Bat Houses

[Radar67]

Anybody ever try using bat houses to help control insects in the summer? I've been reading about how the average little brown bat can consume 500 mosquitoes an hour. The boxes look easy to build and require very little maintenance. A large box can house 300+ bats.

Stew

[SwampDonkey]

I'd like to try some out on the woodlot near the beaver pond. I don't have bats around the house yard very often.

There is a thread or two on the bats Radar if you search.

[Radar67]

SD, I have a set plans in PDF format if your interested. From everything I've read, if you see bats occasionally, it won't take long for them to set up residence if the house is built and placed properly.

Stew

[Ron Scott]

Yes, many have been placed by my landowner clients. They are often planned for in Landowner Forest Stewardship Plans. The are several different plans for bat houses.

We also designate bat den trees in suitable habitat areas of planned timber harvest areas.

[SwampDonkey]

I'd rather keep the bats in the woods, it's safer and near water. I don't have much for flies at home except in June. These fields around here get sprayed to death for bugs. Besides it would give me something extra to go look at besides chasing moose. ;)

I'd appreciate looking at your plans. There are a few big large diameter aspen trees around, maybe they would suffice for a winter den. We don't have any caves or crevasses around here. Those little critters sure have it tough up here in the intense cold.

[Furby]

I built a handfull of these a couple years back.
Something keeps coming up to prevent me from hanging them. :
The will be going out within a few weeks though.
Just took a tape into the store with me and measured up the ones they were selling. ;D
A few mods to use wood I had on hand and toss them together.

[Radar67]

SD, I'll have to send them via email as the file size is 557kb, too large for the forum.

Furby, those boxes look good, but may need to have more height and a landing area. From everything I've read, the inside of the box being the right temperature is the most important part of a habitable home for bats. I also read that allot of the hardware/other store boxes were not good designs. I'd be happy to send you a copy of the file as well.

Stew

[WDH]

If your house is not sealed up real good, your house can be a bat house  >:(.  I have had them get in a porch light fixture.  Did not know it at the time, but there were always a bunch of bats flying under the porch at dawn, about the time the wife would take out the dog in the morning.  She did not like the bats flying around her.  The exterminator said they had to be roosting nearby, but could not find out where.  One morning I saw a couple crawling around on the porch light.  I looked closer and it looked like there were some dead bugs in the light dome.  I thought that they were trying to get at those bugs.  Well, the wife insisted that I take down the glass dome and clean out the bugs.  You guessed it, it weren't bugs at all, but droppings.  When I took off the dome, I could hear slithering sounds in the metal housing.  I thought it was a snake.  I unscrewed the housing and eased it down expecting a snake.  Oh no, no snake.  A bat crawled out of the gap and looked me right in the eye.  Then, bats came pouring out all over.  Must have been 15 or 20 of them in that light housing in a space about 12" by 12" by 2" deep. 

New porch light fixture with bat proof housing later, and the problem was solved.  It is amazing how small a crack those little rascals can get in.  The fairer sex does not appreciate bats flying around their heads, so locate the bat houses well away if you value marital bliss  :.

[Radar67]

I'm looking to put these out on my property close to the creek to help control the bugs, so shouldn't have a problem with the little woman.  :D

Stew

[WDH]

Yep, women and bats don't mix well.  Bats make some folks squeamish, like rats do.  I think they are cool.  They are just trying to make a living.  Are the boxes open at the bottom?  I have never seen an on-purpose bat house.

[Radar67]

Yeah, the bottoms are open. The roof is on a 15 degree angle and they measure 24 inches wide by 30 inches tall. The interior is a series of baffles spaced 3/4 inch apart. And they have a small vertical landing area on the bottom. They are best hung 12 to 14 feet off the ground, painted dark brown or black, facing south and the interior areas have to be scored to give the little critters a good foot hold.

You can find a copy of the PDF file here Bat Boxes

Stew

[DanG]

We got bats around here.  They come out at dusk when the skeeters do.  I've checked out my belfry thoroughly and can't find where they sleep. ???

