Bat House Forum

[cloudman75]

After 3 days in the 60 degree range, I had about a dozen vistors to my bat house. These are freetails I think which probably spent a few months with me during the fall. They don't hibernate, just move to warmer climate. I guess they like my old 5 chamber bat house and traveled back when the weather warmed. I'm glad they are here. Take a look at the attachment.

Frank

[cloudman75]

After a couple of nice days, the weather turned cold at night, cool during the day and all the bats left. I have checked each night since, no visitors using the bat houses. I am now constucting a 20ft steel mounting post for my new bat house.
I am using the 10 ft top section of my old amateur radio tower which fell last year. I am adding an inch and a half dia. emt 10ft. steel conduit at the top . The tower will be hinged at the ground using steel water pipes in a concrete base with bolts to let the tower pivot. After the mounting pole is completed, I will begin the 4ft wide by 36 inch high two chamber bat house. I plan to mount an unventilated existing house on it which has been used by bats. I plan to tie a good rope to the tower section, use a tree for height with a pulley ,and tie my Kubota garden tractor to the rope to hoist it upright. Also I am moving my large 5 chamber bat house about 30 ft from its existing location at my sundeck. I have mounted an 8ft steel channel in concrete to attach the steel mounting pipe in order to support it in the vertical position.The pipe is 20ft high. I am going to give the house a new coat or two of blue latex paint before installing it again. The house is several years old but is in useable condition for the bats. They are partial to this house, so I am hoping I will not lose my large maturnity colony of little browns by moving it. I plan to take some photos and post them as the project progresses.

Frank

[Terry Lobdell]

Nice picture Frank! In the past when I have moved a maternity box, my little browns seem to take awhile to get used to the changes.......they are very partial to the original location of their roost.......

This past year I made a bunch of changes here at home and about a third of my little browns left......

I suspect my little browns intermingle with other colonies, some as far as 2 miles away from my home......

I have observed numbers at another location increasing by the same amount that mine have decreased here at home........

While I can't be sure, I suspect they were the same bats, just moved to a different location.

[cloudman75]

Thanks for comments Terry,
After weighing my gathered materials for a 48x36 mounting board house it would be too heavy for this emt pole/tower combo. I now will use it to relocate my five chamber that the bats like so much. I hope they will move to the new location.
The house will now face south instead of the usual north position. I am also going to relocate two smaller houses to the steel channel I have installed in concrete already. I have an 18 ft aluminum pole which should be Ok for them.
I'll wait a year or so to build the mounting board.
I tried to attach a couple of photos of the tower base and tower section. When the concrete gets up to strength and the weather is nice I'll get to work again.

Frank

[Joe Spencer]

Frank, very nice! Looking forward to the finished photos of this project. Good luck and thanks for posting them.