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If you want to attract purple martins, a specially-designed purple martin house is just the thing. These birds are known for their prodigious appetite for insects and are regarded as a natural way to reduce the numbers of insects plaguing the garden or back yard. The multiple-resident house should be placed in an area that is open for approximately 25 feet on at least three sides. The house should be mounted on a 12 to 18 foot pole.
After the martins have left for the season, remove old nests and clean the house. Store the house for the winter. If you leave it up, be sure to block entrance holes to keep unwanted birds from nesting there. Unblock the holes in mid-April, when the martins return.
Nesting materials preferred by martins include straw, twigs, leaves and bark. Also, a mud puddle provides your martins with a source of mud which they use as mortar in nest building. |
