Bat House Forum

[Munks]

Hello!

I'm in Seattle and mounted a Rocket Box from Bats Northwest in February. I have yet to see bats, though I know it may take some time for them to find it. However I also have a murder of black crows in my neighborhood. They like to post a scout in my yard as I feed loads of birds and they grab what is left on the ground. The scout has now chosen my lovely bat house as his post. When he lands and takes off, this causes the house to sway back and forth an inch or two. Will this disturb a bat to the point of finding another home? Just wondering if I should put some of those bird spikes on the roof of the box.

Thanks so much for any advice you can give!

[LarryH]

I don't think the swaying of the bat house will cause any problem for the bats. I have my bat houses mounted on a 21' 2" pipe, and it sways considerably when we get high winds. It has never bothered the bats, and I've never seen any bats fall from the houses during the storms.

As a side note, you may want to look at putting some "bird deterrent" spikes on top of the house to keep them from roosting there. You can Google search for some, or check out Amazon.com for some plastic ones.

Larry

[Joe Spencer]

Agree with Larry and additionally the spikes would deter any predators such as owls etc.

[LarryH]

Good point, Joe! I forgot to mention that the reason I had to look at the spikes is because I had hawks cmaping on the top of the bat houses every day towards dusk, just waiting for the bats to emerge. Now, the hawk sits in a tree about 150' away, but at least the bats have a fighting chance.

[Munks]

Thanks, boys!

I've found some spikes and am getting out the TALL ladder. We have precious few bats and virtually no owls in the area, but better safe than sorry!

I appreciate your help!