Ok, I'd REALLY like to put up a bathouse in my backyard, but I'm not
thinking there's anywhere I can put it. Just how finicky are bats about the
positioning and location of the house?

James

I looked all over the internet to find a site that would give you good
area specific advice and couldn't find anything. Maybe one of the
universities in Ohio has an etymology department. Where's Bill and
Doug when you need them?

Well heck, I found a couple of sites and did drum up information on the
species around here but naturally I lost the sites. Hang on.... Here's
one:

http://www.mammalsociety.org/statelists/ohmammals.html

For the main part, the ones we see most are Brown bats I believe -- the
"Little" variety. I've heard talk of Indiana bats as well, and the Gray is
supposed to be in our area too.

I'm thinking of just putting up a very tall pole with the bathouse in the
middle of the back yard and seeing what we get. I figure if we get nada
then they just don't like us.

James

VERY!

It has to be high enough that they can launch themselves into
flight from the doorway.

It has to be away from high-traffic areas.

It has to be in an area that gets enough, but not too much, sun.

And for the homeowner,it has to be in a spot where the guano is
not going to be a problem.

Now therein is the issue -- to hear some talk, these things can be as close
to the ground as 7-8 feet and they'll still be occupied. It's a curious
thing.

James

The house needs to have a minimum of 8 hours of direct sun on
it...depending on
how far south you live. I had to paint mine white to reflect some of the
sun.
We also put it on its own pole, using cement. It's on a telescoping pole
so we
can clean it during winter. Of course, some of the immature males hang
around
here in Austin all winter (our winters are mild).

A telescoping pole sounds like a good idea -- where did you find yours?

James

On Sun, 23 Feb 2003 01:07:22 -0500, "Noctaire"
wrote:

VERY!

It has to be high enough that they can launch themselves into
flight from the doorway.

It has to be away from high-traffic areas.

It has to be in an area that gets enough, but not too much, sun.

And for the homeowner,it has to be in a spot where the guano is
not going to be a problem.

Now therein is the issue -- to hear some talk, these things can be as close
to the ground as 7-8 feet and they'll still be occupied. It's a curious
thing.

James


The bat house at UCF is a 4' cube on legs, the bottom of the cube is
about 3' above grade. When I moved mine and attached it to the tree
it was almost 5' above grade.

zhan

On Sun, 23 Feb 2003 01:06:04 -0500, "Noctaire" wrote:

I looked all over the internet to find a site that would give you good
area specific advice and couldn't find anything. Maybe one of the
universities in Ohio has an etymology department. Where's Bill and
Doug when you need them?

Well heck, I found a couple of sites and did drum up information on the
species around here but naturally I lost the sites. Hang on.... Here's
one:

http://www.mammalsociety.org/statelists/ohmammals.html

For the main part, the ones we see most are Brown bats I believe -- the
"Little" variety. I've heard talk of Indiana bats as well, and the Gray is
supposed to be in our area too.

I'm thinking of just putting up a very tall pole with the bathouse in the
middle of the back yard and seeing what we get. I figure if we get nada
then they just don't like us.

James


You will greatly increase your chances if you hang an old sock filled with bat
guano on the pole. The Boyscouts did this experiment a while back and reported
it to Wildbirds Unlimited (where we bought our 200 bat, bat house).

On Sun, 23 Feb 2003 01:07:22 -0500, "Noctaire" wrote:

Now therein is the issue -- to hear some talk, these things can be as close
to the ground as 7-8 feet and they'll still be occupied. It's a curious
thing.

James


The recommendation to elevate it is not so much due to the bats liking the
height (though they do), but to prevent predators eating the young at night when
the mother goes out to forage. We have ours on a 15 foot, telescoping pole. We
bought one bag of quick crete, dug a hole which was wider at the bottom, and put
the bat house on the east side of the garden, with the front facing the
southwest. Bats fly east in the evening, not the other way. I wonder why? Are
they flying away from the dusk of the sun?

On Sun, 23 Feb 2003 01:08:35 -0500, "Noctaire" wrote:


A telescoping pole sounds like a good idea -- where did you find yours?

James

I believe we bought ours for about 35 dollars at Home Depot or Lowes in their
Purple Martin house section. This year I wanted to get one of those up, and I
will, but it may be too late to attract them this year. They're already showing
up, slowly.

On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 14:20:26 -0500, "Noctaire"
wrote:

I keep forgetting to put my rec.gardens sig in my posting -- I'm active in a
number of newsgroups. Sigh I'm up in Cincinnati, Ohio -- Zone 6a.

As for what kind of bat, that's an easy one -- the kind that eats bugs.
I am not certain what types of bats are indigenous to Southwestern Ohio but
I have seen them buzzing about overhead at dusk. We're probably a mile or
so away from the Ohio river, half mile from the Mill Creek (sort of a
dumping creek by the railyards) but the bats are still plentiful around
here.

With all of the mosquitoes, I'd like to get a little clan of bats living in
the back here so we can get a little better control on them -- my neighbors
won't take care of their water issues and I'm tired of getting eaten alive
so....

James

I looked all over the internet to find a site that would give you good
area specific advice and couldn't find anything. Maybe one of the
universities in Ohio has an etymology department. Where's Bill and
Doug when you need them?

Good Luck with your project. btw, sometime it takes at least a year
for the bat houses to attract the bats.

zhan

On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 14:20:26 -0500, "Noctaire"
wrote:

I keep forgetting to put my rec.gardens sig in my posting -- I'm active in a
number of newsgroups. Sigh I'm up in Cincinnati, Ohio -- Zone 6a.

