Questions on house placement

[Walter Morgan]

Hi all,

I'm a wannabe building my first PM house. I have the post ready to go in the ground, but I have a couple of questions before I do. I decided by what I've read on this site that my front yard is the best location. My 1st questions is, are PM's bothered by the highway? I paced off 60' from my house and that made it about 90' to the road. It is a major road in a small town so it gets some truck traffic as well as cars, but nothing like a 4 lane highway. Any thoughts on this?

My second question is, does anyone have an opinion on which direction is best to have the openings facing? I don't know if I want the entrance holes facing East and West or North and South. If it makes any difference, my house will be West of the PM house. There is a pond to the North. The road will be to the East. I didn't see anything about the affect of the sun hitting the PM house. Your opinion is greatly appreciated.

Walt

[CUL Lou~Mich]

Walt. I've seen a colony or two that are very close to main roads. One of our members also lives very close to a main road. Doesn't seem to affect the PMs. Just put it in the most open spot and see how it goes. As for openings. I personally like the openings to be pointed North and South. Main reason, is so they show up when the PMs are arriving from the South. Don't know if it really makes any difference, but it makes me feel better. (Although maybe I need to change them. Haven't really done much good the way they are.) I don't think the sun hitting the house will be a major factor. You live in PA, and it's probably not as hot as some Southern states would be. Good Luck. CUL Lou

[flyin-lowe]

I havent been at it long enough to know if there is any scientific evidence as to what direction the house faces. Here was my guess when putting up my house. Most of my wind and rain comes from the west but also my best "flyway" to have an open area in and out are to the north and south. So I have no openings to the east or west. I would say it is more important to have a good open area to take off and land.

[Al Denton]

I know of an active colony in Little River SC thats about 10 ft. to 4 lanes of 45 MPH traffic. I don't recommend placing housing anywhere that close, but it doesn't bother these PM's. It's been there many years and by the time lanes were added and sidewalks were put in brought it right out to the road. Fledgies getting in the highway that close can't be good.

I like facing entrances toward best flyways.

[Mary Dawnsong]

I strongly encourage you to locate your housing in the front yard. I have mentored landlord hopefuls who insisted on placing martin housing in the backyard (for aesthetic reasons). This usually fails because most backyards here are too enclosed with trees to attract martins. Front yards around here are usually more open because they are adjacent to roads.

Up here in the land of giant trees, roads provide important open, treeless space and actually help attract martins. Think of the road as an extension to the flight paths in your front yard.

I wouldn't be too worried about traffic. Martins are extremely tolerant of all sorts of human activities and feel safer in the presence of them. Traffic adds the risk of martins being killed by vehicles, but I believe it is a minor risk compared to all the other threats martins face.

Good luck starting your colony,
Mary

[John Miller]

Sounds like a great site. 90 feet from the highway should be fine. If 50 feet, I'd worry about collisions with cars. Martnis when flying out from the house sometimes swoop down to within three or four feet of the ground before lifting back up. However, you should be okay at 90 feet.

John Miller