subject: A Martin House Is A Wonderful Addition To Your Property [print this page] For those of you who enjoy having birds visit your backyard, and also would like a natural means to reduce insects, you might want to consider building or purchasing a martin house. Martins will dispose of many of the mosquitoes and flies on your property, meaning that you and your family and guests will be able to spend more time in the backyard. In this case, it's definitely in your best interests to find out more about establishing a welcoming atmosphere for these birds. Here are some suggestions which may help you draw martins to your yard.
First, you will have to realize that martins require a particular setting in which to thrive. A martin house needs to be placed in the most open spot in the yard, and you must make sure that it is no less than 30 feet from your house. It's best if there aren't any trees within 40 feet of the birdhouse that are taller than it; if possible, you will want to put up the birdhouse about 60 feet from taller trees on your property.
It's also a good idea to ensure that you don't attach wires to the birdhouse, particularly if those cables are attached to trees or to the ground. Martin houses generally attract lots of occupants when they're close to water, so having a fountain or pond means that you're very likely to draw the interest of plenty of birds.
When your martin home is set up, you may discover that a number of 'scouts' will arrive and start making a nest there. It was once considered that these birds were coming to investigate the new area for the remainder of the flock, but in fact they are just the first to turn up in the springtime and are only taking care of themselves.
If you discover over time that martins will reappear annually to the house you've created for them, you might want to keep it covered before it is time for them to travel to your district so that other species don't occupy it. Purple martins are particularly liable to revisit the birdhouse every year, since they are acknowledged to have a higher degree of loyalty to an area, particularly when they were successfully able to reproduce there.
