Bat Houses?

[Wishfulthinker580]

What do y’all think about them? Is the rabies risk (perhaps minimal) worth the benefit of insect control? Something like 1% of bats carry it but if you get it and show symptoms before getting the vaccine it’s almost always fatal.

 

[Muskox]

There are bat boxes all over Germany.

There are tons of flies still.

 

[K-man]

The insects they eat ( mostly mosquitoes) in our area are way worse than the chances of being bitten by a bat. I’ve not heard of anyone bitten by a bat that wasn’t trying to handle one. Something like 8k to 10 k mosquitoes per night. Cool creatures. Everything in balance, including bats. The caves they inhabit over the years harbor a lot of diseases, but that’s a controlled condensed environment.

 

[Sideshow]

Seen plenty in lofts here in the UK also help put up a few bat house’s in a renovation where the roof was getting replaced on a huge pile.
Cool little buggers.

 

[odonata]

I had a scrap sheet of plywood laying around so I decided to make a bat house just for the fun of it. I haven't been attacked by a rabid one so far.

It was fun to cobble one together. I was just trying to give them an alternative place to hang out when I found them inhabiting some spots I'd rather not have them in.

When my daughter was working on her PhD at the University of Florida, we used to go out to their bat houses at dusk to watch the 500,000 bats depart. They don't seem to have a problem with a large population of them on campus.

 

[Russ16]

My neighbor has them and I love watching the bats. I’ve thought of putting one up but never have gotten around to it. I say go for it.

 

[rookhawk]

What do y’all think about them? Is the rabies risk (perhaps minimal) worth the benefit of insect control? Something like 1% of bats carry it but if you get it and show symptoms before getting the vaccine it’s almost always fatal.

Every gentleman should have bat houses, kestrel houses, and screech owl houses.

Build all of them and install them. Predators are the conservationists friend when under husbandry!

Rabies is very rare. Bats are far, far more likely to die of fungal diseases in the caves of America. Building them wood houses as colonies is their best chance to survive lethal diseases in their natural colonies.

 

[steve white]

You'll find bats on the underside of most any bridge that is dark underneath.

OTOH, I think most any married dwelling is a bat house.

 

[Trogon]

My daughter wants a bat box for next spring as she has had them flying around her home and gardens during the summer, so now her husband has a winter project. I've looked into these, some caveats for making them lighter colored (not dark stained) and keeping out of direct sunlight so the boxes don't overheat in the summer and kill them. Very cool critters. It's nice to read on this forum that others are considering building roosting habitat. This is I believe a Hoary Bat roosting on stack platform grating 150 feet above grade from a month ago in northern Indiana.

 

[Doug3006]

Unless you intentionally handle bats, the chance of being bitten by one is near zero, Most people would be surprised to find how many bats are flying around their neighborhood at night. Give them a good home so they don’t roost in your attic or outbuildings.

 

[Boone66]

I have them in my shop, I need to build a couple of these, I've caught them in my house a few times, as long as you don't man handle them, they are fine, I catch them mostly with a small net and use my hands , like you would with a bird.

 

[Sideshow]

Long eared bat here in the uk. Get them in the old houses here. They love old tree trunks as well.

See them a lot when at work.

 

[BeeMaa]

We’ve considered a bat house but have yet to find a suitable location.

Last year my friend (IGS) and I made an owl house that my wife requested. Of course the BS kit that she ordered from Amazon had to be reinforced and properly supported.

 

[Doug3006]

Fledermous is German for Bat. A much better term for an interesting creature.

 

[MS 9x56]

We had a bunch behind the chimney on our house. So I built a bat house painted it white on the outside and black on the inside, hung it on a tree behind the house at the edge of the yard and the bats moved to it. I was shocked but the colony is still using it 12 years later.

 

[rookhawk]

We’ve considered a bat house but have yet to find a suitable location.

Last year my friend (IGS) and I made an owl house that my wife requested. Of course the BS kit that she ordered from Amazon had to be reinforced and properly supported.

View attachment 721637

A bit of trivia for you. In the USA, the Screech Owl and American Kestrel use the exact same houses with only two differences: 1.) The hole is drilled to a different size for the species, and 2.) The compass direction the box faces is different.

Both species are super useful to the farmer or rancher and their offspring get mighty tame if you frequent the area.

 

[BeeMaa]

A bit of trivia for you. In the USA, the Screech Owl and American Kestrel use the exact same houses with only two differences: 1.) The hole is drilled to a different size for the species, and 2.) The compass direction the box faces is different.

Both species are super useful to the farmer or rancher and their offspring get mighty tame if you frequent the area.

For reference, I was in charge of building of the box. It was her responsibility to find a suitable tree, proper height for it and direction…and that’s where it sits.

Appreciate the info on the differences.

 

[fourfive8]

Bats are specialists for nocturnal insects. Many species of flying insects are diurnal.

Most cavity nesters prefer the hole above the internal cavity. Many or most prefer to not have a perch outside the hole. Perches can provide a place for nest predators like ravens to perch while raiding nestlings. Most cavity nesters prefer northerly to north easterly facing holes.

Also a good idea to place nesting boxes on climb proof poles, like hurricane fence corner poles. Best way to defeat nest raiders like weasels.

 

[B0MBOY]

So once you have bats in your area if you want to have some fun throw a tennis ball up into the air and they will swerve to try to catch it. Sometimes they even succeed and fly the ball a few yards before they realize it’s too heavy and let go.

 

[fourfive8]

Bat houses are cool and worth the effort. The one posted has good plan. They need to be elevated for protection and provide chimney effect ventilation. Also good to be in midday to afternoon shade to help cooling.

Nesting boxes for cavity nesters can be built using simple materials. Many species will use these. Most somewhat species specific, usually size related. Below are a couple of many I have around the property. The larger one is preferred by bluebirds (Western and Mountain). The smaller one is preferred by chickadees and similarly sized cavity nesters. They need to be emptied at least every couple of years to help prevent parasites. The ones I placed around the property have been in place and functional for 25 years.