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Bats
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 09:26:53 -0500 From: Bruce Burdett blueburd@srnet.com Does anyone out there have a source for some bat-house (not bathhouse) plans that I could get on my screen and print? Or, lacking, that, does anyone have an address where I could get some plans? A local guy who thinks I know everything has asked me for some bat-house plans. Actually I have some somewhere, but I can't find the !@#$%! things in my deeply flawed filing system.
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 10:05:51 -0500 Subject: RE: Houses(Bat) Dear Mr. Burdett: Bat Conservation International (BCI) is an excellent resource for all things bat. It has a similar mission to NABS. They sponsor a North American Bat House Research Project to better determine roosting requirements. Contact details for BCI are: www.batcon.org Sincerely, ...
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 09:09:05 -0600 Bruce: There is something called "Bat conservation" etc. I you do a quick search on Altavista, hotbot, etc., you will come up with a bunch! Sorry I did not bookmark any. Bill Darnell, Savannah, TN ...
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 15:40:59 -0800 Bill, Bruce & anyone else interested... The Organization for Bat Conservation Haslett, Michigan Phone number (517) 339-5200 Also, a snail-mail address for the Bat Research Project: Bat Research Project Nicholas ...
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 22:09:41 -0800 Contact Oklahoma Division of Wildlife,Non Game Dept., PO Box 53465, Oklahoma City, OK 73152. 405-521-3851.
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 02:13:31 -0500 Bat Houses: to Bruce Burdett: I have plans from the Michigan State University Extension for a small and a large bat house. I built a small one last year, put it up on the end of the barn away from our house, but no one has come yet. It is about a 14" cube. If you wish, email me your address and I can mail you a whole packet of plans including some for several types of nesting birds, shelf birds such as barn swallows and robins, one for ducks, raccoons, squirrels, and the pileated woodpecker, osprey, purple martins, owls, kestrels, and the Kentucky Eastern Bluebird House (after Davis 1988) which features an approx. 3.5" wide by 1-1/8" tall slot in a swinging front door. Regarding the latter to all on the list. I have seen many concerns and reports about HOSP and I have never had or seen them trying to enter one of these houses or competing with the EABL for the space. And we have plenty of HOSP and EUST around. The design and information brochure I got from the University of Kentucky Extension agent in 1990 when I first put up four houses, states that the slot will exclude the HOSP and EUST. And it has worked!!, and I built it and they came, with God's blessings!!! Census 99: In 20 of these houses last year, the starting and ending populations were 6 pair and 50 EABL, 5 pair and 40 TRES, and 1 pair and no final count of HOWR. By the way, in August through October, large flocks, probably up to 5-600 total TRES and BARS (Barn Swallows, I didn't see what the abbrev. is for them yet; they are so pretty to watch in flight!!!) would just about coat the power lines for five pole lengths along our road. 2000 Trail: 20 houses last year were on about 2 miles of road around our house. This year I am close to being done on about 5-6 miles and 50 houses total. I have gotten permission by using a network of those who either own or farm the land and asking their permission. So far this year, we, my wife Gerry and I, have seen at least four pair of EABL, and a few nests started. And one pair of TRES. The first EABL got here on Saturday, March 11, 2000. Finally, I too have an interview scheduled for tomorrow with a reporter from the Huron Daily Tribune in Bad Axe, MI, (our county seat, in Huron County). I will see if I can have him provide a file so I can post the article for this list. I plan to give him background info on EABL, several URL's, house plans, and hopefully generate a lot of interest for the birds. Terry Waitt
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 19:26:08 EDT Hi all, Yesterday, in the middle of the afternoon there was a bat fluttering rather slowly in the vicinity of an empty box in my yard. I have seen bats on summer evenings in this area before but never in the daytime. I realize it may be sick and will call County Health tomorrow to inquire about it but I don't expect they'll know if there is any chance that it would go into a birdhouse but maybe some of you do. Thanks
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 20:04:07 -0400 Jane, Just once in 10 years of monitoring did I find a bat inside one of my nestboxes. It was just hanging on the side wall. Needless to say, I quickly closed the box and left. Brenda The Nature Club of Central New York ...
