I got my first Martins back on Valentines day this year. This is my 16th year to have Martins, 15th year here. I've got some Starlings that have figured out how to navigate the Starling Resistant Entrance Holes. I'm gonna have to sniper them.

How many other landlords do we have on the site?

1st one showed up today for ours.

We put up 16 of the plastic gourds every year. It sure is quiet of a morning when the Martins leave for the year.

Careful on the sniper shot , Martins do no like loud noises, I run some off shooting a shotgun at a starling .

My mother called me 10 days ago to tell me the first scouts had shown up. 12 gourds and 2 houses. I have to snipe the bluebirds too.....

sawdust, yep it sure is quiet when they aren't around. I really enjoy them being here.



As far as I know, I have never run any off shooting and I've shot 100's of times around them. They may fly off, but they come back, or more that look just like them do. Now, if I was trying to attract my first few pairs of Martins, I'd be more careful about the noise, but with 100+ pairs of Martins, I don't have to worry about it. Nothing attracts Martins, like more Martins.

Wade, the Martins will put the Bluebirds in their place when they return. I have Bluebirds nesting within 20-30 feet of my gourd racks.

Oh yea, I have no fear that the Martins will displace the bluebirds. However, I do still fear my mother and if she says get rid of the bluebirds I have to stop the tractor and get it done.

I guess I finally give up on having martins. I took down a second 16 hole aluminum house and pole today that I'm giving to a friend. He has a bunch of martins, so maybe they will take to these houses.

If you read what is said on the internet, it is claimed that they don't eat skeeters. I can tell you, without them, you can't go outside. While they are here you can watch them diving and eating bugs over the water. Do you notice any difference?

Haven't seen any yet, but expecting them any day. Love watching the martins late in the evening.

Haven't seen any yet, but expecting them any day. Love watching the martins late in the evening.

timbercruiser, you should be able to get Martins easily living in the FL panhandle. You need some good gourds, and a wide open area. They do not like trees, and especially tree lines. If you've got at least one decent sized pasture beside your house you can get Martins. If you'll PM me your address, I'll look at your place on Google Earth and tell you where the best place for the pole is. I've helped lots of folks get Martins.

Perch, according to stomach content sampling, they eat very few mosquitos. Mosquitos aren't very active in the daylight while Martins are feeding. ,A few times, late in the evenings, I have seen some feeding close to the canopy of the large pecan trees on our place. I would imagine that those are eating mosquitos. I do notice more mosquitos after the Martins return south around early July, but it may be a time of the year thing.