Bat House Forum

[jacqhaley]

Hi. Our house is on a lake in northern New Jersey (there should be a picture below). We often find bats sleeping in our umbrellas and last summer they also started to roost above our new balcony (the wood is stained dark brown now). Sometimes we see them sleeping in the eaves of our balcony during the day.

We would like to attract more bats and improve their accommodations with a bat house. They clearly like the eaves location and it would be great to observe them from our bedroom. However, if we attach the bat house to the wall at the peak of the eaves, their droppings will land right by the balcony door. Also, a standard shaped bat house might partially cover the triangular windows.

Could we attach a rocket-shaped house to the wall between the two triangles (I think they are about 12 inches apart)? Maybe we could attach some sort of droppings collection pan beneath it. Is that realistic? If the bat house is somehow attached any lower than the peak or on a nearby tree, won't they just prefer to roost up at the top of the eaves? The eaves are much higher than anything we could get to in a tree. It seems that we need to provide them with a good alternative because I see no other way to discourage them from roosting above our balcony, and their droppings are a real problem.

Any advice is appreciated!

[Joe Spencer]

Hi! I would recommend mounting 1 -2 nursery houses beneath the eaves on the other side of the house/dormer. It would/should be high enough and protective enough to relocate them. If possible please post another photo of this other side/corner/dormer. I am referring to the other side of the corner which is two ft. or so to the right of the rightmost light fixture above the balcony depicted in your photo. Bat house(s) mounted here would keep droppings off the balcony. If you have the same window on this side that I see in the photo side I would put one bat house on the corner side of the window and another bat house on the other side of the window if there. What is beneath this side of the house? Shrubs flowers or a just a continuation of the walkway up against the house? Looks like one bat house could be mounted from the upper balcony location using a step ladder but another bat house on the proposed side may require an extension ladder? Can you post a photo of the other side of the house and tell us what direction it faces and amount of sunshine it receives? By mounting bat house(s) on the corner of houses you can greatly increase the amount of solar exposure which is especially helpful with nursery colonies which prefer to roost next to lakes and bodies of water. Very nice home and location. We'll await your feedback. Cheers Joe...

[jacqhaley]

Joe, Thanks for your ideas! We are thrilled with the idea of nursery boxes.

I believe that your suggestion is to place one box on either side of this window. I think that the location will work fine with regard to droppings. The "walk" starts a few feet from the house. The back of the house faces pretty much exactly south and the side window faces east. The sun exposure is excellent- in fact plants on the balcony tend to turn themselves toward the east because it gets strong morning sun. By around mid-day, that side of the house is shaded, but it is still bright.

There is a few feet above the light, not including the sofit (?). There is only about 12" of space between the rafters, so it cannot go higher. Would the location of the light be a problem? (We never turn it on). If we can't put one above the light, could one be hung onto that beam? I'll have a planter on that railing below.

Thanks again!

[Dave Miller]

I have had success with bat houses mounted to chimneys. If you have one and it gets some sun, that might be an option. But it needs to have at least 3' of space below the bottom of the bat house.

[Joe Spencer]

Thanks for posting the additional photo. Eastern exposure is great! Above the flood light fixture would not be as good as immediately below it when considering clearance as Dave mentions however, if you never use the flood light then mounting one house directly below the flood light fixture would be fine and then mounting the other to the right of the window would be great as well. If you're not concerned about aesthetics then mounting a bat house on the beam would probably be ok as well as long as your rightmost light above the balcony is not too bright. Many bat house enthusiasts have reported that lights deter bats and others have reported that it isn't as significant in reducing occupancy rates as previously thought.

“We first noticed bats roosting in recessed light fixtures on our porch,” says Carol Adams. “We liked the bats, but didn’t want them in the fixtures, so we installed bat houses. They moved in immediately.”

Jury is still out on this one. It is all about experimenting. With a beam mounting and vantage point you certainly would get a bats eye view! pardon the pun of them exiting which is a thrill to behold, fun and you could easily keep records of bat counts during the season which provides insight and invaluable data as well. Though lower you could also try the lower beam (balcony support beam) which is still high enough to attract bats. Good luck on your decision and if you can get a nursery house or two up in February - March you may have an excellent chance of occupancy this season! Maternity colonies arrive/form prior to bachelor colonies. Other forum members may have additional suggestions and recommendations so stay tuned. Looking forward to your progress...

[IowaNate]

Here's where I would try bat house locations on your home. A nice medium sized three chamber bat house painted to match the color of your house would be ideal for starting.

[jacqhaley]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a few follow-up questions. First- why two boxes? To give them options? Also, we just realized that this window opens OUT and we keep it open almost all the time in the summer. If that is a problem, what about putting one or both boxes farther down the side of the house? Note that the farther back, the less sun as this is the eastern side of the house. Also, it is farther from the lake edge.
In the meantime, we are shopping for "certified" three-chamber nursery boxes and will try to get them up in February.

[Joe Spencer]

If the corner one doesn't interfere with opening the window I would keep it there and move the other further down to the right. If the proposed corner bat house does interfere with the window opening, I would place it 2-3 ft. to the right of the proposed (window right) bat house. Locating both houses to the right of the window is also something else to consider. Bats often defecate(poop letting one fly) in flight prior to entering the bat house and sometimes it will stick to the side of a building for a short time before falling or the elements eventually wash it off. If you mount both of them (bat houses) to the right of the window you will be less likely to have them poop on the window or screening. It is usually not a major problem though. Now why two bat houses? Reasons: Firstly, studies and feedback show that when more than one bat house is mounted bat house occupancy rates rise. Secondly, as you said, it gives bats options. Lastly, bats like any wild or non-wild animal, harbor parasites. Many biologists and bat house enthusiasts have noticed that bats and bat colonies will often switch roosts although the temperatures and environment in the new(switched) roost is basically identical to the former roost. The only thing they could surmise was that it helps bats keep their parasites down to tolerable levels. How this is achieved with the alternate roost only a few feet away is still a mystery I believe. One researcher noticed that when the bats left to forage he found parasites in the bat house. It seemed as if the parasites knew when the bats were about to leave for flight and foraging and departed their host staying in the bat house awaiting the return of their host (bats). It is possible the specific parasites could be disconnected from their hosts during flight. The latter is still debated but there seems to be a potential connection and pattern. I have been in a few older large barns which had nursery colonies and found guano dispersed throughout the floor with the greatest concentrations of guano on the floors of the opposite gable ends. The colony appeared to switch locations within the same large structure multiple times within the same season. Hope this helps. Please see the below for some great info on bat parasites:





INFO ON PHOTOS ABOVE HERE: http://davidsbatblog.blogspot.com/2008/ ... sites.html