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 21:49:21 -0400 Hi Jane and all, I love bats! I am not a bat scholar, but I have watched and searched out bats
over much of northern NY State, and have read everything about them that I can
get my hands on. I have twice heard of bats found in a bird box around sunrise,
but such a thing seems to be quite unusual. As you have guessed, a bat flying at
mid-day is not showing normal behavior, and is probably not healthy. Such a bat
might possibly enter a birdbox to hide if it is too weak to continue flying. The
threat of bat-transmitted rabies is unjustly and grossly exaggerated in NY
State. Rabies is not the only illness that could cause a bat to be out in
daylight. Nevertheless, rabies is always a possibility. It would certainly be
prudent to be careful for a while. I would suggest wearing heavy gloves to open
boxes, and keep your face well away until you're sure box is empty. If you find
a dead or half-dead bat nearby, do not touch it. If it is alive, cover it with a
large crate or bucket. If in a box, stuff something in the entrance hole.
Immediately call your local Dot (north of Syracuse, NY) ...
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 21:56:58 -0400 This is Dot again - I just posted but left out something important. Don't stuff anything in the entrance hole of a bird box to trap a bat inside if it is near dawn or dusk. I meant that suggestion only for a bat found inside in full daylight. Sorry! I certainly don't want to be responsible for killing a bat in a box during normal "bat" hours!
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 22:38:57 -0500 Bats are perhaps the most marvelous of all animals in my opinion. They are superbly adapted to their environments, be it fish-eating, fruit-eating, or insectivorous. Not only are they the only mamal that has attained true flight, but they have also evolved a system of acoustic orientation known as echolocation to locate their prey as well as to guide their night flights. There are 15 genera, totalling 40 species of bats in the United States. Most species of bats will only be seen flying during twilight or at night. However, some bats will fly during the day, particularly on dark or cloudy days. Should you come upon an injured or sick bat, caution should be used. Bats can, and will bite like any other wild creature if handling is attempted. They can carry rabies, so it is best just to let them alone. If found on the ground, simply place a container over the animal and call the proper authorities to have the animal removed. Although I have never found a bat in a nestbox, I would suspicion such an animal as sick and be wary of it. These are wondrous creatures and they play a very important role in Nature in the control of insects. Some species may eat up to half their weight in insects during each night! Fread J. Loane
Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 10:14:59 -0400 I have found bats roosting in my EABL houses several times during the past 6 years. They are usually, but not always, hanging upside down on the door. I try not to disturb them and gently close up the box. This usually occurs late in the summer after nesting is finished. Once, as I was removing an old HOWR nest from one of my boxes, something came out with the nest and attached itself to my blouse. At first I thought it was a mouse because it was brown and furry. Only when it flew silently into the nearby trees, did I realize it was a bat. I'm sure it was as frightened as I was, if not more so. Bats are wonderful, unique animals and I would never do anything to harm one. Janice Petko
Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 20:40:53 EDT Hi all, Thanks to those who wrote to me about bats. It seems they are sometimes found in nestboxes so I will take extra care. I checked my boxes today but there were none in them. I would certainly not do anything to harm it if I found one and will be careful if I think it may be sick. Jane
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 06:06:20 -0700 (PDT) Greetings from East Prospect, Pennsylvania: Again, it's been a while since my last post, but there's been quite a few interesting observations. All of the tree swallows have finished nesting with a total of twenty-one birds fledged. The largest brood to fledge had six and the smallest was two. While cleaning the boxes most were found as expected, terribly soiled. One box was perfectly clean which at first caused some concern that maybe something went wrong. In the next week I cleaned another tree swallow box, which also only contained two nestlings, and found they to had fledged from a clean box. The last nest of five TRES fell to house sparrows. So far, nineteen eastern bluebirds have fledged with second nests in many boxes. For their second nest, a pair has moved into "wren corner" (three boxes that have always hosted house wrens) Earlier in the season I had a pair of Carolina chickadees attempt a nest there unsuccessfully. I hope the "blues" have better luck. >From some of my past posts some of you may realize that my trail is not a "bluebird trail" as much as a "nestbox trail". Some of my visitors have been mice and squirrels and now a new resident. Two weeks ago my son and I found a pair of bats in a box. Last week they were gone but this week they are back again. Anyone know of a good "bat list" I can join. It looks like my next project is coming to me the same as this one did. Sorry for the rambling post, I'll try to post more often to keep it simple. >From the shores of the scenic Susquehanna River,
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 18:41:53 -0400 Hi Jim, et al, Bats showing up in nest boxes is becoming a more documented occurrence among PA State Parks bluebird trail monitors. For the past 3-5 years, more and more monitors are indicating on their yearly reports that boxes are being "used" by bats - mainly little brown bats. This varies from bats that show up and stay a few days to bats that visit for longer periods of time. Karen Lippy, at Codorus State Park is closest to you Jim (based on our State Parks reports) who also has had bats in her boxes. For our other readers we are talking about south central PA. Terri Kromel ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Elliot ...
