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sunspot 06-05-12 10:00 PM

bats & bat houses
 
Are there any bat experts here?

Our property is home to a small colony of bats. We want them to stay and prosper (and continue eating mosquitoes). To that end I built a pair of bat houses but thus far the bats are ignoring them. The bats disappear in the winter and come back in the spring so I made sure I had the bathouses up in time for their arrival. We've seen them around for a couple of weeks now but the bathouses are vacant. Should I relocate the new houses, wait a season, or ?

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...bats/bat_1.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...bats/bat_2.jpg

RobertSmalls 06-06-12 05:52 AM

I'm no expert, but I'm thinking about building a bathouse myself. One thing I read is that siting is important. Bats want a warm house (in northern latitudes anyway), so one that's facing south and painted black is ideal. Perhaps mounting it on the south-facing wall of a building would make it more attractive?

Daox 06-06-12 08:53 AM

I've also been wanting to do the same. I know we have bats around but I'd like to promote them sticking around and maybe increasing in number. I haven't gotten around to making any houses yet though.

strider3700 06-06-12 11:42 AM

Definitely get them somewhere where they'll get lots of sun. My understanding is the bats can identify a potential home and will find it pretty quickly so if they haven't started to use it in a couple of weeks I'd try moving it somewhere warmer.

Piwoslaw 06-06-12 02:48 PM

I made a bat house about 2 months ago:) Unfortunately, the site where I got blueprints from no longer works:(
The bat house is on the south side of a large tree behind our house, about 4-5 meters high. No occupants yet, though. I've seen a random bat fly over our house every now and then, but it's hard to tell how often they show up since we rarely sit outside after dark (mostly because of mosquitos, which means the bats aren't doing their job!). I read somewhere that bats spend the winter in caves, bunkers, attics, etc., but during the summer look for places closer to feeding grounds. It was implied that they find their summer hangout in the spring and don't move until autumn, but I'm not sure if this is true for all bat species.

sunspot 06-06-12 09:14 PM

Well if they don't move until autumn I guess there's no hurry to move the bat houses. I did put them in a south facing location and painted them flat black to absorb as much heat as possible. They must be really fussy. Bummer...

Higgy 06-07-12 09:01 AM

We were outside the other day and sitting on our back deck (back of the house is facing west), I looked up and I noticed a black fuzzy thing on our house right near the roof line, and I was like...wtf is that? I shined a flashlight on it because the corner it was in was dark, and it looked fuzzy and I told my wife, that is a bat. And I thought...YES a bat. It was right near dusk, and an hour later it was gone hunting I guess. But it never came back and I'm sad. I want to buy a bat house now and mount it somewhere. Good info here.

SimpleManLance 06-07-12 09:19 PM

i have a bat infestation. about 50+ bats live in my chimney. it is the original 1930 chimney that has a lining in it. it is used for venting my hot water heater. the cap is not quite sealed and they get in-between the cap and the old chimney. the hot water heater keeps them warm so they never find a new home. i would love to build a new home for them but i don't know how to accommodate that many. im scared that if i build a one way valve and get them all out of the chimney then seal it up i will start finding them in the attic or other places where they bother me more.

sunspot 06-07-12 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SimpleManLance (Post 22342)
the hot water heater keeps them warm so they never find a new home.

So they're holding out for a heater! Crafty little buggers. I must be out of my mind to even think about heating bat houses. My wife was rather shocked at the scale of the undertaking when I built the houses initially. If I add heat she'll have me committed!

basjoos 06-10-12 06:24 AM

The following article is about bat species found in South Carolina and, among other things, discusses what is known about their summer and winter roosting locations. Many of these species are wide spread and might also be native to your location. But as the article states, many bat species simply haven't been well studied. But it should give you an idea of the types of locations that bats would choose to roost in.

http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/newtown_squa..._menzel001.pdf

sunspot 06-10-12 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by basjoos (Post 22368)

Thanks for posting that link. It appears the bats I think we have - little brown bats (seriously) - will roost in caves, as well as trees and structures. I would think the caves likely to have a moderated temperature relative to the black painted bat boxes I've built so perhaps temperature is not the deciding variable.

Thanks again!

