Where can I find plans for purple martin houses and how to attract them?

Martins like small but high houses, and they LOVE mosquitos! I have seen lots of homemade Martin houses that are made from gourds, The opening is about 1 inch wide. Sometimes they are painted. Sometimes they are natural. Hang them on a line about 12 feet high in an active mosquito area and wait for the birds to move in.

If you build it, they will come!

Rain

Hi Neighbor!

Over here in the Pensacola area there were lots of Purple Martins before hurricanes Ivan and Dennis. I have seen a few return but the houses that were here were damaged and have not been repaired. I hope to put up a couple of houses once I get the rest of the tree stumps removed, lost 4 HUGE Oaks. Now there will be flight space for the Martins though. Anyway here is an excellent link for information.

You will need Adobe Reader 7.0 or better but the info is great.

Go to any of the larger Feed stores, ranch & farm supply , large plant nursery etc.....Tractor Supply...etc...

Just put the martin house up according to instructions and wait for them to move it...

Try yahoo search type in martin houses and see what you get.

i make them out of gourds. they seem to work better if they are painted white, but you can leave them their natural color. make sure the hole is about 1 inch in diameter, NO BIGGER than 1 1/2 inches. hope this helps

Birds and Blooms magazine archives I would imagine! Also, your nearest farm store....have fun!