![]() When “fully” occupied, a house will have a percentage of compartments vacant. Nest box management: Several boxes may be set up in the same yard.Mounting posts can be made of wood or steel. Ventilation is essential some designs have ventilation shafts through the structures center while others are ventilated by small holes drilled in the compartments. Wood houses should be ½ to ¾ inches thick to insulate against the heat and cold. PVC structures are inexpensive to construct and very durable but can be difficult to clean. Houses made from PVC pipe material and Masonite are also available. Aluminum apartments are very durable and will remain attractive for years without extensive maintenance. Each compartment should be about 6X6X6 inches in size and have 2 ¼ inch entry holes. Although martins don’t seem to mind the bright interior, the compartments will likely need to be fitted with a special hole-shape to keep starlings out. For this reason, aluminum structures are considered by many to be ideal as they are lightweight and reflective. Nest boxes should be constructed of a lightweight material. The entrance hole should be 2 ¼ inches in diameter, and three to six quarter inch drainage holes should be drilled into the bottom. After they are dried, gourds should be painted with white oil-based paint to minimize heat. They should be soaked for 15 minutes in copper sulfate solution (one pound copper sulfate dissolved in five gallons of water). Gourds may last up to 30 years if properly maintained. House designs: Native Americans attracted purple martins to their villages by hanging gourds, a housing technique still used today.Do not eliminate the old nest boxes until some of the martins have accepted the new ones. If nest boxes must be changed, do it over a two year period. Then lower and/or plug boxes after fall migration to prevent usage by sparrows and starlings. Young birds may discover it as they head south. If the house is not used in the spring, leave it up until after fall migration. House height may range from 8 to 30 feet, but 12 to 14 feet is recommended.It sometimes takes several years to attract martins to a new site. Open areas near water are especially attractive to martins. Martins need a place to perch that provides the best view of open space where insects may be flying. Location: The house should be placed within 100 feet of human activity (house, barn or garden) and must be at least 40 feet from buildings, trees and other obstructions.These are house location, design and nest management. Three key factors should be considered when attempting to attract purple martins. Most mosquito species are not active during the day when martins are feeding. They do not eat a significant number of bees or mosquitoes as widely believed. These swallows primarily eat insects caught in the air like wasps, grasshoppers, butterflies, and dragonflies. Martins usually abandon their nest a few days after the young fledge and begin gathering at communal nesting sites prior to migration in late August or early September. The chicks are able to leave the nest about 28 days after hatching. Males help insulate these eggs while the female is away. Colonial nesters, both sexes help in the construction of nests made of mud, grasses, leaves, twigs, straw and pine needles. Adults arrive in Oklahoma mid-February through May with previous year’s young arriving four to six weeks later. Martins are in the group of birds known as Neotropical migrants they nest in Oklahoma in the summer and spend winters in Central and South America.
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