Bat House Forum

[Heather]

We just bought an OBC bat house and we're not sure where to best position it. The attached photo shows the southern face of the property. It is a suburban property but there is a giant field for a school that is behind the privacy fence and the line of trees at the back (north side) of the property. There are plenty of creeks nearby but not immediately adjacent.

Anyway, we're optimistic that we can attract bats here, but does anyone with more expertise have advice about where on the house or property would be a suitable location for the bat house? I was thinking under the attic window but that tree is quite close. The chimney could be good but my husband doesn't want the guano staining the roof. Where could the bat house go that would be safe from predators?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions anyone can offer.

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[Dave Miller]

If it were me, I would take a close look at the trees along the fence line. It looks like one of them has a fairly long section with no branches, and sun exposure on the trunk. Perhaps you can remove a branch or two to make a "clear" section of trunk? You will of course need an extension ladder to reach that spot.

If you have a lot of snakes or raccoons in your area, you should put a "predator guard" around the trunk of the tree, somewhere below the bat house.

Here is the procedure that I use for mounting bat houses on open tree trunks:




I describe the procedure somewhere in this thread: bat-house-with-slate-exterior-t479.html

[Heather]

Dave,

Thank you very much for your ideas. I wish we could put it on that tree but unfortunately it is on the school's property, well beyond the fence line (although it does not appear that way in the photo). Otherwise that would be an ideal location as I've read that it is good to put bat houses at the edges of big fields like that one.

What do you think about the leftmost corner of the house, at the roofline, above the recycle bin? It is not as high as would be ideal, but I don't know where else to put it....

Thanks,
Heather

[cloudman75]

Which bat house did you buy the single, three chamber, etc?
A 16 ft treated pine 2x4 painted white would suffice for a pole to mount up to the 3 chamber OBC house. Looking at your house
I would suggest mounting the pole about 8 inches or so in the ground and attaching it to the left side of your entrance roof.
Place it far enough out from the house to let the guano fall on the ground and attach it to the facia board on the entrance roof to support it up high. A metal pole would also be Ok if that would be easier for you to obtain.

Frank

[Terry Lobdell]

I might try the chimney........I have pictures on here of a very successful bat house mounted on a chimney........

[Dave Miller]

I agree that your chimney might be a good choice, or place a pole somewhere as cloudman suggested.

You might also approach the school about giving a presentation on bats and bat houses to a class or two. If you sense a lot of interest, offer to help them place a bat house somewhere on the school property. I suspect that somewhere on the school building could be ideal. But you could put up a pole or use one of the trees like the ones next to your property. You cannot use any old tree though, it needs to have a long section of trunk that has no or few branches. The bat house needs sun, and there also should not be a branch near the bat house that predators (hawks, owls) can sit on.

If you don't know what to say to the kids, just ask here, I'm sure we could help you put something together.

[Heather]

Hi again everyone,

Thank you so much for your suggestions! After seeing Terry's pictures, my husband changed his mind about not wanting it on the chimney because of the guano. The guano pile is fairly small even for such an active house. So we think we can put something down to shield the roof in the immediate area of the bat house.

My only remaining question is, is the chimney really that inaccessible to predators? It seems like a hawk could stand on the top of the roof, or do they prefer branches only? I haven't seen any hawks here ever, only one vulture once. No raccoons either, just lots of squirrels. We do have bats flying through though. I hear them at night and it makes me so excited to get the house up!

Thanks everyone,
Heather

[LarryH]

It will not be possible to keep the hawks from getting some of the bats, no matter where you locate them. Our bat houses are mounted on a 21' pole, and there is occasionally a hawk that will perch on top of the pole waiting for bats to emerge so it can get one. I have gone out and chased the hawk off, only to have it slowly circle in the sky until the time is right to re-land or get a meal.

The only other problem I've had with predators has been snakes attempting to climb the pole to get into the bat house. I had the same problem with the Purple Martin houses, and I had to put snake guards on the poles to keep them out. But, you shouldn't have any problem with that with a chimney mount.

[cloudman75]

Heather,
One thing a bat house needs,I think, is a clear vertical drop between the roof and the bottom of the bat house for little bats which are just learning to fly. If you are looking for a maternity house location then it appears to me from the photo that a bat house mounted directly to your chimney would not be a candidate for a maternity colony. I am using my experience to advise you as some of my bats flying out for the first time can barely clear the ground with a 10 ft or more vertical drop. You may want to consider adding a mast and using a TV antenna chimney type mount to raise the house above the roof. Of course you would lose the mass of the chimney for heat, but if they have a tough time to exit without hitting the roof they may not like the location. I believe Terry had a low drop on one of his bat houses that was OK with the bats. I do think that was an exception to the ideal locations they are seeking. That's just my two cents worth and I am certainly not an expert.
I believe your summer temps would not require additional heat. Good luck on any location you select, and keep us posted please. You need to hurry and get it in place.

Frank

[Terry Lobdell]

Heather, Frank is correct about pups taking first flight needing more vertical drop........however, a box mounted on your chimney will likely be used later on in the season after pups have more flight experience. The box on my chimney is used only by big brown bats. My little browns have never used it. For guano, I have since glued a piece of vinyl siding the same color as my shingles underneath the box to protect my shingles. After about a week it dries and the rain washes it into my gutters........So far no problem with the guano and 40 big brown bats can really make a lot of guano!