SREH in natural gourd

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

If you have natural gourds, then you may be interested in what my neighbor does. It works for him, he has not had a starling enter his gourds in 5 years. He said the starlings try & try but cannot enter.

He cuts a 1-3/16in crescent entrance hole into a natural gourd that is 10in or larger. He attaches a short porch that is only about 1in long. The porch is within 1/8in of the entrance hole. Thats all he does. This surely is a cheap way, and if it works for you, you may like it.

He says that when a starling tries to push its way into the gourd, he has to squat down, and his leg, his push leg, hangs over the edge of the porch. They quickly fly away.

He says that only 1 martin at a time can sit on the porch, there is not enough room for 2 martins

[Louise Chambers]

Emil, how wide does he make the porch (from side to side)? Or I guess I am asking, what is the other dimension of the porch - 1 inch x ?

It would be interesting to try this.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Louise, he makes it about 2.5 wide. He has about 20 to 25 natural gourds, and they all are made the same way. He doesn't worry about the starlings any more, he concentrates on trapping the sparrows because he cannot shoot where he lives. He sometimes traps a starling but only a few. He says that they seem to stay away after a few attempts.

The 1in does not need to be exact, some of his porches are about 3/4in wide.

[DAVE]

Emil, glad you posted this. My friend in Willis Texas doe's the same thing and no Starlings One other thing he doe's is put a roof over the hole
Dave

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

The roof over may aid in keeping owls away if it is long enough. I have seen the roof over the hole (awning) looked like a baseball cap.

[sssSMOKING]

The roof over may aid in keeping owls away if it is long enough. I have seen the roof over the hole (awning) looked like a baseball cap.

Hi Emil,
do you have a photo of the roof (looks like a baseball cap)? I would like to see what they look like and add to my gourds. Any dimensions would be appreacated.
Thanks
Don

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Don, its not a roof, I saw that photo on this forum years ago, so I do not have a photo of it. I think that it was an attorney mentor, he encouraged people to try it. Its simply an awning made out of tin that is longer than normal (the awning sticks out about 4 to 5 inches).

[Thurman Seber~TN]

Very interesting Emil. I tried sreh cut directly into naturals many years ago without the porch and they didn't work very well for me. The small porches may make all the difference. Do martins seem to like them?

[John Miller]

I have cut SREH directly into natural gourds and not used a porch, but found martins had difficulty entering unless I opened to about 1 7/32, and maybe glue a cling rod flush across the bottom, made from a wooden dowel whittled flat on the back side. A lot of tinkering, but makes an inexpensive gourd house. Starlings -- numerous at public sites -- could not enter as there was no porch, but I have not experimented with a narrow porch as Emil describes.

John M

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Thurman, the martins fill up all of his gourds every year. Sometimes one martin will sit on that porch for a while, so in a way, it works just like any other porch (but there is room for only one martin at a time, that is the only difference). When they are feeding, the female goes in an out with no problem.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

John, this method is NOT porchless, so the problems that you had with the holes cut directly into the gourd is a completely different situation. In a way, this may be better than a regular porch, it would make the gourds easier to store, take a little less room, and the porches would not break off as easily as some brands do.

However, some people like to watch them with large porches, with both male & female sitting beside each other.

I would think that maybe the hole could be slightly larger like yours were when you cut them directly into the natural gourd. My neighbor does not have a caliper, so his may not be exactly what they should be.

[Thurman Seber~TN]

Very very interesting Emil. I am helping a friend with some gourds this year. I will sure give that a try. It may be a very important part of the martin equation.