A bat house may not be a bat home.
Putting up a bat box or bat house can bring bats into a neighborhood where there's otherwise nowhere for them to roost. That's a good thing: A single brown bat can eat 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour, making them an effective, environmentally friendly form of pest control. The loss of natural roosts has put many bat species into a population decline, but installing bat houses can help counter that. You can download bat box designs from the Internet, but even if you're a gifted carpenter, it will take more than building a solid house to make bats want to live there.
Instructions
Bringing Bats to Your House
1. Pick the right bat box. Bat Conservation International says bat houses should be at least 2 feet tall, with chambers at least 20 inches tall and 14 inches wide and a 3- to 6-inch landing area below the entrance. Bat boxes should have one to four roosting chambers, with partitions spaced 3/4 inch to 1 inch apart. These guidelines hold whether you're building your own bat box or buying one.
2. Choose the right location for your bat box. Bat Conservation and Management Inc. says bat houses need seven hours of morning sunlight, which means you're making a mistake if you hang it in shade, or from a tree. Other common errors include locations where artificial lights shine directly into the box at night; alongside roads, because cars are hazardous for bats; and anywhere public enough for people to harass or disturb the bats. The company's website also advises against hanging the box too far from a permanent source of drinking water.
3. Keep the box warm. Bat Conservation International says keeping temperatures at 80 to 100 degrees is the biggest single factor in making your box inviting to bats. BCI recommends putting the box where it will face east or south, and on wood or masonry structures rather than poles because that will keep the temperatures more stable.
4. Think about what's under your bat box. Bat houses are typically built with open bottoms so that guano doesn't pile up inside them; if they're over windows, decks or walkways, guano and urine will land there instead. BCI suggests placing plant trays or pots underneath so that the guano will become fertilizer.
5. Maintain the bat box. Bat Conservation and Management recommends at least a yearly inspection for leaks, loose seams, drafts and wood warping. BCI suggests monthly inspections to check for predators, wasp nests, hornets and other problems that could drive bats off. Both groups recommend putting a bat box where you can inspect it without too much difficulty.
Tags: Conservation International, Conservation International says, Conservation Management, International says, putting where, says houses