Purple Martin Birdhouse

Purple Martin are well known as a gardeners best friend and eat a wide variety of flying insects before they destroy your plants. Purple Martin is unique in that the vast majority of them live in birdhouses, rather than natural nests, making them easier than most species of birds to attract to your birdhouse but they special needs you need to be taken into consideration.

Your nest box should be painted white (Purple Martin are attracted to this color) with an entrance hole about 2 inches in diameter. It is important that the entrance hole is about 1.5 inches from the floor of your boxes to allow the birds easy access.

You'll often see Purple Martin birdhouses have a number of holes or consist of a collection of smaller units, they allow a certain number of birds Purple Martin birdhouse to share the same nest, but separately. When you buy your first home, look for one with about 4 rooms and then consider buying more boxes after your first has been established. Purple Martins can become quite large boxes so you must be at least 7 inches of space inside to allow the birds to move freely once inside.

When the location of your nest box or place it near tall trees or high vegetation. Purple Martins as open space and particularly seem to like to nest in areas where humans are present, ideally within 50 feet of your home.

Ideally, your Purple Martin birdhouse should be mounted on a pole between 13 and 20 feet high (the highest and there may be problems with the wind) in an area clear of predators for the home or building. The main predators in a Purple Martin are squirrels, raccoons and snakes. Avoid son attached to your boxes that allow them to climb and consider the use of baffles or oil on the pole to deter predators to climb.

If your area has a large population of starlings, it may be worthwhile to buy nest boxes with entrances Starling proof. Starlings stop the Purple Martins nesting in your box and can even attack the birds.

Purple Martins tend to return to the same year after year, nest boxes, so you may need to be patient and wait a bit before your first family "nest. However, once they do you have Purple Martins nest as long as your nest boxes are available for the visit.