Add a purple martin house and naturally reduce insect populations around your home or farm. Quality martin homes in vinyl or wood, new styles with great features, including starling-resistant entries to help ensure many successful broods!

In nature there's always the law of prey and predator , and the Purple Martins' are mostly snakes, hawks, raccoons and owls. Predator guards help keep Martins safe. It is also for this reason Martins will not nest in housing that's situated under a tree. Recommended placement of a purple Martins house is always in the most open, 40-60 feet away from any trees that are taller than the house.

Big trouble for Purple Martins are two non-native bird species, the European Starling and English House Sparrow. Not only for Martins, but for many North American cavity-swelling birds, these two aggressive species have taken their toll. Predator guards will help to keep S out, but house sparrows may still enter. Martins are unlikely to nest in a house where other species exist. House sparrows are known to go from nest to nest, pecking the Martins' eggs to ensure their own survival.

Martins are the only bird who shuld be nesting in a Martin House. If other birds are seen nesting, it's best to plug the entrance so that they will nest elsewhere. If there are Bluebirds or Swallows trying to nest, simply provide other housing for them.

House Sparrows and Starlings are not protected by law, it's legal to trap and/ or shoot them. Most birding societies and wildlife federations promote these actions because Starlings and house sparrows are taking a devastating toll on our native-cavity nesting birds. For the most part, people are not aware of what damage these two non-native species are doing to our native cavity-nesting birds and ecosystem .