NeilBlanchard 06-12-12 06:38 AM

Bats in several places are extremely threatened -- look up so-called "white nose disease". It has wiped out 90%+ of many large colonies here in the northeast and in New York and other places, too. They are not hibernating, and they are starving to death and they have this white fungus/mold growing on their noses. In some cases, whole caves are losing virtually all their bats.

basjoos 06-12-12 10:34 AM

This fungus (Geomyces destructans) was recently introduced from the Old World and kills bats by invading the bat's body while they are in hibernation and their slowed metabolism is unable to resist its spread. Old world bats are resistant to it, but not New World bats. It is mainly killing out the colonial cave dwelling bat species and likely to continue spreading across temperate North America killing most of these bats. Hopefully a few individuals will prove to have some resistance to the fungus and can repopulate after all of the susceptible individuals have been killed, which is likely what happened in Eurasia when this fungus first made the jump to bats over there. Non-hibernating bats (tropical species and the few temperate species that migrate south for the winter) are unlikely to be affected by this fungus and the solitary habits of the non-colonial hibernators hopefully will allow them to avoid the worst effects of this fungus.

It will be interesting to see what effect this bat die out will have on the populations of the bat's main competition (wippoorwills and nighthawks) for the night sky. Since these birds lack echo-location and hunt by sight, they are limited to hunting insects at dust, dawn, and when the moon is up. They even time their egg's hatching so the hatchlings greatest food demand will be during a full moon. An inadvertent effect of the spread of light pollution is that it has benefited these birds by allowing them to hunt all night on moonless nights.

Piwoslaw 06-15-12 04:40 AM

3 Attachment(s)
The site I found about bats is online again:) Here is it is:
Skrzynki dla nietoperzy and its Google translation.
It is about bats in Poland, but much of the info is common for other species.
In case it goes offline again, here are the three bat house plans it links to (dimensions are in millimeters):
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1339752181

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1339752181

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1339753095

sunspot 06-16-12 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw (Post 22430)
The site I found about bats is online again:) Here is it is:
Skrzynki dla nietoperzy and its Google translation.

Thanks for that. The dimensions are drastically different than what I've done having much more spacious chambers. This winter will see me building another bat house to be tried in a different spot. Perhaps a design change is in order.

Thanks again!

Piwoslaw 06-16-12 01:45 PM

More spacious doesn't have to mean worse: I bet that some bat species prefer to stay with their colony, while others look for a smaller summer residence just for their family. And yes, the more different places in which you put bat houses, the greater the chances of them finding an occupant. Just remember to use only nails and untreated wood; no glue, paint or other chemicals, as bats don't seem to like the smell (I can't say I blame them).

Maybe making a nice marsh with tons of mosquitoes would also lure them;) :p

One of the many things I haven't been able to find out is whether bats come back to the same feeding grounds each summer, and more specifically whether they remember where they nested last year.

sunspot 06-16-12 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw (Post 22440)
Maybe making a nice marsh with tons of mosquitoes would also lure them;) :p

One of the many things I haven't been able to find out is whether bats come back to the same feeding grounds each summer, and more specifically whether they remember where they nested last year.

We've got the pond/marsh so there's a food source. As far as coming back to the same place I'm certain they do. I've spoken to someone who is familiar with our property and he remembers the bats being here well over a decade ago and occupying the same roost. I'd bet the bats living here now were born here (and their parents too). We want to provide more and better places for them to live and thrive here as they're losing habitat all around us.

KathyTwoPonies 07-04-12 11:08 AM

bat resources
 
My friend is actually a bat expert...

here's a resource for you guys - guidelines and all -very reputable source -

I'm too new for the system to let me post links which makes sense - so I suggest you google http://batcon.org/index.php/get-invo...bat-house.html

(Bat Conservation International is the very reputable source if you prefer not to use the link).

Love this forum. kathy

Daox 07-04-12 11:33 AM

Great link Kathy, thanks!

mincus 07-04-12 11:40 AM

What a timely post! I just made one myself about a month ago to hopefully get rid of some of my mosquitos. So far, no bats though. I have seen bats in my yard before, so I remain hopeful. I followed plans from the Missouri Department of Conservation. It was a pretty simple build, although I did modify the plans a bit. Here's the plans. Apparently a bat roost this size will hold somewhere around 80 bats.

http://i48.tinypic.com/2ibyel2.jpg

The bat symbol was a nice touch (just in case the bats got confused as to who it is for). My worry is that wasps will move in before the bats.

