Gourd Bottom Rot

[dcartwright]

I've read in previous posts concerning the bottom of the gourd to be the first signs of rot problems due to the moisture in the nests, even if you keep the rain out. Has anyone tried placing a solid material in the bottom of the natural gourd and then placing the nesting material on top. I was thinking of something like the bottom of a plastic gallon jar, or bottom of a milk carton, or aluminum wrap, or a piece of dark plastic cut in a circular shape.

Do you think this would prevent the moisture of the nest from reaching the bottom of the gourd? What problems could this material cause, if any?

Don

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Don, I personally don't think that would work, as it seems like the problem is soft gourds and high humidity...It seems to me to be caused by poor quality gourds, as the good quality gourds do not have that problem...I have used poor quality gourds and that happens to them, but good dense heavy gourds are OK....Of course, I keep the inside of the gourds dry so its only humidity

Now if you allow water to get into the gourds, thats another story, and then any gourds could go bad if enough water comes in, and then the thick heavy nests can keep the gourd too wet too long..

[Guest]

Don,
I am only going on my 4th year with natural gourds, but I have NO rot or soft spots at all. I agree with Emil in the fact that I think it may have more to do with gourd quality than rain.
My gourds occassionally get wet her in our Texas down pours, ( only the ones with no canopy or a small canopy-- none with Sandy's entrances get wet. ) but they dry rather quickly. I fear that if you put something in the bottom of the gourds... the nests will remain wet and the eggs too... and you will be hurting the nesting attempts more than helping.

[Guest]

dcartwright,

The main reason to use a natural gourd is that martins like the natural interior (traction etc.). If you place something in the nest where they can't get to the natural surface, then yu might as well use a plastic gourd and not have the maintenance issues.

[dcartwright]

Thanks everyone for the replys. It was just a thought.

I'm in my 4th year as well and have not had any problems with the bottom of my gourds. I was thinking that over several years, this could be a problem and I didn't want to lose any of some very nice gourds I have. Lots of work and care have went into each one but it has really paid off, going from 1 pair, to 10 pair, and then to 19 pair last year. Really looking forward to this year.

Best wishes to everyone and thanks so much for the advise.

Don in Kentucky

[oneidalaker]

Would it be a good idea to soak the bottom of the interior with some kind of wood preservative such as a dark stain??

[geneinmurphy]

Don...I think there are two keys here: 1) proper drainage....have sveral drain holes (at least 1/8") in bottom of gourd and 2) treating the inside of the gourd.....I use a light coating of Thompson's water seal in mine to prevent rot....