Thanks, Gjers, for your replies...had fun making these & sold 1 of bdhses today. Pros & cons about adding perches. ..these are wren houses...so we usually don't add a perch per experience & research on Internet & books as: "Do not add or buy any birdhouse with a perch. The birds don't need it, whereas house sparrows and other less desireable birds will have easy access if perches are used." Sometimes we add them & larger birds make the entry hole larger...we like "sparrows" too! I do like the cultivator alot...so I can sure make use of it if it doesn't sell...like your ideas & comments. luna...come visit me anytime! Jeanne S.

That is ok. The bigger the better. I have grown them in North Fulton, not far from Alpharetta, many times in the past. I never did support them like you have done. NO, NO!! don,t cut them !. Keep them on the vine as long as the vine is live, till frost or whatever. Then you can cut an let them mature/fully dry in a shack, or garage for several months., before doing any work on them. Just protect them from squirrels. --------------------------------------- P.S. You might think that with that size they must be heavy(like pumpkins), BUT they are not, b/c they are hollow inside with just some seeds, No flesh, except the wall thickness that hardens as they mature. This post was edited by seysonn on Tue, Aug 20, 13 at 1:21

Thanks for the advice :) I have read that website, most of it - it has a lot of info. I did read a paragraph that said: MYTH: Bluebirds behave the same way, all the time, everywhere. REALITY: Eastern, Mountain, and Western Bluebirds in different areas behave differently and show different preferences. Even the same birds may behave differently as they age; as seasons, climate, and conditions change; and from one year to the next. Some people who aren't following any of the "rules" still successfully fledge amazing numbers of bluebirds year after year. Avoid "never" and "always" and do whatever works in your area! This made me a little more confident in this nest box. Even though have not seen a single HOSP, I will certainly cut off the perches if need be. And I will not host the Starlings, if need be take the whole thing down. Who knows, I could be as successful as the woodworker down the road!! For cleaning, he recommended taking a hanger and yanking out the old nests, and I will pull it down and rinse it out with a bleach solution at the end of the year. If others (besides Starlings and HOSP) take up residence I will most likely buy the more recommended house to put up in another location. While this one is pretty, I would rather a lighter and easier manageable house to take care of!!! Unfortunately I can't just return this one, so hopefully it will work :) Thanks again for your advice!! Christy :)

I was afraid that might be the case, they all look around the same size (martins) and info I found today said that the martins usually start to arrive here in February and look for nesting spots. In addition to All the other potential dangers/problems with the house/location where these martins are possibly planning to nest and raise babies, same neighbors also have a HAMM RADIO tower in their back yard and every year around late spring/ summer a great horned owl perches up there on and off and and hoots, I've heard him and seen him up there several nights in a row before. Is there anything I can do at this point, like put up a safe Martin house, or will they stay there now regardless? I'm hoping that if I talk to neighbors and explain the situation, they will do something about it. I feel sick at the thought of the martins going through whole process and end up losing babies or being harmed themselves. If I thought there was a possibility that they would relocate this late in the game, I'd gladly put up a safe place for them to nest and make sure it stays that wAy, although I'd be learning as I go, ughh, whole situation makes me nervous. I'm going to post the pics of the house and the birds tonight, I'm pretty sure the house is not the ideal layout either, it has little porches with metal railings on both floors and another railing across top and from what I've read so far, that makes it easy for owls to get to them. Thanks