Hi, I just joined this forum! My father (who is deceased now) had a colony of about 250 purple martins at our old home-- I am in the same town in VA. I really want to put up a house- his got torn down and I was so upset! so I am wanting to put up one. I have the 3 castles he had. My question. I have to put the house about 30 feet from my outdoor porch, so I am worried about getting lots of poop there, and not being able to enjoy the porch or the Martins. Can someone let me know what the case would really be????
Welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy our assistance (and criticism ) If you are worried about that, then you may not want martins. Of course, you could put up 1 small house, and the problem would be at a minimum. With 250 birds, there would be 20 times as much poop as there would be for 12 birds. I suggest you start small and see what happens. It becomes a hugh problem if your neighbors have a swimming pool, and you have all 3 castles up, so why not put just one and then you will know.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am only putting one up. So hopefully that will work. We only have big castles, we'd have to buy something smaller. I did not recally the poop being a problem at my dad's, but the birds were a bit further away from the house.
Marsha, this could turn into a major project, but many people today are making the compartments larger, they are enlarging them to 6x12 from the old 6x6 size, and this would reduce the number of cavities, and thus, the number of martins. This is an excellent modification, as the martins are more safe from predators, especially owls, and the martins need the extra room..Another very common practice is to use the starling resistant entry holes (SREH), as the starlings are very bad nowadays, so those really are required. And don't forget a pole guard!
You won't have hardly any poop below a single house.
I had a discussion today with a guy about barn swallows. These little swallows are oddly becoming a nuisance (droppings below nests) in some maintenance buildings around Forest Park, St. Louis, where I manage martin housing, and folks confuse them with martins, which mostly carry the fecal sacs away from their houses.
Welcome to the forum. You will find that this forum is the best place to post, read and learn all there is about being the best Martin landlord you can be.
I'am trying to send a pic of my trio house that I converted. I drilled a 2" hole through the wall into next compartment with a metal hole saw.
Then I put a door stop in the round entrance hole that would be the nesting chamber. So when a Martin goes into the sreh entrance, it can go into the next chamber over where door stops are. This makes them more room plus makes them safer. I staggered the holes and made porch dividers to help against porch dominance. I also made crescents to help keep out starlings.
If yours are not converted yet, I hope this will give you an Idea if you decide to convert them.
Hi Marsha,
I've had PMs for four years now. My houses are within 40 of my house. I might get 1-2 "bombs" a year on my patio. Alot will depend on which way the PMs fly when leaving. There are a few on my roof, but not enough to worry about.
There have been a couple of threads about neighbors complaining. I have yet to have one of mine say anything.... knock on wood.
Welcome to the forum. You will find that this forum is the best place to post, read and learn all there is about being the best Martin landlord you can be.
I'am trying to send a pic of my trio house that I converted. I drilled a 2" hole through the wall into next compartment with a metal hole saw.
Then I put a door stop in the round entrance hole that would be the nesting chamber. So when a Martin goes into the sreh entrance, it can go into the next chamber over where door stops are. This makes them more room plus makes them safer. I staggered the holes and made porch dividers to help against porch dominance. I also made crescents to help keep out starlings.
If yours are not converted yet, I hope this will give you an Idea if you decide to convert them.
Birds eat, birds #@&%---A small colony may work better for you. I have my colony within 50 feet of my back door and a large deck and pool between us. I don't find them that bad, though in the rain-less summer month, I do hose off the deck to keep the peace. I find just as much #$%@ on my car in the winter from the neighbor's front yard tree that is home to numerous roosting (yuck!) s & s! Good luck.
Making stuff myself is part of the fun. I used aluminum shingle flashing. Measured cut and bent. Then I drill holes in them thinking it may help with wind resistance. Not sure if the holes made much of a difference? Pop riveted them on and sealed around with small amount of silicone. I also made about 3 sparrow traps that fit in this style of housing, so far so good
How about the odor? I occasionally notice an odor I associate with the martins. When the nests get full of chicks and the adults "give up" on good housekeeping, there seems to be an odor coming from the houses, but it is not very strong. I have had no complaints from neighbors within 50 feet or beyond. The odor is to me is a combo of chickens and bats. I can smell it on my back porch 40-50 feet away with 100-150 chicks in 2 houses.
I'll be interested to see if the mites and maggots contribute somehow. This is my first year to use Sevin, it seems to be working great with no signs of maggots or mites yet, and the nests seem a lot more tidy than previous for me.
and I was so upset! so I am wanting to put up one. I have the 3 castles he had. My question. I have to put the house about 30 feet from my outdoor porch, so I am worried about getting lots of poop there, and not being able to enjoy the porch or the Martins. Can someone let me know what the case would really be????
I used aluminum shingle flashing. Measured cut and bent. Then I drill holes in them thinking it may help with wind resistance. Not sure if the holes made much of a difference? Pop riveted them on and sealed around with small amount of silicone. I also made about 3 sparrow traps that fit in this style of housing, so far so good 