Many different types of purple martin housing are available - wooden houses, more conventional aluminum martin houses, gourd housing, etc. Although gourd housing is not the most popular purple martin housing, many believe that gourds provide the very best housing for martin colonies. One reason many prefer gourd housing is because gourd systems often achieve higher occupancy than wooden or aluminum martin houses. This is mostly due to nest domination by possessive male martins. With gourd housing, nest domination problems are nearly non-existent.
Gourds also tend to be less vulnerable to winged predators such as hawks and crows.
As with martin houses, larger nest cavities help to minimize the risk of predation. Entrance hole shapes are controversial among experts. Both are suitable and are proven. There are many different options for hanging gourds, but gourd systems that allow the gourds to be easily fastened and raised and lowered are most suitable. In summary, purple martin landlords have a variety of martin housing options.