Customer Reviews

S & K PBH-12 12-Family Martin House

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I own this product, but I have not used it yet. Actually I have never finished putting it together. Why?

First I want to stress, saying, "DO YOUR HOMEWORK!". I have learned since wanting, and then quickly purchasing a Martin house for my backyard, that there is more to than just putting something up. I did not read that there is a time to put up Martin houses. Nor did I learn about the different types of Martin houses there are. And I had no idea of all that needs to be considered when one does put up, and then to maintain a Martin house.

I gave two stars. One is that if you do not have the money for a proper Martin house, then this house might do. One star was also for the possibility of correcting some problems this house in my opinion has.

The corrugated plastic material totally deflated me when I saw it. I will probably still give this product a try in January, but with some changes. The room size is way too small. So I will make only 6 rooms which are 12 inches deep, and not the 12 rooms of 6 inches deep. Because Owls make midnight snacks of the Martins reaching in for a claw full of whatever they can grab. Also I have read that Martins don't like their neighbor Martins, so on the porch area, besides needing to have Owls guards, there should be porch dividers. I believe these two extra items can be purchased for this particular house.

Even though the instructions look easy enough to put together, I was taken back that I would have to cut out the type of hole I wanted to use. Again read to find out which size you want to use. I would have liked it better if the holes were able to just snap out.

I think this item may fall in with the saying, "You get what you pay for." This item may fit our pocketbook, but think of the birds first on this type of a purchase.

(Note: Learn why you should NEVER allow House Sparrows
to ever breed in your Martin Houses.)

My wife received this house for Christmas along with the tri-pole and was very excited to have a martin colony of our own, after enjoying watching our neighbor's colony feeding against central Texas sunsets for about six years.

During the holidays, I opened the flat-packed box and got after sorting the component plastic pieces and corrugated plastic internals (like the yard signs you see on wire legs at intersections and the like...). Put it together and was a bit disappointed in the poor materials, design and reliance on plastic friction fasteners for assembly, but figured it would be all right...Not everything has to be over designed/built per my preferences...

So, mid January finally came and we gleefully hoisted the house atop the tri-pole I had so carefully cemented in the center of our backyard's "flightpath". Over the next week, we cheerfully discussed the return of the martins with our neighbors and appreciated the ease of the tri-pole's telescoping ability to clean out the sparrow nests that kept appearing overnight, and were somewhat dismayed that about half of the plastic tabs that keep the entrances to the rooms closed had broken off during the repeated cleanings. All the while, hoping that the swarm of martins flying around would show interest in our new house.

Then it happened. Yesterday. Two male martins flew over and very intently began checking out our house! My wife was giddy...the kids were dancing around singing and pointing...And the males were uncomfortably clinging to the railing outside the entrances. The picture shows several adults contentedly perched on the railing. With only about a half inch between the railing and the house, there's not enough depth for them to do anything besides awkwardly hang on, like bats. And finally it hit me...THEY CAN'T GET IN! Those two males tried every opening, including the ones in the "attic". No go.

Imagine the dashed hopes of your family when they see that the birds can't use the new home you've been talking about for three months.

So, in summary, the design is miserable, the materials are as cheap as possible and the result is the prettiest sparrow house on the market.
I'm going to go find some corrugated plastic signs and make my own. The quality will be about the same, except it'll work.

My wife and I could not believe how light the whole thing was, we were afraid it would turn into a kite. However we purchased the tri angle pole as well and actually used a glue gun on the more important joints. Recently Alabama had some bad weather and a tornado about 10 miles east of us. The house not only stayed in placed but was not damaged in any way. It sits about 12 feet off the ground and sways a bit but still standing.

This item came with very unclear instructions. A seperate sheet of instructions was included mentioning to cut the side pannels which was contradictory with a two story house which I had bought. I followed this instructions and ruined the two beige side panels. When setting this item be careful!

