Also meant to say that that is a great looking house you have there. Is it all one piece? If so, how do you clean out the old nest material and sanitize each year?
@cupidstorm The roof is part of the pole, and a hidden pulley allows lowering. Currently the house is in rough shape. I must rebuild the body completely.
You need to put a house sparrow trap out ASAP! Go to wwwDOTpurplemartinDOTorg to find out about how terrible English house sparrows are. It looked as though every compartment that didn't have martins in it were occupied by sparrows. They will end up killing or driving off your martins, and once the martins leave, you will have a hard time (if ever) getting martins to return, which would be a shame.
The generation 2 house has not held up to weather as planned. Generation 3 will return to solvent based enamel paint. I should make a construction movie; but that makes building extra complicated.
HOSP= house sparrow...those little annoying, brown birds that bother martins and other native cavity-nesting birds. I hate them. Traps and pellet guns work great to take care of them. :)
English House sparrow. They destroy Purple Martin eggs and run off your purple martins. Yes, a sparrow trap would be a good thing - then destroy any sparrows that you trap.
That's what I thought you meant. I shoot them when I have the time. That's risky though, my neighborhood is densely populated, and pellets / BBs hitting the house stress the Martins. My Red Ryder is a good compromise. Muzzle velocity is low, so there is little risk of shooting out windows when I miss. The drawback is that even when I'm dead on target a Sparrow can dodge the BB unless the range is very short.
Who has time to sit in the back yard in a Sparrow blind all day? I wish I did.
Wow! i love the design of this house. I only have gourds, because I don't like the look of most houses, but this one I love. Did you make it or buy it?
Also meant to say that that is a great looking house you have there. Is it all one piece? If so, how do you clean out the old nest material and sanitize each year?
cupidstorm 9 months ago
@cupidstorm The roof is part of the pole, and a hidden pulley allows lowering. Currently the house is in rough shape. I must rebuild the body completely.
justlookin59 9 months ago
You need to put a house sparrow trap out ASAP! Go to wwwDOTpurplemartinDOTorg to find out about how terrible English house sparrows are. It looked as though every compartment that didn't have martins in it were occupied by sparrows. They will end up killing or driving off your martins, and once the martins leave, you will have a hard time (if ever) getting martins to return, which would be a shame.
cupidstorm 9 months ago
The generation 2 house has not held up to weather as planned. Generation 3 will return to solvent based enamel paint. I should make a construction movie; but that makes building extra complicated.
justlookin59 1 year ago
Where can I get a purple martin house like this?
angelamc3 1 year ago
Just curious - how do you control the HOSP that just went into your house?
pmslums 2 years ago
Could somebody tell me what a "HOSP" is? I guess I should put up a Sparrow trap.
justlookin59 2 years ago
HOSP= house sparrow...those little annoying, brown birds that bother martins and other native cavity-nesting birds. I hate them. Traps and pellet guns work great to take care of them. :)
rtanner77 2 years ago
English House sparrow. They destroy Purple Martin eggs and run off your purple martins. Yes, a sparrow trap would be a good thing - then destroy any sparrows that you trap.
pmslums 2 years ago
That's what I thought you meant. I shoot them when I have the time. That's risky though, my neighborhood is densely populated, and pellets / BBs hitting the house stress the Martins. My Red Ryder is a good compromise. Muzzle velocity is low, so there is little risk of shooting out windows when I miss. The drawback is that even when I'm dead on target a Sparrow can dodge the BB unless the range is very short.
Who has time to sit in the back yard in a Sparrow blind all day? I wish I did.
justlookin59 2 years ago
Wow! i love the design of this house. I only have gourds, because I don't like the look of most houses, but this one I love. Did you make it or buy it?
rtanner77 2 years ago