Have had zero experience with blue birds unfortunately, id imagine a rubber snake in a gourd would change the bluebirds minds quick! That is a fantastic idea, easy quick and no harm done ill remember that one. But interesting too that they can circumvent the trap, (sometimes), good for them. Wonder if starlings watch and think heck I can do that and get nabbed.
I hope you find that hub, times on your side.
Wish you and all your feathered friends all the best Kathy.
Tom

[Keith]

I myself had this same issue, and fixed the problem by drilling two small holes on sides low down.

[Kathy in VA]

Tom/C.C.Martins, sorry your neighbor has a tree that is growing too near your martin housing. Having alternate martin housing in a more open area should help, if martins at that system see an approaching hawk and can sound the alarm to alert martins to either dive into their cavities or flee. But as you already know, the close proximity of trees to any martin units can allow hawks to ambush, resulting in the loss of some martins who didn’t have time to retreat to safety or fly away. I’ve heard there is a non-native insect pest, the Emerald Ash Borer, whose range in the U.S. is increasing. If it is not in your area yet, it may move in and eventually attack and kill that tree.
Your satellite colony sounds great! I admire all of you landlords who manage sites away from your home, which involves so much additional time and work…traveling and toting equipment to other locations which are sometimes long distances from your home.
Rubber snakes can be helpful, but they don’t to deter EVERY bird who is trying to nest in housing we intend for another species. Some birds will nest on top of rubber snakes—and one landlord told me she had a Great Crested Flycatcher trying to nest in a martin gourd, so she put her son's rubber snake in that gourd—and that bird dragged the rubber snake out of the gourd and carried it away; she never found it! But it’s worth a try! (If you don’t mind risking losing a rubber snake or two! Replacements are cheap!)
I just hope the starlings won’t learn the Bluebirds’ trick of jumping over the insert trap’s trip wire! But with their larger size, hopefully a starling would bump the wire and trigger the trap. After thinking more about a summer pole and a winter pole, instead of trying to buy a second hub (and another set of rope-winder cleats), to be able to trap starlings in the winter/early spring, I may just buy a starling nestbox trap, and hope starlings find it inviting—rather than trapping starlings in round-holed trapping gourds hung on the cracked/“spare” pole, thru the winter. Then I wouldn’t need any hub for the old pole. The bluebirds only need the high perch rods! This year, some starlings have been hanging all over my bluebird and Tree Swallow nestboxes, mounted on free-standing poles at 5’ off the ground. Removal of trapped birds (native AND non-native!) nearer the ground would sure be easier than having to lower and raise the gourds each time! Thanks for the well-wishes!

Keith, thank you for your help and input! Sorry you had to go thru a cracked pole, too. I will drill a couple of holes near the base of my new pole, just in case I am not able to switch back to the old pole, some winter. Thanks!

[Larry A Kronemeyer]

Since you are getting a new pole, have this one welded. That way if you have room and can store it you will have a spare. I am drilling a small hole just above the base of the ground srack and next year if it is like this year I will heat it with a propane torch to make sure the water drains. I have made a cage over my trendsetter and there is a 6" space between the house roof and the little rain roof o er the pulley. Thanks for the heads up.

[Kathy in VA]

Larry and Judy, thanks for replying. I hadn’t thought about welding the crack in the spare pole, but I’ll check into that. But so far, this old pole I will save for winter use seems to be holding up well enough to handle the very light load required of it—perching bluebirds!—even with a crack in it. But I sure wouldn’t trust it with the weight of all my gourds and martin lives. I did some reading about heating aluminum with a propane torch and learned that aluminum melts easily with a torch, so I would fear heating with a torch might misshapen or reduce the strength of the pole section that slides down over the ground stake—and might also prevent me from being able to get the pole off the ground stake in spring. So if you heat your aluminum pole with a torch, you might want to be very careful. Where I live, we sometimes have long periods of temps below freezing, day thru night, so it would not be feasible for me to go outside to manually heat the lower 6’ of the pole as often as needed, to keep the water inside thawed out and draining well. If I had a power source out there, perhaps I could use heat tape on the pole. As for storage, since the spare/winter pole won’t have a hub/gourd-hanging arms on it, it will be easy to store, horizontally on a long shelf under the garage carport, or hanging from a beam somewhere. Actually, it could even be stored out in the weather, horizontally or even vertically, since there is no ground stake in the end to prevent water from draining out. Thanks for the ideas, and best wishes with your freezing issues.