[WDH]

DanG, maybe they are in your porch light 8) 8) 8).

Probably not. 

Radar67, 3/4 " between the interior baffles is tight!  But I guess that is the way they like it. 

[Furby]

I've heard about painting them black, but I've also heard that it will get too hot for them in the sun.
I have one I started to stain brown and planned to do two brown ones and two natural.
I spaced my baffles slightly different spaces apart, just to see what they would like.
I used rough sawn lumber, but the face board was run through the planer once.
I'm not concerned about a "landing platform", they don't have those in caves. ;)
I figure they will land on the sides and crawl in.
If you've never seen a bat crawl, it's pretty cool.

[Radar67]

DanG, they are suppose to swarm early in the mornings, starting about a half hour before sunrise. This is the best time to find out where they are roosting.

Furby, from what I've read, a dark brown or black color with a black roof is the suggested colors for your area. With the proper vent holes and the right height, they are suppose to be able to adjust the interior temp by roosting higher or lower in the box. A sure sign of the temps being too high inside are seeing a few of them on the outside of the box during the day. (between April and October)

Stew

[Murf]

There's lotsa bats around my place, even with the Town dropping pellets of larvicide in all the ponds from a helio-chopter every spring.

When I moved in put up a couple of bat houses, the design was from an article I read, in Mother Earth News if I recall correctly. They look like Furby's except the back wall is a couple inches longer to act as a landing pad, and there is a bottom that covers the all but an inch against the back wall. This is supposed to help stop drafts from cooling it too much.

I like sitting out back and watching the little buggers against the sky just before dark. They sure is a talented bunch of aviators.  ;D

[Ron Scott]

Here are some plans.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/springfield/bat_houses.html

[Ron Scott]

"The Post Bat House Design" is another design that is being used on National Forests and National Parks.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/cave/batpost.htm

[SwampDonkey]

I was thinking that bigger would be better, and Ron's link seems to confirm it. Gonna have to tote my cement mix in the wheel barrel and mix it with pond water. If I can't get pressure treated, I'll use a tamarack post. My biggest fear is having some moose hunter use the box for targets.  :

[SwampDonkey]

The plans Radar linked to seem to be pretty good, I'll just add an extra 12 inches to the design.

[Tom]

Put an official looking sign on the house saying that it has to do with the protection of the newly discovered night flying wooly squirouse, long thought to be extinct.  A $40,000 fine and 15 years of incarceration might add a good touch. The sign won't bother the bats. :D

[Furby]

Bet they shoot a few extra times with a sign on it. :-\

[SwampDonkey]

Anything here out of sight of a residence with a sign on it, might as well have a target pasted to it Tom. The red necks like shooting up road signs and sometimes take them as trophies.  :

Maybe if I put something up like.

Do not disturb.

Biological insect control.

Myotis lucifugus rearing site.

[LedlieLogs]

Swamp Donkey,
I don't know if this will work in your neck of the woods or not. We just stick a Budweiser sticker on anything we don't want shot. Down here the rednecks will not shoot the "King of beers". Long live Little E.
Ledlie

[SwampDonkey]

The consumption of copious amounts of that labeled brew is usually behind the destruction.  :

[Bill Johnson]

Putting up signs might work, but then you are assuming that they are smart enough to read.  If they're not smart enough not too wantonly destroy property, would they be intellegent enough to read? :D

[SwampDonkey]

Precisely.

[Radar67]

I was sort of thinking the same thing.  :D

Stew

[Murf]

Maybe start with a bat house decoy, with a few trail cams around the area.

It worked for a buddy who's outhouse used to get shot up every year during hunting season.

He found out a neighbour was using it to sight in his rifle. The neighbour kindly offered to pay quite generously for the nice pictures of him in his hunting gear.  :D

[LedlieLogs]

Thats a great idea Murf! Make sure the flash is turned off or the last picture you see my be an up close shot of a bullet.

