Purple Martins for Insect Control

[LamiPub]

Hello, I was hoping if any of you all "experts" would share their knowledge, advice and experience with Purple Martins.

Dh is laid off for a few and naturally his mind is working on whatever project to benefit the "homestead" and keep him busy. His latest is using Purple Martins as a natural insect control (specifically garden insects). Has anyone had success with this? He sent me to the library and I got several books and looked up some info on the net but I would love to hear first hand from people who do this. How beneficial are they? Any problems or downfalls from having them? Anything you would like to add would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[GrannyG]

We love the purple martins, and have several different kinds of houses. They keep the mosquitos down some, but not to the extent that it makes life easier in our garden. They range high in the air, our houses are very high . They love people, and will sit and warble down at you while you are working in the garden. We still fight mosquitoes outside all summer.

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...pleMartins.jpg

[LamiPub]

I found a good site on the net that said they don't really eat mosquitos. They do eat a lot of other insects. We don't have many mosquitos. (I don't like that they don't eat skeeters but eat dragonflies because the dragonflies eat the skeeters!) But we were looking at them to eat the bugs that do the most damage to our plants and trees.

Thanks for the picture. I love your gourd martin house! Was it hard to attract them at first? Do you have trouble with other birds trying to nest in their homes?

[WolfWalksSoftly]

Martins are a great hobby that will give you years of enjoyment. Actually. it is more than a hobby, you will be landlords and like proud adoptive parents.
Here are a few of my favorite sites.

http://www.neun.com/martin/index.html

http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=2

[sammyd]

Swallows are great for skeeters. My folks have a martin house and several strategically placed nesting places for the swallows as well. Overhead electric lines are great for them as well. Really fun to watch them wheel and dart through the air while hunting.

[Old John]

I think Martins, along with Bats, and a whole lot of Hummingbirds, are a great
combination.
We have a pond 50 yards from the house........and no Mosquitos.
But we have scads of Hummingbirds............and thge website says that
Nectar & sugar water is only 15 to 20% of their diet. I feed them 10#'s of Sugar a week, in syrup. So.........They must be eating a Lot of Mosquitos.

We also see 6 or 8 Bats each night. And we have a good colony of Purple Martins.
But the most active birds around the yard are the Phoebes. they swoop down in front of me and behind me, on the riding mower.

I think a good combination of all of these is a Solid answer to Mosquitos.
We sit out on the deck all evening, with never a bite. Those bats swooping around are interesting, too.

[Randy Rooster]

I used to have a guy that kept martin houses near me. I kept honeybees. I used to watch them constantly fly above my apiary eating my honey bees. Dont get them if you keep honey bees, as they can decimate them.. They also do NOT eat mosquitoes. If you want mosquitoe control put up some bat houses.

[Corky]

I have martins, bats and hummers all Summer but I also have lots of skeeters.

Martins and bats neither one eat may mosquitoes. They both feed too high.
Mosquitoes stay low.
Hummers do eat some but they go to roost when the bugs are at their worst so they don't do much good either.

That said... I love my martins song! They keep me company while I work in the garden.
The bats do eat lots of night bugs that fly higher. We live along a river so the bug population is very high at all times.

I love the hummers for the pure joy of watching them. You can see them up close and personal. I have several feeders on my porch so you can set in a rocker and watch them buzz right by your nose on the way from one feeder to the other.
It is fun to watch them fight also.

If you wear a red ball cap they will get right in your face checking it out. LOL!

[LFmenagerie]

If you want to try to control mosquitoes, bats are your best bet. Hummingbirds do eat some insects, but mosquitoes are actually way to big for their tiny beaks and mouths. Martins and swallows are beautiful and fun to watch, but I think you are better off trying to attract the phoebes, flycatchers, and bluebirds that hunt closer to the ground and eat more of the bad bugs around the garden. IMO
Tom

[Judy in IN]

If you have horses, you will LOVE purple martins. They eat LOTS of horseflies! I miss them when they leave in the fall.

[agmantoo]

I have purple martins and thoroughly enjoy them being around. They have a wonderful song and chatter, they keep the sparrows run away once the martins get established and the antic of the marting in the sky keep everyone awed. As for as the amount of insects they consume I seriously doubt they the impact can be measured. For fly control the best thing here is the small black hornets that build the paper like cone nest above ground. They eradicate the flies and never seem to bother people.

[Sand Flat Bob]

Originally Posted by LamiPub

Hello, I was hoping if any of you all "experts" would share their knowledge, advice and experience with Purple Martins.

