Question: store my gourds…or rehang them

bbbdco · Wed Sep 21, 2022 10:41 am

I just spent the last day cleaning out the 24 gourds that I have. Just to let you know… I live in South Dakota, so we can have some very harsh and blizzardy winters. Do most people store their gourds over the winter? Or is it OK if I simply rehang the gourds so that they are ready next April when the purple martins come. It seems to me it would be easier just to let them hang over the winter. I will lower my two poles so the wind will not bother them too much. They all have drain holes, so any water that accumulates will seep out. Just wondering what other people do in preparation for winter. Thanks.

C.C.Martins · Wed Sep 21, 2022 11:44 am

Well here everything comes down for cleaning and stored indoors. Plastic gourds are tough. Guess comes down to wear and tear/personal preference really.

Dave Duit · Wed Sep 21, 2022 4:01 pm

Great question. I clean my gourds out with a power washer and then store them inside my shed loft. The reason I store them inside during the winter is because I believe they will last longer. Gourds have a protective ultra violet protective coating, but it will wear down in time. I shake a little seven dust inside the gourds before I place them inside the shed loft to ensure there are no mites hiding in any crevasses.

flyin-lowe · Thu Sep 22, 2022 8:28 am

I have stored my gourds inside for 15 years, give or take. Back then you could get quality gourds for around $10.00-$15.00. Now they are more expensive so anything I can do to prolong their lifespan is worth it. The older ones seem to have problems with the lids being damaged by the weather more so than the gourds themselves.

G Saner · Fri Sep 23, 2022 1:08 pm

I also store my gourds for the winter. This is mostly to minimize their exposure to UV light. All of my gourds were bought in 2000 or before and this seems to extend their life. So far, I have not seen any deterioration.

bbbdco · Fri Sep 23, 2022 1:36 pm

Thanks for all of your replies. I will just store them in my basement as usual this winter and put them up about April 1 next year

MartinBoy14012 · Tue Sep 27, 2022 8:35 am

We have serious winter weather at my location. I store my 12 gourds in 2 boxes in my garage. I also store my Troyer Deluxe 12 rack hanging from the rafters in the garage. Everything is down, cleaned and stored for the winter, looking forward to next year.

Dave Reynolds · Fri Sep 30, 2022 9:01 am

.. I take the Wooden T-14's down and store in the shed. Also I take down and clean all gourds and Trio Houses for winter storage. Just a habit I think..

Dave

C.C.Martins · Fri Sep 30, 2022 3:23 pm

Its a nice ritual getting everything ready, hanging gourds and putting up houses before they come too.

Dave Reynolds · Sun Oct 02, 2022 8:14 pm

C.C.Martins wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 30, 2022 3:23 pm
Its a nice ritual getting everything ready, hanging gourds and putting up houses before they come too.

..
.
..C.C. —- I second that.. Nothing like the ”Anticipation” of getting ready in the Spring, raising houses and gourd racks, and waiting on the first Martins to arrive..

Dave

Martintown33 · Fri Oct 07, 2022 11:50 am

I store my gourds in the garage. I wrap them in a plastic kitchen garbage bag after I clean them, and store them. The bag keeps the dust and dirt from accumulating on them, so I don’t even have to wash them off when ready to hang next season.. just out the bag and on the rack..
Rob

daveh · Fri Oct 07, 2022 1:18 pm

I place my clean gourds in 55 gal. plastic barrels and put in my shed at end of season. I will wheel them out on a two wheeler in the spring before the birds arrive.

Dave

Caroline94535-ND · Thu Oct 13, 2022 6:09 pm

Hello Neighbor: I am in North Dakota.

I've hosted Purple Martins since 2003. First while living on Grand Forks AFB and now in Larimore, ND I use a mix of SuperGourds, Troyer Gourds, and one natural gourd.

I have always removed the gourds toward the end of August. DH cleans them out and takes them to the car wash for a good hosing. We set them in plastic milk crates to keep them from flying around under the water pressure. I take the caps and liners apart and wash and sanitize them in the mudroom sink.

When he brings the gourds home, I take two at a time and give them a bleach water soaking in the mudroom and let them dry outside. The natural gourd gets kid glove cleaning, and no soaking.

We hang the clean gourds inside the garage from nails in the rafters. Sometimes we hang them from the basement, but those rafters are really low and involve going up and down stairs.

I store the caps and liners separately so moisture can't build up in the gourds.

In the spring we add pre-nests and Sevin dust, assemble and attach the caps and liners, plug the entry holes, and hang the gourds. When the PMs are due to arrive, we pull out some of the plugs and hold our breath until they arrive. I use 3" slices of water pipe insulation for the plugs. It's like a pool noodle. Once there is more than 12 or so martins, we open all 16 cavities.

I like to imagine them finally arriving in Larimore (between April 23 - May 7.) They're cold, tired, and possibly carrying a few mites. They come zooming in to the clean, dry gourds with fresh deep bedding and a sprinkle of Sevin. They can get warm, dry off, kiss the mites goodbye and be ready to start feeding the next day.

They always seem so happy when they get back home!

C.C.Martins · Thu Oct 13, 2022 7:52 pm

Caroline94535-ND wrote: ↑
Thu Oct 13, 2022 6:09 pm
Hello Neighbor: I am in North Dakota.

I've hosted Purple Martins since 2003. First while living on Grand Forks AFB and now in Larimore, ND I use a mix of SuperGourds, Troyer Gourds, and one natural gourd.

I have always removed the gourds toward the end of August. DH cleans them out and takes them to the car wash for a good hosing. We set them in plastic milk crates to keep them from flying around under the water pressure. I take the caps and liners apart and wash and sanitize them in the mudroom sink.

When he brings the gourds home, I take two at a time and give them a bleach water soaking in the mudroom and let them dry outside. The natural gourd gets kid glove cleaning, and no soaking.

We hang the clean gourds inside the garage from nails in the rafters. Sometimes we hang them from the basement, but those rafters are really low and involve going up and down stairs. I store the caps and liners separately so moisture can't build up in the gourds.

In the spring we add pre-nests and Sevin dust, assemble and attach the caps and liners, plug the entry holes, and hang the gourds. When the PMs are due to arrive, we pull out some of the plugs and hold our breath until they arrive. I use 3" slices of water pipe insulation for the plugs. It's like a pool noodle. Once there is more than 12 or so martins, we open all 16 cavities.

I like to imagine them finally arriving in Larimore (between April 23 - May 7.) They're cold, tired, and possibly carrying a few mites. They come zooming in to the clean, dry gourds with fresh deep bedding and a sprinkle of Sevin. They can get warm, dry off, kiss the mites goodbye and be ready to start feeding the next day.

They always seem so happy when they get back home!

Caroline! thats the perfect answer...like the "and hold our breath" a lot. I was looking at the calendar at work today and announced 172 DAYS!!! got some strange looks but hey, only 172 days!

pepilloebach75 · Mon Apr 24, 2023 12:44 pm

C.C.Martins wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 30, 2022 3:23 pm
Its a nice ritual getting everything ready, hanging gourds and putting up houses before they come too.
I basically agree with this. There is logic in this, as for me, of course there are controversial points. I usually used http://essaypapers.reviews/ for this. If something was not clear, then this method helped me. I will continue to think about this. Thank God there is time for this.