Bat House Forum

[WhiteT5]

Hey guys. I am completely new to the forum and to the whole idea of bat houses and attracting bats, so please excuse any dumb questions . Firstly, I live in semi-rural Denton county, Texas, about an hour northwest of Dallas. There are sooo many insects out here, it is simply incredible. Combine this with the fact that I started a vegetable garden this year, and you can see why I might want some natural pest control for the area around my property. Additionally, I think bats are just fascinating creatures and would love to have them around.

That said, I just purchased an Audubon bat house from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Woodlink-NABAT-Au ... 086&sr=1-2

I'm not necessarily intent on attracting hundreds of bats and I know I won't do that with this house. I am just curious if anyone here has had experience with this particular house. Any tips or opinions on it?

As I said, I live in North Texas. Daytime high temperatures in the summer months usually hover around 100 degrees F in the shade, so I am a bit hesitant to paint the house darker than its natural color, for fear of overheating any potential tenants. Is it reasonable to leave it a natural wood color? Can I get away with mounting it on the north side of my house given the hot climate here? There are several livestock ponds and a decent size creek within a mile or two of my house, so I am hoping that works in my favor.

My only other concern is predators. There are couple pesky neighborhood cats that I have seen hanging out on our roof and fence. Will their presence scare away any bats? Are snakes considered predators to bats? We have had 4 to 5 foot long rat snakes in the yard that I think could easily eat a bat, given the opportunity.

Anything else I am missing?

[flyin-lowe]

It is hard to tell from the pictures and the description doesn't say- how many chambers is it? From the description it sounds like it is only 1 chamber. If that is the case it is way to wide. Each chamber should be around 3/4 inch and not more then 1 inch. Also where are you going to mount it? The thing you need to remember is they need to be warm in the morning (it should hang were it will get sun) and they also like temperature variables. That is why more chambers is more attractive to them. If it gets to hot in one chamber they can move to another where it is cooler. Or they can mover lower in the house. If you go to Batcon.org they have lots of information about the specs for a bat house and mounting advice. Let us know more about the house and where exactly you plan to hang it. It should be away from trees so it is not shaded and getting some sun.

[cloudman75]

The house is small and listed to hold only 20 bats. For about 5 bucks more the triple chamber would have been large enough for the colony to have pups.
That is just my opinion. Here is a much better buy. You might consider putting it up also if you are serious about bats.http://www.amazon.com/Looker-OBC-Bat-Tr ... B000FLTO6A Good Luck

Frank

[Markcuda]

Frank, I bought that house a few weeks ago.
I liked it so much that I bought the five chamber that they make.
Very good build quality

[WhiteT5]

I found the BatCon recommendations a bit after I purchased this box. I assume that since it has the Audubon mark on it, it can't be too bad. I'll be sure to take more pictures when it arrives. If it is really not a good setup, I may just send it back. Amazon makes returns very simple in my experience.

[cloudman75]

Markcuda,
I followed your purchase of both houses. Both houses were, in my opinion very good choices. I counted 91 in my 3 chamber OBC this
week that I have owned for several years unpainted. Yours looks identical. The bats have loved this house from day 1 and it has been home to many pups over the years. It would be hard to do better than the 5 chamber also in my opinion.

WhiteT5, While the house you bought is constructed well, it is just too small in my experience. I saw that house on Amazon a couple of years ago and was shocked to see Audubon on it due to its size. I would order the three chamber and send that one back, but that is just my opinion. The three chamber would last many years and probably support 100 adults and their pups OK as I have had that many in mine. They claim 300 bats but 100 adults plus 100 pups is too crowded when the pups get to flying. Some of my mothers often move into a larger house . I am talking about little browns. Of course, the bats make the final determination, but I always try to provide them with a house that has adequate space to keep pups from falling out due to being overcrowded. I now have 6 bat houses as bats are one of my favorite wildlife projects. I would hope that some of the others who have experience will chime in
and express their opinions so that you could weigh the responses and make the right decision. I learned a long time ago that bats are not predictable. Also I agree that you should not paint your house in Texas which brings up another problem with the audubon house. It appears not to have enough ventilation for Texas heat.
I am disappointed in audubon putting their name on such a small house as I always thought their name meant the best available
for birds. Then I remembered bats are mammals.
In reply to your questions, Rat snakes do eat bats, Cats kill bats. In Texas it gets warm enough to mount a bat house for pups on
the north side exposure. I would suggest a metal or wood pole 12 ft high minimum with a predator guard due to your snakes and cats.

Frank

[William Bagwell]

As to leaving a bat house unpainted. If Denton county falls in that large swath of Texas that is zone 3 then I would say most unpainted wood fits the definition of light to medium. If not then I would suggest painting it.

http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/bathouses/ColorRecs.pdf

Bat Conservation Internationals main office is in Austin, Texas. When I recently contacted them regarding my certification bat house they requested a medium color. "... any medium color bat house would be fine (say something darker than a cardboard box) - that would work well for this area"

WhiteT5, please measure the crevice width while your taking those pictures. I'm curious about that since the dimensions they give are thick enough for two chambers yet they do not mention how may. Agree with others that a single ~2" chamber is useless.

William

[cloudman75]

William,
I will be surprised if the chamber measures more than 3/4 inches. Looking closely at the photo of the house, it appears the front and back boards are in a router groove inside the side boards. The face and back boards are not even flush with the side boards is my take on it. I will be looking forward to read the answer from your question to white T.
I usually make one chamber one inch in my houses and they are used OK.
I am glad that you are getting some bats.
Joe sent me a photo of actual size guano of little browns and big browns once, but I cannot find it.

Frank

[po boy]

If you scroll down the Amazon link you will find this about half way down:

Product Description
Give the bats in your backyard a place to roost by placing the Audubon Cedar Bat Shelter. With a single chamber large enough for 20 bats, this bat shelter is perfect for your small backyard colony. The interior surface and landing platform are made of rou

[William Bagwell]

"Product Dimensions: 12 x 4.2 x 16 inches ; 5 pounds"
Assuming the front and back insets are 1/2" each and the lumber thickness is 3/4, then a single chamber will be approximately 1-3/4". 1/4" inset = approximately 2-1/4"

Which would be exactly enough space to add a second partition and have two perfect 3/4" chambers. Sadly it looks like marketing took over design...

William

[Terry Lobdell]

White T5, I can't add much more than what the others have already said on here.......all good advice........I do have one of the OBC boxes that was given to me several years ago.........I do have bats using it........it is constructed of cedar and has held up well in the weather.....

You definitely should put a predator guard on if snakes are present........

[cloudman75]

William I going to guess the cavity is like you said. I read the reviews and one person commented that the space was too large.
I would bet that even the 4.2 inches listed is not correct.
Even if were 3 1/2" the chamber spacing would still be 1.5 inches or more.

Frank

[Joe Spencer]

William,
I will be surprised if the chamber measures more than 3/4 inches. Looking closely at the photo of the house, it appears the front and back boards are in a router groove inside the side boards. The face and back boards are not even flush with the side boards is my take on it. I will be looking forward to read the answer from your question to white T.
I usually make one chamber one inch in my houses and they are used OK.
I am glad that you are getting some bats.
Joe sent me a photo of actual size guano of little browns and big browns once, but I cannot find it.

Frank

Frank, here it is from my old site years ago: http://batnic.tripod.com/guano.html

[cloudman75]

Thanks Joe.


Frank

[Lacey]

Hi,
I can't add much more than, what the others have already said on here.all good advice.I do have one of the obc boxes that was given to me several years ago.I do have bats using it,it is constructed of cedar and has held up well in the weather.....