Date: Sun, 09 Sep 2001 08:48:01 -0500 I went to clean out a bluebird nestbox yesterday and a bat fell out. I am not afraid of bats and I know having them is good for insect control, but anybody know if I might run into problems later on? I have heard of bats in the belfrey, but bats in the nestbox??? I also sadly say that the fledglings that left on a weekend I was gone have not been seen again. The parents were always very secretive even though in close view of my house. They took insects up to the trees the first day I returned home after the expected fledge date, but it is three weeks now and I have never seen any adults or fledglings. Might they have started to migrate that soon? Fall is definitely in the air here. Anybody with similar experiences? (Green Bay, WI Zone 4/5)
From: "Gary Springer" <springer@alltel.net> Regarding bats in birdhouses: Bats are natures front line mosquito control, not Purple Martins which have been shown to eat very few of these insects. Contact Bat Conservation International to learn how you might be able to assist bats dramatically thin the mosquitoes in your area. Recently the media has created a huge and totally irrational phobia about mosquitoes. Anyone worried about contracting a disease from a mosquito should never get into another automobile. The odds of becoming killed or obtaining debilitating injuries in a car accident are at least fifteen thousand times greater than being stricken by a disease from a mosquito. Even smog has been attributed to killing thousands of people this year while that number is less than two dozen for mosquito related fatalities. In all probability, many times more people life years will be lost from the effects of spraying pesticides to control mosquitoes than the number of life years that are potentially saved by the spraying, not to mention the impact of this idiotic assault on the ecology that supports birds and all other life forms. Gary Springer
From: "Pauline Tom" <bluebirds@austin.rr.com> My sweet husband summoned me to peer into top-opening nest box next to our driveway, "C'mon. It's something you haven't seen before!" I asked, "A big snake?", "Will it hurt me?" ... Much to my delight it was a bat hanging onto side of box. Wow! A bat for Halloween Week! A couple months ago I pried the lid open a bit to provide more ventilation. It must have been just the right size crack for the bat. (I don't suppose he used the front door ...) And, to think that we've had a bat house up for seven years with no apparent activity :-) Pauline Tom
From: "Maynard Sumner" <msumner6@home.com> I have a bat house, but the Woodpeckers put holes in it. I need to get a new one. We have a lot of bats around here. Maynard Sumner NABS MBS GAS OBS OBC NAHC NAFC Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Pauline Tom" <bluebirds@austin.rr.com> > My sweet husband summoned me to peer into top-opening nest box next to
our
From: "emcooper" <emcooper@bayou.com> When we had the outbreak of Encephalitis in my parish and two that join mine, the local TV station recommended and urged everyone to go out and buy bat houses because they help control the mosquitoes. I think the cold weather has been a blessing in that respect, but I thought the bat house suggestion was neat. Evelyn Cooper ----- Original Message ----- From: "Pauline Tom" <bluebirds@austin.rr.com> > My sweet husband summoned me to peer into top-opening nest box next to
our
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 10:23:59 -0800 Dear Pauline, Evelyn, Maynard and friends, ...
