Bat House Forum

[flybob]

I have a bat house that up until a few days ago had bats ( i counted at least seven leave on night) Now they are gone, but I have a small one that comes everynight and hangs on the screens on my porch . Seems to be trying to get through. Two questions.
1. Why would a house full of bats suddenly leave, will they return
2. What might be attracting this small Bat to the screens on my porch. Seems happy to just hang or move around on the screens.
Photo attached

[LarryH]

This is not really strange behaviour. It is kind of normal.

It is not unusual for bats to suddenly leave a bat house, or to suddenly move into one that has been empty. They move around to get the temperatures they need at the time. If a house gets too hot, and they can't move around in it to get the cooling or ventilation they need. Normally, you shouldn't have to worry about that. If they were using the house before, they will probably be using it again.

It is hard to tell why the bat would be attaching to your screen, but it would be my guess that it is looking for a home that it could live in. Is it possible that you've had bats residing in the house before, such as in the eves or attic area? I wouldn't worry about the bat's actions unless it does find a hole and sets up housekeeping. If it can't find a suitable hole, it will most likely move on to one of the bat houses or other suitable locations.

An example of bat activity: One day I went into the garage, which is a 30' x 60' pole construction, and noticed what looked like mouse droppings on the floor. At first, I couldn't figure out why mice would leave droppings in the middle of the floor. Then, I looked up and noticed that there were several bats on the top roof beam, where I thought it would be way too hot. The fun then was finding out how they got in there, and patching it that evening after they left to hunt. I have 3 bat houses, and they decided to roost in my garage!