Bat House Forum

[burmashade]

Just curious if width of bat house is "that" important for attracting tenants.  Thanks.

[IowaNate]

 This is a subject that has many different opinions. Now the fact remains that most nursery colonies like to have the maximum square inches per roosting chamber to roost in sufficient numbers to share body heat, so a house with narrow and short chambers don't fair very well. But, many of us have had success with houses that have 10-12" wide chambers that are at least 20 inches tall.

  I have had 6 bat houses that had only 10.5" interior width and all were occupied by bachelor colonies, and the chambers were 18-24" tall. But the chances of attracting nursery colonies to a narrow house are much less likely.

  BCI suggests the minimum interior dimensions as 14" wide and 20" tall, which I believe is a good standard...but I can't say narrower bat houses won't have good occupancy rates when properly constructed and hung.

[Terry Lobdell]

I agree with Nate.

I've got one successful bat house with crevice widiths of just a little over 10" but it's around 40" high and has 5 crevices. This house has been used alot by a little brown maternity colony.

Generally speaking the bigger the better but small houses can attract bachelors. I think small houses are a good way to start if you don't already have bats close by. You can easily mount several in different locations to initially attract bats. Then if you get occupancy you can mount a maternity box.

I think the house you posted in the picture should attract one or two bachelors. 

[burmashade]

Thanks for your input.  The learning curve is what makes new projects interesting!