From: Alicia Craig <craiga@wbu.com> Be sure to check this web site for additional information about bats and
information about bat house placement. From: John Schuster
[mailto:John@kabaaudio.com]
From: "Pauline Tom" <bluebirds@austin.rr.com>
AND, see http://www.batcon.org/ for Bat Conservation International. From: "Alicia Craig" <craiga@wbu.com>
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 08:39:49 -0700 (PDT) Rob Yaksich Good morning friends. It's another gorgeous, glorious morning here in the Southwest. I hope today's winds are less than yesterday's! In my capacity as a State Parks interpretive ranger, I'm always looking for ways to help wildlife AND educate our park visitors at the same time. I think I hit upon something, and i wanted to get feedback from the many wise and creative minds of this list. I'm thinking about creating a "24-hour winged insect control" station. This
would entail two nursery-type bat houses placed back to back and mounted between
two tall pipes in an open location. Additionally, I thought it might be cool to
place two birdhouses, one on each pole so that they face away from each other
and are on opposite sides of the bat houses. Since One place I'm considering is a busy campground along the San Juan River in
northwestern NM (any flyfisher-people on this list may begin drooling
now!%^)...). We caught 3 pallid bats a few nights ago in mist nets set around
the group shelter of this Now if I can just get all this out of my square Serbian head and into reality. What do y'all think? =====
From: "Gary Springer" <springer@alltel.net> Dear Rob, When I started telescoping poles to 10 and 12 feet bats began using some chalet nest boxes located near water where they do not get the afternoon sun. I've been wanting to put one or two partitions inside the box to see if bats would use the box in nursery fashion. If this would work it would help you determine the location to put a more expensive nursery house. Gary Springer ----- Original Message ----- ...
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 12:46:42 -0700 Dear Dan and friends, The amount of mosquitoes consumed by bats depends largely on the type of bat species found in your area, prey availability and the location of those bats (ie. towns, farms or forest setting.) In California, there are multiple species of bats and they each have something to contribute. The Bat Houses that I build are designed to accommodate multiple bat species, but if Big Brown Bats try to move in, all the other bat species vacate. The following is a brief from one of my bat books (Building Bat Houses by Dale Gelfand) and the bulk of Dale’s data comes from BCI (Bat Conservation International), The Lubee Foundation, Inc., Pennsylvania State University (College of Agricultural Sciences), Organization for Bat Conservation, and Bat Conservation Society of Canada. The Benefits of Bats Big Brown Bats (that’s the species’ name, not just its description), which lives primarily in agricultural areas, feed on June Bugs, cucumber beetles, corn rootworms, grasshoppers, and leafhoppers. Over the course of one summer, a colony of 150 Big Brown Bats will dispatch 38,000 cumber beetles, 16,000 June bugs, 19,000 stinkbugs, and 50,000 leafhoppers while preventing 18 million corn rootworms from ever seeing the light of day by consuming the beetle stage of this insect pest. The Little Brown Bat, on the other hand, is a prodigious consumer of mosquitoes. A single Little Brown Bat can eat some 500 mosquitoes in just one hour’s time, or nearly 3,000 every night (a Bat may consume nearly 50 percent of its body weight in insects nightly); a colony of 100 will likely ingest more than 250,000 mosquitoes a night. Forest-dwelling bats are crucial to maintaining ecosystem health, controlling such pests as tent caterpillar moths. I have never bothered opening up the stomachs of bats to look at the contents, but I have personally observed bats eating mosquitoes (plus other evening flying insects) over our 5 acre pond at our ranch in Potter Valley. Nina and I will set up a late afternoon picnic next to the pond to watch the sun go down and to observe the bats eating the mosquitoes there. Just as the sun goes down the mosquitoes come out and the bats are not far behind. We love to watch them skipping over the pond picking off mosquitoes. Loads of fun. The bats fly right in our face too, going after the mosquitoes that are flying near our head (never have we ever had a bat land in our hair) and we never get bit by the mosquitoes as the bats clean them up before they even have a chance. Fond regards to all and as always.... Happy Bluebird Trails To You, Daniel Sparks wrote: > John,
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 16:17:31 -0700 Dear Haleya and friends, There are all kinds of bats nation wide and little brown bats are just one of many bat species that eat mosquitoes and other night flying insect pests. Yes, we should all put up bat houses as a way of controlling the mosquito populations and in turn the West Nile virus. It is my strong belief that bats will be the front line soldiers in this fight and we should encourage the building and installation of bat houses in and around our communities. Plus bat guano is tops for anyone who like to garden. A pal of mine down in Atlanta once told me, "We have mosquitoes down here, but we also have tons of bats because of the caves in the area (it is very important to know the area and the type of bats found there. In California bats predominantly live in trees, while on the east coast bats predominantly live in caves. Therefore, nest box construction needs to meet the requirements of the bats found in your area.) We can go outside at night and never get bit by mosquitoes because if you look up the night sky is filled with bats picking off mosquitoes." You may have noticed (on my previous post) that Nina and I enjoy this same entertainment by our pond. The mosquitoes do not have time to bite because the bats pick them off before they even get close. In fact, I never even hear that annoying mosquito buzz around my ears the bats pick them off that fast. You can find out allot about bats and how to build bat houses by doing some searches on the net or I'll be happy to talk with anyone about the subject and can build a bat house to fit your needs be it small or big. Happy Bluebird Trails To You, Haleya Priest wrote: misquotoes > Haleya Priest Amherst MA ...
