Housing

[Guest]

I am a new PM landlord. Or rather I am hoping to be a PM landlord.
My housing is cedar. Is it necessary for me to paint it white?

[oneidalaker]

Kerry, while not absolutely necessary, its a good idea to paint your cedar house white. A white house will provide a cooler environment on stifling hot summer days and there is some thought that from a mating attraction aspect, the dark color of the male contrasts better against a white background. Some scientists also believe that martins have been genetically imprinted to prefer white housing. If you check the PMCA you'll find an article on the subject and the results of some studies that were done. The PMCA recommends white housing with accents any color that you like. While natural cedar housing is beautiful, i would try it only at an established colony. At a new colony, why risk it.
Bob

[Guest]

Many thanks for your reply. The reading I had done concurred with your opinion but the web sites selling cedar houses stated that they were 'ready to install'.
Thanks again. This is so exciting!
P>S I lived in Syracuse and Seneca Falls for a while.

[oneidalaker]

Kerry, they are ready to install, you just might have better luck by painting it white. If a neighbor has an active colony close by you may be able to leave the house natural cedar. If you ever get out my way look me up, we can enjoy a beer while we enjoy my martins.
Do you live anywhere near Burlington? My youngest is a sophomore at UVM.
Bob

[Guest]

Thanks for the 411. I'll paint it tomorrow. Dorset is 2 hours south of Burlington but I did live there when I went to St. Michael's. GREAT city!
And UVM is such a great school. I hope he/she is loving it. Thanx again.

[Kyle Gregoire]

Kerry, another vermonter? Well its about time. I would paint your house white becasue as most other houses are white, this may seem familier to other martins who have fledged from a white house. You should also read on sparrow and starling control as IMO this is a big plus when trying to attract martins. Also attracting martins is at least a very difficult task this far north. If you are near water or Lake Champlain this is a big advantage. I live at the northern end of Lake Champlain and from 1992 till 2004 I saw only 17 martins. I started playing the dawnsong and daytime chatter, added a decoy, and in 2005 i had well over 240 martin visits. I am truely psyched for this year. So do not give up on this if it dosent happen right away. Also, the first returning martins should occur in about two weeks or so, but these birds are probably somebodys adult after second year birds(asy). You could possibly attract some of these but your odds are better with the second year birds (sy). These dont arrive until later. You may expect to see these arrivals from the second week of May until the latter part of June. So hang in there. And good luck.