Making Purple Martin Birdhouses

• 1
  Bottle gourd example.dry bottle gourd image by ann triling from Fotolia.com
  
  Select a thick-walled, dried, bottle gourd that is at least 8 inches long and no longer than 13 inches.
  
  
• 2
  Bleach kills any bacteria from spores that commonly grow on dried gourdsbottles of cleaning product. bleach. disinfectant. image by L. Shat from Fotolia.com
  
  Wash the gourd using a solution of one part bleach with 10 parts water and dry it with a towel.
  
  
• 3
  Gourds can be dried in or outdoors.Gourd image by sinsila from Fotolia.com
  
  Let the gourd dry in a sunny area of your yard—suspended from a clothesline, for example—for three to six months. Alternatively, dry the gourd indoors by laying it on newspaper or cardboard in a dry, warm spot. To avoid flat spots, change the position of the gourd at least twice a day.
  
  
• 4
  Bottleneck gourds provide ample nesting space.autumn gourds image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com
  
  Shake your gourd and listen for the rattling sound of seeds. If you hear that sound then your gourd is dried enough to make your birdhouse.
  
  
• 5
  Use a blow dryer to dry the gourd faster.dry image by musk from Fotolia.com
  
  Soak the gourd for approximately 15 minutes in your kitchen sink in hot soapy water. Remove it from the water and with a butter knife scrape off the mold and the thin layer of outer skin. Dry it with a towel and hang it in a warm dry area for at least four hours.
  
  
• 6
  Hold your gourd by its stem and let it hang naturally to judge where to mark the hole.gourd and corn image by BVDC from Fotolia.com
  
  Mark the area for the entrance hole in the lower part of the gourd that sticks out the most. The hole should be in the center rather than too high up or too low to the ground.
  
  
• 7
  Electric drill with a drill on a white background image by terex from Fotolia.com
  
  Taking a small piece of cardboard draw the shape of a crescent with a 1 1/2-inch radius and 1 3/16 inches wide. Trace this pattern with the horizontal line ending at the center mark you made with your pencil. This will be your entrance hole.
  
  
• 8
  Plastic cylinder with lidred plastic can over white image by Anatoly Tiplyashin from Fotolia.com
  
  Next mark with your pencil on the opposite side of the gourd an access hole for cleaning approximately 2 to 3 inches above the center line that you made for the entrance hole. Once cut this will allow you access to clean out your gourd and later be able to do nest checks without disturbing your feathered tenants.
  
  
• 9). Use a jigsaw to cut the crescent hole in the front of the gourd. Using the keyhole saw, cut the clean-out access hole in the back of the gourd. Remove any seeds or pulp from inside the gourd.
  
  
• 10
  Any type of power drill will be effective.Electric drill with a drill on a white background image by terex from Fotolia.com
  
  Drill six drainage holes into the bottom of the gourd using the 5/16-inch drill bit. Using the same drill bit, drill two holes approximately two inches south of the stem for ventilation and to make it easier to hang your gourd birdhouse.
  
  
• 11
  Do not rinse the gourd after soaking in the copper sulfate.copper image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com
  
  Add 1 lb. of copper sulfate to 5 gallons of warm water and soak the gourd for at least 20 minutes. You can weigh the gourd down by placing a rock inside it when placing it in the bucket.
  
  
• 12
  User friendly adhesive caulk comes in a smaller size than shown.glazier image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
  
  Allow the gourd to dry completely and then attach the clean-out access cylinder with lid using the adhesive caulk. Wet your finger and smooth the caulk flat leaving now raised ridges.
  
  
• 13
  Use mask to prevent inhalation of spores released by sanding the surface of the gourd.man with gas mask image by Photosani from Fotolia.com
  
  Using fine sand paper and wearing your respiratory mask sand your gourd smooth.
  
  
• 14
  Use any size paint brush that is comfortable to you.paint brush 2 image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
  
  Paint the gourd with an oil based primer and exterior enamel white paint using a nylon paint brush. Allow it to dry completely.
  
  
• 15
  Purple martins require large flying space near their nestslarge home image by Cindy Haggerty from Fotolia.com
  
  Hang your birdhouse 30 to 120 feet away from any human dwelling to allow space for your purple martins.