In my research, I learned a few things, some of which has already been mentioned.

1. It is very important to have the bat roost south facing. If it doesn't get enough sun, the bats won't be warm enough and won't stick around.
2. It is good if you have a large body of water within 1/2 mile of your house to serve as feeding grounds.
3. Apparently it could take up to a year or two for bats to find your roost and move in. So, I wouldn't get discouraged by not having any bats quite yet.
4. Trees are not ideal to put the bat house. They may not get enough sun and they leave the bats exposed to predators. They also should be at least 12 feet above the ground. I hung mine on my chimney.

That's all I can think of for now. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

creeky 07-04-12 12:03 PM

nice plans. I just wanted to add, friends of mine had bat houses on their barn. It took 4 years for the bats to move in.

mincus 07-04-12 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creeky (Post 22811)
nice plans. I just wanted to add, friends of mine had bat houses on their barn. It took 4 years for the bats to move in.

Did the bats come back every year once they were there? Or stay there year round?

LarryNFlorida 07-04-12 03:03 PM

bats & bat houses
 
At the college in Gainesville, it took several years for the bats to move into the bat house they had built. The first year that the bats roosted there. they were almost all males, the following year mostly females. My guess is the smell once it is used by bats will attract them from then on. Good luck.

Nonhog 07-17-12 03:28 PM

I was given a bat house and it says it could take a couple years for bats to take up home. Not sure why?
I may move mine to a more direct sun area. Not so easy in the Seattle area.

KathyTwoPonies 09-24-12 10:12 AM

I don't have enough posts here to post a linke yet, but there is a FAQ page on this. for more about bats and houses than you can imagine, try bat conservation international - the link (you may have to copy and paste in in the browser) talks about placement.

Or go do a search for bat conservation international and bat houses like I did and you'll find the same tidbits with a bit of poking around. Viva la bats!

BrianAbington 06-08-13 10:48 PM

I know this is old but I have a friend with a similar experience as some of you guys.

His house has been a work in progress over the alst 10 years and 2 years ago he finally got new roof and siding put on. At that time he closed up the hole the bats had been using that whole time.

Put up a bat house and they won't even touch it.

Are there scents or fruit or something you could place in there? Or perhaps a speaker that can be used to play bat sounds like you would do with a swift box?

Mobile Master Tech 06-10-13 09:37 PM

I had to remove a bat infestation in my eaves in a previous house. I learned you first have to find out where they are coming in and out by watching quietly at dusk. Then, seal off any other potential entry areas before exclusion. To exclude them, cover their entry/exit with a hanging sheet of clear plastic(so you can confirm their exit) at least 2 ft against some surface (the house siding in my case). They will come out and work their way to the edge of the plastic to fly away, but can't find their way back under that to return, since they want to go to their usual entry point, now covered.

Bat houses have to be warm and dry with 3/4" or smaller spaces between the walls/dividers. If it is too hot during the day or too cool at night, or doesn't smell right, or is too wide, they will go elsewhere. IIRC, the book I read said to change the positioning on the same tree (changing the time of day for peak temps) after a few weeks if it doesn't attract them. If that doesn't work, start moving the houses to different locations and try again.

sunspot 07-02-13 08:37 PM

Hoooray!

I've been banging around building a covered firewood shelter against the side of the shop where the bat houses are. Fastening strapping this afternoon I heard noises coming from the bat houses. A quick peak inside - bats!

I may have to raise the bat houses higher now as the roof I'm building is to be a green/living roof of wild flowers (we have bees to keep happy) and the new 'grade' will not be much below the entrance to the bat houses as things sit now. One more season should have things dialed in.

Cheers, Greg

Daox 07-03-13 08:33 AM

Very cool Greg, glad to hear the houses are working out for you. Any chance we can get some pictures of the placement of these houses?

sunspot 07-03-13 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox (Post 30502)
Very cool Greg, glad to hear the houses are working out for you. Any chance we can get some pictures of the placement of these houses?


As it is right now.


http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...ps11c15d00.jpg

sunspot 09-20-14 08:52 AM

Since the crane truck was here to deliver sand for the filter in this thread:

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/renova...-question.html

I decided to give the bats a lift!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...pse8c099e0.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...psbe62c44d.jpg

The woodshed roof is the topic of this thread:

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/lawn-g...shed-roof.html


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