Dh is laid off for a few and naturally his mind is working on whatever project to benefit the "homestead" and keep him busy. His latest is using Purple Martins as a natural insect control (specifically garden insects). Has anyone had success with this? He sent me to the library and I got several books and looked up some info on the net but I would love to hear first hand from people who do this. How beneficial are they? Any problems or downfalls from having them? Anything you would like to add would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I love to watch the Purple Martins fly. But after many years of experience, think that having lots of various types of birds do better for insect control. Have your hubby build various types of bird houses and mounted at various heights. Most important to draw birds, have a fresh supply of water, preferable running water like a solar fountain, Can only use in non freezing weather, but keep water out year around. Birds love to bath, especially just before it gets very cold. Feeding will help, but really not the big draw that water is.

Bob

[fishhead]

I put up 50 tree swallow nest boxes on my pond dikes. They need to be spaced 50' apart because they are territorial.

I still remember the day I put up the first ones. I laid a few out on the dike and then started setting them. I set the first one and walked 50' to the next one to make the hole for the support. When I looked back at the first one there was already a swallow sitting on it. That was repeated over and over as I set them up. Each time I would set one a bird would appear out of nowhere and sit on it by the time I walked 50'. I have no idea how they knew those were nest boxes or even where the birds came from because there wasn't a bird in sight when I started.

Here's an aerial of the farm to give you an idea of how far away the dikes are from the nearest trees.



It's fun to watch the acrobatics of the swallows as they twist and turn chasing each other and insects. They really do seem to help control biting flies.

[Queen Bee]

Sixteen yrs ago, We put up 4 Martin houses/condos and one rack of gourds.. We placed them in a row, on one side of them-- a small pond, the orchard/ vineyard and on the other side a six arce, open field that we plant veggies, sunflowers and buckwheat. Every year, the scouts come, visit and leave! Not one family has moved in.. For yrs., I would take them down, clean them out after Christmas... but no more! I have no idea why they don't like our 'neighbor hood'. DH's uncle has mentioned he has Purple Martins at his farm and I told him to come get the house/gourds. Maybe they will like them better there!! Good luck..QB

[unregistered29228]

I just bought a 12-room Martin house and will be installing it this coming week. Lots of our neighbors (farms) have Martin houses so hopefully we'll get some this spring. One website I found said that we're supposed to open the nest boxes and replace the nesting material, to get rid of blow fly larvae which feed on the blood of the chicks. I've never heard of such a thing, but thought I'd ask here. I don't want to disturb the nests especially the first year, unless it's required.

Here's the link with photos:
http://www.birdhouseinfo.com/nest-replacements.html

[marvella]

i believe the OP was about controlling insects in the garden by asking if purple martins would do the job.

i love PM's too, but for insect control i've had great luck using toad houses. each raised bed has it's own resident brown toad.

many people use broken clay pots as toad houses, just turn a broken half over to make a dome shape. with some luck and patience (they like damp/ wet places to live) a nice toad will take up residence and keep your garden almost totally pewst free.

to make income from toad houses as a homestead sideline, they could be decorated in any number of cute ways as garden ornaments.

[LamiPub]

Thanks for all the interesting input and ideas. I appreciate everything you all have shared so far. Looking forward to learning much from fellow HTers.

ps hmmm the toad idea sounds good never considered that. Wonder if the chickens or dogs will bother them too much?

btw even though dh won't touch the computer I am sitting here reading all your responses to him and he is ACTUALLY interested (which is a good sign LOL). Thanks.

[agmantoo]

Queen Bee and Mom_of_Four
With the purple martins it is like us with real estate. It is all in location and some in presentation.
The PMs like to have free access to their homes. No buildings or trees within a couple hundred feet.
With homes they like to progress to the fancy houses from simple gourds.
I would hang a couple of natural gourds from the same support used to hold the house.
There are exceptions to what I posted but if you want birds starting from scratch try what I stated.
Also toast in the oven some broken chicken eggs shells and place them off the ground near the "new" homes. These birds are not going to the ground readily other than to get nesting materials. Purple martins depend on man for their housing. There is not one documented case of them nesting in a natural location. The American Indians started the birds dependency on man. Often people confuse the PM with barn swallows and will refute this last statement.

www.purplemartin.org

[marvella]

i've got both and never had a problm. i do have to put some fence around the garden to keep them out tho. i didn't start out trying to attract toads. they just showed up and it was the very best garden i ever had.

Originally Posted by LamiPub

Thanks for all the interesting input and ideas. I appreciate everything you all have shared so far. Looking forward to learning much from fellow HTers.

ps hmmm the toad idea sounds good never considered that. Wonder if the chickens or dogs will bother them too much?

btw even though dh won't touch the computer I am sitting here reading all your responses to him and he is ACTUALLY interested (which is a good sign LOL). Thanks.

[marvella]

agman that's some good info. thanks!

there are PM's i see coming out of the woods behind the house. i wonder where they could be living? i just assumed they lived in a tree somewhere.