Horizontal natural gourds like the Amish and Mennonites ....

geneinmurphy · Sun Jul 17, 2005 8:26 pm

use with the round entrance hole cut into the bottom of the gourd......do any of you guys use gourds like this???? If so, do you still have priblems with starlings getting into them or does it discourage the starlings with the hole more difficult to enter????

John Barrow · Sun Jul 17, 2005 10:32 pm

Hi Gene, I have had my best success with natural gourds with the entrane placed underneath. All (round holes) have been starling free, the martins love them, and the fledglings find them easier to enter at the end of the season. I recently wrote an article in the last PM Update on preparing natural gourds into martin houses . I suggest you read the article. If you are not a PMCA member, there is much to be gained by joining.
Best wishes, john

geneinmurphy · Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:08 am

John...that sounds encouraging and may be why the Amish?mennonites design them that way. Is your article in the Update that is just being released or the previous one that was mailed out?? Thanks!!

starling shooter · Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:59 am

From my expericence, starlings prefer the horizontal type gourds vs the traditional ones by a wide margin.

I've got several nest box traps and they control 95% of them but the ones that wind up on my gourd rack invariably go for the horizontals.

geneinmurphy · Thu Jul 21, 2005 7:14 am

In reference to the horizontal natural gourds in your Update article, how large are the entrances on the bottom?? I assumed they were about 2" diameter. I have used some 6" diameter PVC "pipe gourds" (like George Harvey uses) and the PM's love them, but the entrance was on the end. I'm wondering if I used a horizontal 6" diameter PVC pipe gourd (mine are apx 16" long) and made a 2" diameter hole in the bottom of the pipe next to the front end if they would use them or not........

CUL Lou~Mich · Thu Jul 21, 2005 7:40 pm

Gene. I would say if you were using a PVC only 6 inches long, the Starlings would NOT use them. I think that would be too small for them. I had a couple of the Horizontals like you refer to, and haven't really noticed the Starlings going to them any more than any other gourd on my rack. Mostly anything out there has some sort of SREH, except my North Star, where I have two crescent openings that are open as far as I can get them, and have UST in them. I do know the PMs will use them with holes in the bottom, but I was advised by Mr Victor Stoll to use a larger hole than 2 inch. Think he recommended 2 1/8 inch, due to the added difficulty for the PMs to get in. I suppose Starlings would use them, but if a person were vigilant, and was able to shoot them (as I am) they wouldn't be anymore of a problem than any other type housing. CUL Lou