Bat House Forum

[flyin-lowe]

On the house I just finished (see other threads) my landing zone is just under 4 inches. Before I hang the house I could fairly easily glue another board to the bottom and increase it by another 5 1/2 inches or so. Would this make a big difference into the appeal it will have to the bats or do they not care as long as there is a usable landing zone? Can the landing zone be too big? If I need to increase it a little but not add an entire 1x6 what size would you recommend?

[Dave M]

Maybe it's big enough, maybe not... I don't know either. I don't think you can make it too big, other than causing the entire house to catch more wind and therefore need stronger attachment to the post. If you want to add on to the landing pad, probably a furring strip is enough. I don't know how well gluing will work, it'd try using hardware. If you're careful you might be able to attach it with a few vertical screws going straight up from the bottom. You might also consider a flat metal bracket that could attach it at the ends.

[flyin-lowe]

I thought about drilling some holes and using a couple of dowell pins and glue. I might check and see what I can come up with at the hardware store.

[po boy]

Look at framing hardware..straps

[cloudman75]

In all my years of watching bats,mostl y Little Browns and Freetails, I have never seen even one bat land on the landing board and walk up to the chambers.
All I have seen swoop up into the house. Since I retired in 1995, I have spent a lot of time watching bats in recent years. They do use my landing board to come out for a bit of fresh air when they get too hot. It is up to you based on how you feel about it. I think a couple of straps on the back would do just fine as po boy menentioned straps. If you decide not to do anything, I think the results would not change for the house one way or the other, but that's just my opinion. I would like to hear what Terry would advise as he has built a lot of houses.

Frank

[Terry Lobdell]

I agree with Frank.....bats swoop right up into the crevices when entering........the only time I see them use the landing pad is when they are swarming...........swarming usually happens at dawn when they are entering or when they exit on humid evenings.......Most of my boxes have about a 3 or 4 inch landing pad........anything longer than 6 inches probably is a waste of material........

[IowaNate]

Frank does have a point. I always build atleast a 3" landing pad on my houses, but very rarely see them using it during the morning swarm when returning. I think the landing pad might just help the less flying skilled bats sometimes. My general rule is that 3" is sufficient for a landing pad for any size house, and more than 6" is a waste.

[flyin-lowe]

I will probably leave it as is. It is over 3 inches so from what I am reading I don't think it will make a difference. As you can tell I am new to this. In the purple martin world one little detail can make all the difference. It is looking like bats are the same way (just the details are different.) I know a lot of people who have martin houses up and never get any because the don't know the basic requirements. I am trying to learn the requirements for bats to increase my odds of success.