As for what kind of bat, that's an easy one -- the kind that eats bugs.
I am not certain what types of bats are indigenous to Southwestern Ohio but
I have seen them buzzing about overhead at dusk. We're probably a mile or
so away from the Ohio river, half mile from the Mill Creek (sort of a
dumping creek by the railyards) but the bats are still plentiful around
here.

With all of the mosquitoes, I'd like to get a little clan of bats living in
the back here so we can get a little better control on them -- my neighbors
won't take care of their water issues and I'm tired of getting eaten alive
so....

James

I looked all over the internet to find a site that would give you good
area specific advice and couldn't find anything. Maybe one of the
universities in Ohio has an etymology department. Where's Bill and
Doug when you need them?

Good Luck with your project. btw, sometime it takes at least a year
for the bat houses to attract the bats.

zhan

"Noctaire" wrote in message ...
Ok, I'd REALLY like to put up a bathouse in my backyard, but I'm not
thinking there's anywhere I can put it. Just how finicky are bats about the
positioning and location of the house?

James

Last year I put one up about 15 ft up the north side of a tall pine
tree. The bats used it heavily in spring and early summer - had a half
inch thick pile of droppings under it. Then I started finding dead
bats under it and all the rest left. Don't know what happened, but I
was concerned about rabies or West Nile virus, although heat could
have been a possibility also.

Bob

On 24 Feb 2003 20:46:30 -0800, (Scheffler) wrote:

"Noctaire" wrote in message ...
Ok, I'd REALLY like to put up a bathouse in my backyard, but I'm not
thinking there's anywhere I can put it. Just how finicky are bats about the
positioning and location of the house?

James

Last year I put one up about 15 ft up the north side of a tall pine
tree. The bats used it heavily in spring and early summer - had a half
inch thick pile of droppings under it. Then I started finding dead
bats under it and all the rest left. Don't know what happened, but I
was concerned about rabies or West Nile virus, although heat could
have been a possibility also.

Bob

Bats like to be very warm. Having a bat house in direct southern exposure is
still recommended, even here in Texas. The bats like it to be about 104
degrees.

We are located in AL and have procrastinated about getting a bat
population started. We have looked at plans for the houses and where
they prefer to be positioned and I had a few questions.

As we are so far south will the bats get too hot in summer if we put
them in full sun and up a 15-foot pole? Could that be why some of the
rec.garden listers are saying they had inhabitants at below that
height?

On the bat houses that some house different numbers of bats. How many
bats should a person try to cultivate per acre? Have any of you had
your population long enough to see a decrease in the amount of
mosquitoes?

I note that you should live within one-quarter mile of a water source.
We live within that distance of a small river. Will the bats leave
the bat house and head for the river or do they mainly hunt close to
home?

Are the houses sufficient to build a population or do you need to get
a brood box as well?

Xref: news7 rec.gardens:214053

On 16 Mar 2003 11:17:47 -0800, (mypet)
wrote:

We are located in AL and have procrastinated about getting a bat
population started. We have looked at plans for the houses and where
they prefer to be positioned and I had a few questions.

As we are so far south will the bats get too hot in summer if we put
them in full sun and up a 15-foot pole? Could that be why some of the
rec.garden listers are saying they had inhabitants at below that
height?

Position the bathouse so that it gets plenty of afternoon shade.
Early morning sun is okay. The entrance shoul dbe clear of branches.


On the bat houses that some house different numbers of bats. How many
bats should a person try to cultivate per acre? Have any of you had
your population long enough to see a decrease in the amount of
mosquitoes?

Set out several bat houses. It will take some time for the bats to
discover it. They prefer older structures. My bathouse can hold up
to 150 bats, and includes a nursary attic. There are plenty of
mosquitoes, and we still have to be careful about stagnant water. The
pond is supposed to reduce mosquitoes provided that it is well-stocked
with hungry fish.

I note that you should live within one-quarter mile of a water source.
We live within that distance of a small river. Will the bats leave
the bat house and head for the river or do they mainly hunt close to
home?

They forage out if there is not enough food available.


Are the houses sufficient to build a population or do you need to get
a brood box as well?

Add more bathouses as they fill up.

Bats migrate and get pregnant when they mate at the migration destination. Here in
Austin, they migrate to Mexico. Generally, only the females return with their
pregnant bellies. They give birth and don't leave the bat house for weeks at a time,
then will fly east at dusk. They feed on big juicy moths, mosquitoes, and other
flying insects at night. I have a bat house for 200 bats. It looks like it can fit
ten bats!

It is south facing, on a 15 foot pole and I put some bat guano around the base and
filled a sock and dunked the sock in water and hung it on the back of the house. The
bats are starting to return to the area from their migration, so I haven't seen any
yet. There is the second largest urban colony about 2 miles west of my house under
an overpass at Mc neil Road and I-35. They fly by our backyard by the hundreds of
thousands every night. It looks like a huge bunch of swarms as they emerge.

Go to this website to find out much, much more than I can ever tell you:

http://www.batcon.org/

Victoria


On 16 Mar 2003 11:17:47 -0800, (mypet) wrote:

We are located in AL and have procrastinated about getting a bat
population started. We have looked at plans for the houses and where
they prefer to be positioned and I had a few questions.

As we are so far south will the bats get too hot in summer if we put
them in full sun and up a 15-foot pole? Could that be why some of the
rec.garden listers are saying they had inhabitants at below that
height?

On the bat houses that some house different numbers of bats. How many
bats should a person try to cultivate per acre? Have any of you had
your population long enough to see a decrease in the amount of
mosquitoes?

I note that you should live within one-quarter mile of a water source.
We live within that distance of a small river. Will the bats leave
the bat house and head for the river or do they mainly hunt close to
home?

Are the houses sufficient to build a population or do you need to get
a brood box as well?