We bought this house from a local store. We don't have it up yet (the ground is still frozen solid), but I wanted to post a few comments on what we know so far (I'll write more this summer after it's been up a while):

This house is made by S&K. While it's not strictly required that you use the S&K pole, the house is designed to fit on it. After assembling the house, we're definitely glad we got the matching pole. Use either one of the following:

15 Ft Telescoping Pole for Martin House
12' Telescopic Pole

Both these poles telescope so that you can clean out the house and check the nests.

As for the assertion that the house "snaps together in minutes" well . . . I guess that's true if you count that high! It took my husband about two hours to put together, primarily because the interior panels are stamped "cut outs" for tabs, and these were only stamped about halfway through and he had to trim each one. Not really a problem, just time consuming. And we still have to dig the hole, mix concrete, etc. It's not like just hanging a bird feeder or a "typical" little bird house.

The pole has to be set in concrete in your yard. If you want to take the pole down over the winter, you'll need a pole sleeve, which remains in the ground and sticks up just a little when you take the big pole down. This can be ordered directly from the manufacturer -- ordering information is given in the box.

All the references I can find say that 6x12 inch compartments are better than 6x6 compartments. This house is designed so that you can have either size compartment -- but, of course, with the larger compartments there are only 6 rooms. However, to have the larger compartments, you have to block off half the doors (so that enemies can't come in the "back door"). You can either use duct tape or you can order door covers directly from the manufacturer with information given in the box -- these cost $12.95 plus shipping.

One note -- the openings are the new crescent "starling resistant" shape -- while this won't totally eliminate starlings taking over the house, it's supposed to significantly reduce the problem.

Those same references say that to establish a colony, it's good to place a purple martin decoy on a perch on the house. Yep, these have to be purchased separately. The perches are available from the manufacturer (info in the box) as are the decoys -- or you can buy the decoys here:

Purple Martin Decoy

All this starts adding up! We bought the house itself on special at a local store for $25 -- but now have spent more than $100 in "extras" and we still have to buy a bag of concrete. We like birds, so we're not begrudging the expense but it's definitely more costly than we anticipated.

Another point -- we had always believed that purple martins ate a lot of mosquitos. After buying the house, we discovered that new research shows this isn't true -- they mostly eat other insects. So much for our natural mosquito control!

This Purple Martin House is of excellent quality and easy to assemble. I already had the tri-pole to attach it to. The two go together very well. The half moon openings are great to discourage Starlings, as I watched one attempt to get inside and had no luck and flew off. The first 2 Martins arrived a few days ago and have moved in. Thanks for a great Purple Martin House and rapid shipping.

Northern Tool is a good company and has reliable products. The bird house was easy to put together and looks sturdy. We didn't order the pole-expensive- but have place the Martin Condos in a high spot. Now all we need are tenents.

I have purchased three of these houses.I paid about 30 bucks for each and if you take care of them they will last for 5-6 years if you clean them after the season and store inside during the winter. The partitions are the weakest part of the house so I made 1/8 th inch partitions out of wood and it worked fine. I have 3 of the tri- poles and only extend them 11 feet and haven't had one to bend yet.The bottom of the house only has to be above the ground 10 or more feet .Use as little of the top section as possible since that is the weakest part of the pole.The houses will tear up in time but what can you expect for 30 bucks?

I purchased this product new last week on e'bay and am still waiting to get it up. Some of the dividers were missing. I called S & K and they will ship them. Then I realzed I would need an S & K triangle pole or adapter to install the house in my yard or the warranty would be voided. I went on line to S & K to order the adapter since I already had a pole. The material this is made from seems very flimsy but the directions say it becomes very sturdy when put together. I am still waiting to find that part out.

i was surprised by the material used to construct the purple martin house... and since this is not yet the season to place the birdhouse outside, i'm not sure how durable it will prove to be. there was mold on both the (easy to follow) directions and some of the birdhouse parts. it remains to be seen whether this affects nesting appeal.