Purpose: The Purple Martin winters in South America and breeds in Mexico and North America. It has become almost totally dependent on human-supplied nesting cavities for reproduction in the eastern half of the United States. Though purple martins do not eat a significant number of mosquitoes as once believed, they do eat wasps, grasshoppers, butterflies, dragonflies and other day-flying insects. Purple martins enjoy people and the martins' chattering and antics are enjoyed by people

Description: Years of research prove that the martins have higher reproductive success in gourds than in any other type of housing. The Purple Martin Conservancy Association offers a gourd rack system that raises and lowers easily by rope and pulley. It is important that the gourds be cleaned, plugged and unplugged and monitored throughout the breeding season. This rack system makes the task very simple. The rack has attachments for 8 plastic gourds. Each plastic gourd has a rain canopy/perch and a threaded access port to allow monitors to easily clean out the gourds. The pole will be set into the ground with cement.

Cost: ~ $400