When to put up PM house??

[Oceangirl]

We put up a purple martin house last year (posted pics last year). Unfortunately, we got nesting bluebirds instead which we think may have been invaded by a snake or another predator. We took the house down and cleaned it out, hoping we would get some interest. Several martins did frequent fly-bys and occasionally even landed, but never did stay.
We took down the house, changed the roof and trim colors to red, and blocked off an entrance on each side (to make to larger compartments). (pic attached)

Yesterday afternoon, I heard the first martins I have heard this year. Since we put up the house early last year and didn't get any interest from the martins until later (after the bluebirds were gone), should we wait until the first sub-adults are reported, or go ahead and put it up now?

[Conrad Baker]

Put it up now. If you can, put up at least 1 more, preferably 2 more houses. Martins enjoy the "community" atmosphere, and the more the better. I think they feel safer in larger numbers. Also, I would paint the houses white, or a lighter color. Not so much to attract the Martins, but depending on your summer heat, white tends to be a little cooler than the darker colors. Maybe paint the whole house the tan (beige) color you have the front painted. I'm sure others can offer some suggestions. Good Luck !

[jhcox]

I would go ahead and put up the house and block the entrances so that no other birds can try to take it over. Then when you begin to see martins open up a couple cavities. I agree with Conrad putting up another martin rack would be help full possibly a rack with 6 to 8 gourds hanging from it different options of housing is a good thing. In the area where i live in eastern TN they seem to prefer gourds more than the house style. Good luck i hope you have a great martin season,

God Bless,
JHCox Heiskell TN

[flyin-lowe]

Like others have said, put it up as soon as you can. At a new location I have always kept mine closed up until I actually see martins visiting the site. I am not sure what the BB and TS populations are like where you are, but in my area TS will move into any house that is unoccupied and will run off investigating martins. Once you have a colony established, as the martins start to show up they will not be deterred by tree swallows like investigating martins.

[killerv]

While I love the idea of building your own house, I'll probably do the same, I am curious why you settled on a mostly red house, not gonna catch the eye of many martins

[Oceangirl]

While I love the idea of building your own house, I'll probably do the same, I am curious why you settled on a mostly red house, not gonna catch the eye of many martins

Thank you - hubby is good with woodworking. It had a green roof last year, but we didn't have any luck, so we decided to change the roof color. He painted it red (however, now only the roof is red, he painted the rest white) because we saw pictures of quite a few PM houses you can purchase online with red roofs. Curious - why not red?

[Oceangirl]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I will share them with hubby.

We do have two holes from last year permanently covered up because the cavities were too small last year. So we increased the interior size of the home by removing one piece of wood. However, now there are only two open holes and two larger cavities (one on each side). I do realize that they are social birds; however I'm not sure if we want to invest in more houses or gourds this year. Do you think this will bother the PMs?

[killerv]

While I love the idea of building your own house, I'll probably do the same, I am curious why you settled on a mostly red house, not gonna catch the eye of many martins

Thank you - hubby is good with woodworking. It had a green roof last year, but we didn't have any luck, so we decided to change the roof color. He painted it red (however, now only the roof is red, he painted the rest white) because we saw pictures of quite a few PM houses you can purchase online with red roofs. Curious - why not red?

Because they key in on the white, that's what 90% of us that provide housing use and that's what they know and are used to. I'm not saying you can't be successful with that house, S&k makes a red barn one that people have had luck with. White is where its at, it'll get you more looks, and it helps things stay a little cooler for them once the weather heats up.

I just had my buddy spray paint his entire s&k red barn to white, we will see if it makes a difference.

[Oceangirl]

Thanks everyone for your expertise. The house is up, but only the roof is red. My husband actually put some "tech shield" in the roof - he used a thick aluminum foil on the inside of the roof. And he also put all kinds of vents in the roof area and the housing. He didn't want to go to the effort to build an entirely new house this year (he had major surgery not too long ago). So, we put this one up and keep our fingers crossed!!

[Conrad Baker]

Looks really good! I can't tell how close it is to the oak tree, but you should be getting some birds to look at it. I would probably move it more away from the fence and trees as long as it isn't too close to your house.

[Phil01]

Pretty looking house. If some Martins show up don’t forget to slap a predator guard and snake netting on that bad boy.
Good luck tho season.
Phil

[Oceangirl]

Looks really good! I can't tell how close it is to the oak tree, but you should be getting some birds to look at it. I would probably move it more away from the fence and trees as long as it isn't too close to your house.

Thank you! The oak you see is a good distance from the house. It was about the only place to put it, as further to the left there is a large oak tree and 4 crepe myrtles right outside our fence line. It would be too close to the house if we moved it closer in. It's not as close to the fence as it appears, as we had to leave it off the easement area.

[Oceangirl]

Pretty looking house. If some Martins show up don’t forget to slap a predator guard and snake netting on that bad boy.
Good luck tho season.
Phil

Thank you, I'll tell hubby you like the house! And yes, predator guard - thanks for the reminder!
Hope you have a good PM year, as well!

[Dave Reynolds]

.. I put mind up about 2 week before the first ones arrive.. I have them all plugged.. Then I wait for the first ones to show up… I unplug only a few … . That’s keeps the unwanted birds out until the Martins arrive..

Dave

[Thomas Maddox]

Looks great. As far as closeness to a house goes, my MIL has 2 pm houses about 15 feet from her house and the PMs don't seem to mind at all. As long as they have a decent flight pathway, they are good.