Bat House Forum

[mhutter5068]

Hello all,
I have recently noticed a group of bats are roosting in the roof vent of my home. My family and I sat outside on lawn chairs last evening and counted the bats as they exited the vent. We counted 56 bats. I have ordered a bat house from "barn in sticks". It seems to be a good box. It says that it will hold up to 300 bats. I am new to this so I am trying to go about it the right way. So far they are roosting on the screen behind the vent but I do not want them to get into the attic. I also want to keep them around the house and provided a good shelter for them to roost. The vent is on the West side of the house and gets unhindered sun in the afternoon. The bats seem to like it. I read that I should hang the bat house up two weeks before I cover the current roost, is that right? Also I want to hang the new box right under the current roost (about 25 feet off the ground). Is that good? I will cover the vent after they exit for their evening feeding.
As I stated, I am new to this but it is an exciting project that my 7 year old also enjoys.

Any help would be welcomed and appriciated.

[Markcuda]

Hello and welcome.
I also have one of them bat houses from the place you ordered.
A very, very well built house.
I actually have two from him, a 3 chamber and a 5 chamber.
25 feet above ground is great.
It is pretty much standard to advise some one that a bat house face south, or south easterly with about 6 to 8 hours sun.
I would not close off their entrance now till they get acquainted with the new house.
Some one with way more knowledge will probably jump in and help you out also.
Can you post any pictures of your yard, or the place you want to hang the new house?

[mhutter5068]

Thanks for the reply. I will get a couple of pictures of the location after I get home today. The reason that I was thinking of the west side of the house is that this is where most of the bats seem to roost. I have check the attic several times and the south side vent held about 15 bats on one occasion. The other times that I checked all of the bats were in that west facing location. The south side has some trees that are close to the house however the west side is pretty open and has dirrect sun pretty much all afternoon. maybe this is what holds them there? I am open to suggestions as I want this to work. I will post some pics tomorrow. Thanks again for your imput. Look forward to more help. From what I can look up and by getting close to them in the attic they all look like small browns. I live in douglasville, Ga if that makes any differance.
One other question? I saw where a guy mounted his bat house right over the vent and had vents in the back of the box. He said that the bats perferred the air circulation. Any thoughts?

[Markcuda]

For the record, I have no bats in my two houses.
I do read tons about them, if I had bats for a few years, I could probably tell you what they like and all, but I can't.
I can only say what I've read, try to place your bat house in a clear point in your yard.
I am moving one of my houses, I don't feel that it is in the best place in my yard.
Mine is going on a pole that is 17 feet above ground.
Look at your property, and think like a bat where would you want a new house located
Free from trees
15/25 feet high, 25 feet might be an exaggeration.
Morning sun for 6 plus hours.
I don't know enough to answer your last question.

[mhutter5068]

That's quite alright as I don't know anything except what I am reading. Any bits of information are appreciated. I'm sure that we will get it eventually. I just don't want to scare them away in the process. I have a good little group to start with as long as I can persuade them to move into the house without losing too many in the process. I can build from there. Thanks for the help.
Glad to see a Illinois person on the post. My Grandfather was born in Clinton. I am originally from DeKalb. Don't know how I ever ended up in Georgia but I like it down here.

[Markcuda]

You can Google bats and you would have tons of information to read.
Your state would be way to hot for me
Yesterday, we had a 121 degree heat index/indesies(SP)

[William Bagwell]

Welcome! Always great to see another fellow Georgia resident

As to the gable vent houses, I am intrigued by the idea and plan to experiment with one this winter and perhaps have it up by next season. I strongly suspect that it will be used just not as a nursery colony. If the one you saw was anyone other than this guy, http://www.batguys.com/resources/suburb ... house.html please post the link so I can see.

William

[cloudman75]

Hello,
Welcome and your plan sounds like a good one. Please give me some info on your bat house. How many chambers, what size house ie tall, wide, depth, color.
I am just a few miles from you in Lithia Springs. I excluded bats from my attic ventilation louver by placing a bat house right beside the louver. After they left in winter I moved the box over about 10 ft. The bats returned the next year and used it. If I can assist you in any way, please let me know. I have 6 bat boxes that look bad but the bats seem to like them anyway.
The pups in our area are all flying now so you can do your exclusion without concerns for them. I know how you ended up in GA. it is a great state. I came from N.C. many years ago.

Frank

[Markcuda]

Frank, this the house that he is getting.



Triple Bat House

•Built to OBC specifications, based on over 10 years research. (OBC-Organization for Bat Conservation)
•Made of weather-resistant cedar and 3/4" exterior plywood back.
•Interior nylon mesh for maneuverability.
•Extended landing for easy entrance.
•Ventilation slot for air circulation.
•Holds up to 300 bats!
•14" x 5" x 24"
•Control mosquitoes the natural way!

[cloudman75]

Thanks,
A better choice is not available in my opinion. That was my first house and has been used each year since and still the Little Brown's favorite.
It has been in the mid 90s here and very humid. We got rain this afternoon so I did not see any bats hanging out.

Frank

[mhutter5068]

Wow, I was amazed when I came to work today to see the replies. I will try to answer some of these.
William: The web site that you listed for the Gable vent houses is correct. That is where I got the info. It seems to make sense. I just don't want to experiment too much to start out until I am sure that I can extract the current bats properly and get them to use the new house. I may make one of those later and see how it goes. 67 bats came out last night so I have a good start for when I hang the new house.
Cloudman75: The house that Mark posted is the one that I purchased. I ordered it on Monday so I should get it any time now. Do I need to stain this a dark color? Can I paint it the same color as my home? Did you see in my post that the bats are in the vent on the West side of my home. I read that most put their houses on the South or South East side. If they are happy on the west side should I even mess with trying to put the house somewhere else? I was going to take pictures yesterday but after a busy afternoon and church, I did not get the time. I will attempt to get the pics this afternoon.

[Terry Lobdell]

Just a thought on location........the closer you place the box to where they are now roosting may be the quickest way to get them using your new box.........bats have a very strong homing instinct........

[mhutter5068]

Thank you Terry. I am leaning towards putting it next to the vent they are using. About a foot away. It will go slightly lower because of the pitch of the roof but will still be about 25 ft off the ground. This may be the best.

[cloudman75]

Hello again,
I think what you need to do based on my own exclusion is to mount the three chamber right beside the location where they exit. That's what I did and they used the house when they returned from hibernation. Also we have such high ambient temps here do not paint the house at all is my suggestion. The west side is fine as that is where the bats have chosen. Our problem here in our area is that the bats get too hot and have to hang outside during daylight hours or leave for a while in July
or August. After the bats have raised pups in your house it would be possible to move the house about 20 ft or so on a pole if you desired. Then every winter when they leave over the years you can move it further away in steps. At least that's how I did it and my little house like yours is now at least 40 ft in the back yard. I agree with what Terry also said, mount the house next to where the bats are now. I would then wait until the bats left for hibernation, then get up there and block the exiting entrance while they are gone. Bats explore new roosts in August and Sept. so they may go in the house this year.
Try to disturb them as little as possible would be my suggestion. Also when they come back in the spring they will be with pups soon and more likely to use the house that is in their old home location. Be extremly careful working at the heights you mentioned as it sounds very high to me. I used a drill to place some holes in the bat house to accept some screws to attach it to my house. Do a little planning before you get on the ladder and have a helper below.
Good luck, keep us posted.

Frank

[mhutter5068]

Great information. Thank you.
When do they leave for hybernation?