From: "Jerry Yelch" <jmyelch@sigecom.net> Just checked my Bluebird house and found a nest of Bats—Mother and 2 young ones. This spring, after the Bluebirds had built their usual nest, they all of a sudden stopped coming. A check of the nest found the same thing—a nest of Bats. Now I have nothing against Bats but how can I convince them to find a different place to raise their young? Anyone else having this chronic problem? THANKS Jerry
From: "Fawzi P. Emad" <femad@comcast.net> This is quite neat! I have been trying to attract bats with little success. Must be something in your box that attracts them. How is it constructed? Where is it placed? Normally Bluebird boxes are in a wide open area (at least far from any dense tree growth.) Is the box vented? Etc... Bats are very advanced animals, like us they are mammals, like birds they fly. I would love to have them... Fawzi Fawzi Emad in Laytonsville, Maryland ----- Original Message ----- ...
From: TomGaryH@aol.com Jerry, bats taking up residence in your bluebird nestbox is similar to a Tom in Milton Florida
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 13:32:10 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. I, too, would love to find bats using my nestboxes! Bats are declining at an alarming rate; plus, they don't have public sentiment on their side so very few people are helping them. The several bat "nurseries" we've built have been uninhabited and I would also like to know the details regarding your setup--so I might be able to duplicate your success in attracting them.
From: "Bruce Burdett" <blueburd@tds.net> Jerry, et al, I have never found bats nesting in my houses in about 10 years of Bluebirding. My guess is that it's a fluke occurrence, and that it won't happen again. The only thing I could suggest is putting up some bat houses, but I gather from people who use them that the bats don't care for them much. There is an organization devoted to bats, but I don't have the URL at hand. Maybe someone else might............ I'm very fond of bats, and if I knew how to attract them I would. If I were you, I'd leave the house they used right where it is in the hope that the pheromones or something might induce them to use it again. Bats are just as much threatened as Bluebirds, I believe, and they need our help. It's a shame that they've gotten such a bad rap. Bruce Burdett, SW NH
From: "ke4fej1" <ke4fej1@email.msn.com> Hi Linda and All... Thought I would toss in what I just heard. I was talking with a Port Charlotte County worker who builds all the bird houses and ..bat.. houses. He said the trick to getting the bats to use a box is to get the bat droppings and rub them well into the wood inside of the box...that way they know bats belong there. Sounds good to me Soon as I get a bat box... I guano try it ! Later Christy Sarasota, Fl ----- Original Message ----- ...
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 15:22:54 -0700 Dear friends, I'm would like to congratulate you on your bats and would like to comment further. As a general rule, Bat houses do work provided that the front of the nest box is facing south, that it is at a height of 16 feet or more (obviously your bluebird nest box isn't that high so there are always exceptions to every rule more on this later), and that the box is warm and secure. Perhaps the warm weather that you are having helps, and the box is tucked way, hard to say. Bats out here in California are primarily tree dwellers and back east they are primarily cave dwellers, but the word "primarily" is the key as bats will live just about anywhere. A wood duck program in Louisiana, skirted the trucks of swamp ask trees with corrugated iron to keep the mammals out of the wood duck boxes and what ended up happening was that not only did they get wood ducks, but the local bats developed colonies under the corrugated iron. While personnel doing a survey for a Barn Owl nest box program and bat control program at ASTI Winery (owner by Beringer Blass Wine Estates) I had some fun enjoying several bats flying around me inside the winery. Even thought it was daylight outside it was so dark inside the winery that the bats fly both day and night. Pretty soon your bat will be going in to hibernation, and will leave your nest box, but it will return after hibernation. This