Heath Outdoor Products30008 2-Piece Easy Clean Deluxe Purple Martin Gourd Starling Resistant/RH, 8-Pack

We got these gords because our Purple Martian population out numbered the house we had. We got them up just in time! They are built well. Much easier to up open and clean out than the house. We would buy again!

So only the base kind of snaps into place. And the screw holds the top area. There is a tongue and groove along the sides to which the two pieces fit together, but the sides do not fit very well and often pop out. I ran some packing tape down the seams hopefully it holds for the year.

I just got these a few weeks back. They went together really easy and seem to be well built, and they are MADE IN THE USA!!! I bought a cheap plastic martin house 3 years ago and I get martin vistors every year that hang around for a few minutes to an hour or so but they never stay. My back yard should be a martin paradise since we have 2 lakes here on our property. I'm hoping these will get them to stay and form a starter colony this year. I'm thinking a drop of silicone caulk on the seam on each side of the gourd might be wise as it would guarantee them holding up to high winds. And silicone is easy to peel off or cut. I hope these hold up to the sun as most types of plastic take a beating. Anybody out there with experience as to their long term durabilty?

First, you're buying some very cheap martin houses. The birds don't care. Site them reasonably well, and the martin's will use them. You, however, will be cursing the Heath company before you finish putting them together. I've used these years ago, and they haven't changed, indicating that the company doesn't really care enough about their product to redesign or insist on more consistent molding or whatever. On the plus side, the bird design aspect is okay. I don't have problems with sparrows and such using them. Once you get some successful martin families, clean them out over the winter and put them back up in the same place. The mature birds return to where they had success the year before. Young birds will arrive later to populate newly installed houses. There really are no "scouts." Those are just the mature first-returning birds. If you can ever get one put together well, it will be easier to take that one apart and put it back together next year. And I don't see any problem with sun affecting the plastic, even in South Texas.UPDATE: Boy! I just received and put up eight model BO9 gourds from S&K Manufacturing. They're twice as much, but are a good illustration of the difference between mediocre and quality. The S&K gourds are heavier gauge, fit together easily, and have options available like heat vents, tunnels, etc. We'll see how the birds like them, but I sure do.

Used for purple martins

These martin houses are thin, lightweight, two piece plastic that snap together easily. I used white electric tape to seal the seam around the gourd to help keep them sealed and together. I drilled the hole at the top larger to mount them and they installed easily and quickly. I snapped out the piece in the entry because the martins seemed to have a difficult time getting in with it in place. These houses are smaller yet they sway more easily in the wind than our larger, heavier gourds even though I used electrical tape on the mounting rods on each side to make a tight mounting fit. The birds seem not to mind.... It will be necessary to take these apart next spring to clean them out but it was easy to do that so it is not an issue (our older ones have a built-in screw lid for easy access). So if you want more martin house w/o paying much, these are excellent choices so far (they have been up for three weeks).

This is my first year with Martins. I have a 3 yr old martin house but the sparrows were being horrible. I attached four gourds to the bottom of the house with wire and the sparrows abandoned the house that day. To me that is a win whether the martins decide to nest in them or only the house. I had 2 male martins and one female hanging around the martin house for 2 months and as soon as I added the gourds -about an hour later a second female showed up. I think it make it more attractive and it spooked the sparrows enough to finally leave. We may need to wait until next year to see if they like the gourds since they have already claimed the house. I have seen starlings and house finches swoop by to check them out but they have not stayed. They took a little wrestling and hair drying to get them together and you wont be able to open the to do checks on the chicks with these but it is an affordable gourd option and they should be easy to clean out at the end of the season. They are my starter gourds and we will see how they go

I was skeptical with all the complaints about the halves not matching up. Some of mine were off enough that the outside edges had gaps. If you follow the instructions of heating them then they will close nicely. It only took me 20 minutes to do all 8 and they are perfect now. I highly recommend these despite the complaints you might read from others who can’t find a simple hairdryer.

Dead of winter, so no birds to test. Very rigid and easy to assemble, or disassemble for cleaning. Changed from houses to gourds to protect birds from squirrels, and other predatory birds. Solid with ample drainage in bottom, impressed with rigidity of material. Walls are about 1/8 th. of an inch thick, solid against elements.

These plastic gourds are for Purple Martin nests. They are easy to assemble and are solid once put together.

awesome product....easy to put together & the Purple Martins have already found it!!!~~~

Have not yet attracted any Blue Martins. Have been up since mid April. I am still hopeful, but I can't rate them accurately until they have run their course with the arrival season. It is for a new colony.

j'ai commander le 4 pack, car j'avais lu des commentaire qui disait que l'assemblage était médiocre, Quand j'ai reçu mes gourdes j'étais très satisfaite , belle grandeur et très bon produit. très facile à monter. Il me reste plus que la neige fonde pour pouvoir les installé(j'ai très hâte) et espère que les hirondelles viennent y nicher, pour mon plus grand bonheur. Je recommande se produits à tous, car beau et très bien fait. Merci entièrement satisfaite