[TexasTimbers]

Stew, did you ever institute your bat plan? I am covered up in flies and skeeters especially. Hate the DanG things. I have thought about bat houses in the past.

[SwampDonkey]

Kev, I'm making a bat house soon. I don't have flies too much at the house, nor bats. No water. I'm erecting mine out by a beaver pond. I'm using Stews plans he posted. There will be pics coming.  ;)

[TexasTimbers]

Cool. Can't wait to see it. I wonder if i could entice some bats to live in my shop. ???

You would not believe the size of the mosquitos this year. I have never seen any this big. At first I questioned whether or not they actually were skeeters. Then, when one landed on my arm and I watched it insert its pipeline into my skin, and felt that slight stinging sensation, my doubts were erased.

I'm going in for a transfusion at lunch.

[metalspinner]

We had a bat house building party for the Cub Scouts this year.






One of many hammered fingers that day...



They enjoyed wearing the glasses as much as building the houses...



A very trusting grandpa...

[Radar67]

Stew, did you ever institute your bat plan?

I hate to say that I have not...I've been covered up with more than I can do for some time now. It is still on my list of things to do though, just not very high up.... ;)

Stew

[WDH]

Get Metalspinner to get the troops to come down and put his assembly line strategy to good use :D.

[Radar67]

Danny, I have another confession to make, while the assembly line idea is a good one, I have problems not doing something myself. The wife says I'm too much of a perfectionist.  ;D

Stew

[SwampDonkey]

Don't kid yourself WDH. If the wife washes his laundry and cooks his supper he won't stand in the way of progress.  :D :D :D ;D

[Radar67]

She even takes the garbage out too.  ;) ;) ;) But she don't know a thing about driving nails or sawmilling. :(

Stew

[WDH]

So true, Stew.  You and I are bats birds of a feather ;D

[Radar67]

Yeah, she takes care of me...and I take care of everything else.  ;D

Stew

[SwampDonkey]

There appear to be bats visiting my bat box Radar. I see droppings at the base of the pole. No permanent residents yet. ;)

[Radar67]

That's good to hear SD. It shouldn't be long before one of them decides to homestead and move the family in. 

I've noticed a few flying around on my place, so one of my fall projects will have to be to get my house built.

Stew

[Raphael]

  We've got a healthy population of little brown bats going here and plan on incorporating a pair of bat houses on the south wall.  Unfortunately I sealed a pair of them into one of my gable ends this summer while trimming out the house.
  I extricated one (while he chewed on my finger) and he flew off but this little girl was stuck bad.


  I managed to get her loose without breaking any bones but she appears to have a dislocation or sprain that's keeping her from flying.

  I cared for her for several days and now she's with the local bat rescue lady.

  If your going to play with bats (and other wild animals) you may want to spring for the rabies vaccine up front.  The treatment they give you after the fact includes 4  RIG (rabies immune globulin) shots in addition to the first of the rabies vaccine shots.  RIG is very expensive.

[Tom]

What is the difference in the treatment after the fact and the treatment before the fact?

[Furby]

Bout $1000! :D :D :D :D :D :D

[SwampDonkey]

My uncles house "is a bat house" in the summer months. He's close to the river and they roost around the flue and eves of the house. I did see one bat in my wood pile this summer. I don't hope to be handling the critters. Just let them go to my bat house and be on their own.  ;)

Apparently, they go to limestone caves down in the Bay of Fundy area. I read a report some of those caves are 50 F during the winter months. I guess you'd call that migratory, but I know they don't go thousands of miles from here, they aren't birds. ;)

[Raphael]

What is the difference in the treatment after the fact and the treatment before the fact?

  If you get the series of rabies vaccines before having been bit then you just need a single vaccine booster shot (one small shot in the arm) if you do get bit.  If you are unvaccinated when you get bit then you get the entire rabies vaccine plus the RIG which was 40cc in the backside I could have done without.  :D

It's worse than you think Furby...  My emergency room bill was ~$4k, of that the RIG was ~$3k while the complete rabies vaccine series and a tetnus booster were under $500.