would be a good time to consider putting up a bat house near your bluebird nest box (and trail) so your bat can develop a colony when it returns, in my opinion. Plus, most of the old stories of "Blood Sucking" "In Your Hair" stuff is a bunch of nonsense. I could get deeper into it, but trust me bats are great and I just love to watch our bats at the pond eating up mosquitos and moths like mad (Nina and I never get bit by mosquitos as the bat clean them out before they even get close.) I build bat houses and they are very tricky. You need to know allot about the multiple bat species in your area (multiple bat species will live in one bat house, but if big brown bats move in all the other bats will leave), and what they like etc. I'm presently developing a bat house with nurseries that will house multiple bat species, but will also house the Paladin bat (a ground feeder here in California), but the Paladin bat needs a 30 degree angled nursery at the top of the bat house (under the roof line) so the baby Paladin bats will not fall out. I mean this is endless.... I would count my blessings that you have a bat. It is my opinion that bats will be the front line soldiers in this WNV fight and that concerned conservationists should include bat houses in with their other avian endeavors. Just the other day, Pat Winters, the head of California Bat Conservation told me, "east coast bats that have been tested for WNV, are developing immunities to the WNV." Though know one knows for sure what mosquito carries the WNV, with "developing immunities" in the works there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel after all. About the WNV, there has been allot of talk lately that WNV was introduced into the USA as a terror weapon. Now some of you may disregard this information, but only time will tell if this story is true or not. Have a great weekend and as always... Happy Bluebird Trails To You, John Schuster, Conservationist & Owner Bruce Burdett wrote: > Jerry, et al, ...
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 15:39:30 -0700 Dear Christy, Linda and friends, The "guano" trick does work, but is not encouraged by California Bat Conservation unless you know the bat specie that it came from. The reason is that "guano" is a species finger print and you may build a bat house that will fit a specific bat specie, but your smearing "guano" for a bat the will not fit the box that your are offering. More important, if a bat that would fit comes along and smells, lets say big brown bat "guano", it will vacate the area to look elsewhere for a place to call home. In short, be sure of the "guano" that you are using or you will be wasting your time. I prefer to build the bat house, put it up accordingly and just let mother nature do her thing. May take a season or 2, but in the long run it's a better way to go. Happy Bluebird Trails To You, John Schuster, Conservationist & Owner ke4fej1 wrote: > Hi Linda and All... Thought I would toss in what I just heard. I was ...
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 20:08:24 -0400 We've got bats -- in our attic! We've had a bat house up nearby for several years, with no luck. But recently discovered them in our attic. We don't mind, but it's ironic. The warmth of the attic, perhaps? BTW, our backyard bluebird box faces into our yard, which has a few pine trees. But the back and one side of the box are only about 10 feet from woods. We've had successful nests in that box for 4 seasons now. The bluebird parents seem to enjoy hanging out in the trees that are nearby in the woods. Perhaps keeping a watchful eye on things while maintaining some protective cover? Rebecca J. > -----Original Message----- ...
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 19:40:33 -0700 Dear Rebecca and all, The bats in your "attic" will be going into hibernation soon and will leave your "attic". If you want to get them over to the bat house you need to observe how they are getting into your house and then when they have left (to hibernate) you seal up the spot where they are getting into your home. When they return in the spring, they will see their way blocked and will likely move into the bat house. Regards, "Rebecca J." wrote: > We've got bats -- in our attic! We've had a bat house up nearby for ...
