Barred Owl House

I ordered this Barred Owl house on a Friday evening, had it by Monday evening. Very sturdy construction. Assembly required, but was very easy with accurate instructions. All hardware for assembly included. One thing that would be nice with the instructions, would have been some guidance as to how to get this big, heavy house up to the proper placement on tree. We watched a lot of videos and researched a lot to info, in order to make sure we did things right. The hardware that we used for attaching to the tree were stainless steel lag screws. Much more stable and far easier to use than trying to use regular screws. We used a stainless steel eye bolt, which was installed just above where we wanted to house located. We then inserted cable through the vent holes on either side of the box, then threaded through the eye bolt. With one of us on the ladder, one of us hoisted the box up while the one on the ladder gradually guided the house up and into position, hanging the loops on upper rear of house onto the lag screws. Then did an additional lag screw through lower back of house, into the tree. We have already had a few winter storms with strong winds and the house is very secure. Highly recommend.

Made several modifications to the original house including the inside ladder for chicks to climb out, opened the entry hole to accommodate (Barred Owls are BIG!), added a perch using a sealed wooded dowel with 7" galvanized carriage bolts (natural limbs will rot too fast) , replace the little original hangers with galvanized straps and bolts and painted the soft wood with two coats of Behr Premium Solid Color Waterproofing Stain & Sealer (vertical surfaces good for 25 years).Have a pair of Barred Owls that nest every year in a old tree that is about to fall down, so I hope they take to the new houseonce I find a bucket truck to help mount. The owls will come and eat live crawfish that I buy in the Spring and Summer...

up for 6 months...no owls yet although prior to putting up owls heard periodically right behind our house. Put it up EXACTLY as instructed. At least no squirrels in it yet and we have alot of them! Still waiting for that owl!! Don't know that product can be blamed though!

What you receive is a pile of wood and some nails. This owl box is unassembled. If you go to the seller's website you can purchase an assembled box for about $15 more (well worth it.) Amazon does not sell the assembled product and in fact the unassembled box is cheaper if you buy it directly from the third party seller (with free shipping).The wood itself is Eastern White Pine. This wood is soft and easy to work with but does rots in humid climates, unless the exterior is weather treated.

We live in the woods and have barred owls in the vicinity. There was no setup necessary- just access to a tall ladder. The nails provided were too short to attach to the tree causing the house to swing wildly in the wind. We rescued it before it fell and used zip ties to attach it to the tree. This has worked perfectly. It's been up for about a month but so far there are no owls. When we have company they always comment on how cool the house looks.

When mounting use additional screws or nails where possible. The two mounting pods are simply inadequate IMO, given the weight of the owl house and expected residents.

Easy to assemble and mount on a tree.Final test will be if the owls will like it and make it their home.....this will determine the 5th star.

Unfortunately, the squirrels moved in immediately, leaving no room for owls.