From: "PTom" <ptom@austin.rr.com> Twice in the last two days when monitoring I've found a bat snoozing - clinging upside down to the interior side of a nestbox. I don't have bats in the belfry. Pauline Tom
From: KCBSP@aol.com Kathy Clark, New Cumberland, PA What does anyone know about this? I spent the afternoon erecting a bat box, and as soon as I got it up, the
resident Bluebird started looking it over and looked kind of annoyed that it
wasn't to his liking. So I, feeling guilty, quick made a bluebird box and put it
behind the bat box. They are both on a post about 11 feet off the ground. Does
Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 09:54:16 -0700 Dear Kathy and friends, First off, most commercially built Bat Houses (that Iíve examined) are built much like Bluebird nest boxes, so the Bluebirds just mistook it for a nest box that they thought they could use. Secondly, as far as placing both on the same post, this should not be a problem. Bats are nocturnal, so interfere between species is unlikely. One friend of mine friends at Fish and Game, reported about a Bat House and an American Kestrel nest box on the same post and there seemed to be no problems there, so I would think the same would apply here as well. Nevertheless, I would adjust things a little. Eleven feet for the Bat House should be OK (I mount mine at a minim height of 12 feet with 20 to 25 feet being optimal.) However, you should place the Bluebird nest box lower (say between 4.5 to 5 feet from the base of the entry hole to the ground) as 11 feet is a little to high in my opinion. You could leave the Bluebird nest box up high, but it makes it difficult to get up there to monitor, plus if you have House Sparrows in your area you might as well post a vacancy sign for the House Sparrows as they like to nest up high and near buildings. Speaking of buildings, if you have a plank house, check your house for cracks and spaces that Bats can squeezes into, as there are subspecies of Bats that can easy squeeze through a 1/2 inch crack, so be for warmed. If this is a concern, drop the the whole Bat idea altogether, but if you want to continue, then you will need to fill every 1/2 inch space (check around your windows, doors and the eves or your roof) with putty or silicone immediately! The last thing you want is to have a colony of Bats in your house as getting them out is very difficult. Just be glade that you do not live in England, where the Bat conservation laws are so strict that if you have Bats in your house there is nothing you can do legally to remove them! Sorry mate, youíll just have to live with them, Cheers! I face Bat House South for good sun exposure (as Bats like to be warm), and Bluebird nest boxes East to protect the Bluebird nest boxes from the elements. However, I would face your Bat House a little more South -West and the Bluebird house a little more North - East, to keep the Bat guano from hitting the top of the Bluebird nest box. If you have a garden, then shovel the Bat guano into your compost pile, as Bat guano is the best fertilizer there is next to chicken manure. The other thing about these commercially built Bat Houses is that they are generally inadequate for an effective Bat Colony which is that I encourage for proper flying insect control (around ponds and creeks.) More important these same commercially built Bat Houses are made out of red or western (inland) cedar which is something I do not recommend. Bats are more akin to humans than they are rodents and their biological elimination's are much like ours. When said biological elimination's hit cedar, there is an adverse chemical reaction (with the plicatic acid in the cedar) that can be catastrophic to Bats. Just ask anybody at a pet store or someone who breeds horses about cedar and how it effects mammals. Personally, Iíve suffered with asthma for as long as I can remember, and before I knew about the hazards of plicatic acid in the cedar, I use to build Bluebird nest boxes out of cedar. Despite the use of a mask (plicatic acid goes right through a particle mask, but not a 3 stage filter mask), when I went to bed, my asthma attacks were so severe every night that I thought I was going to die. Then one day I read Gary Springerís post on plicatic acid an put 2 and 2 together. I then cleaned out all traces of cedar from my workshop and returned the unused cedar planking to my supplier. Almost over night my severe asthma attack subsided. Check out Gary Springerís wonder piece on plicatic acid at his web site at: http://www.realbirdhouses.com/ or search on line for ěplicatic acidî or ěoccupation asthmaî for more information than I can supply here on Bluebird L. The best Bat Houses are made out of old lumber, pine or a combination of pine and plywood. A good Bat House should be deep, dark and inviting to the Bats in your area, not small like a Bluebird nest box. I build an great Bat House, and I would be happy to send an open JPEG to you and others on the list so you can check it out, but Iím afraid the shipping costs of this Bat House (points east) would be to cost prohibitive. For those that would like to get into Bat Houses, I would recommend that you check out some of the Bat Conservation groups in your area, as we are blessed with many types of Bats nation wide. It is important to know which Bats are in your area for a successful program to work (ie. California Bats are mostly tree dwellers and eastern Bats are mostly caves dwellers), so it is important to know. Start with Bat Conservation International and go from there at: http://www.batcon.org/ I hope this helped and feel free to e-mail me privately. Happy Bluebird Trails To You, KCBSP@aol.com wrote: > Kathy Clark, New Cumberland, PA ...
From: "Gary Springer" <springer@alltel.net> Hi Kathy, I'm sure the bluebird won't mind the bat house but it is possible the bats occupancy may be delayed or prevented if the bluebird box mounted at even height is closer than 20 to 30 feet of the bat house. Bat Conservation international(BCI) materials indicate bats are keenly aware of predators, especially owls which can hunt them from a perch on a nearby bluebird box of even height. I also believe the bats prefer an approach that is unimpeded with obstacles such as a nearby bird house pole. Therefore I would follow the recommendation of BCI and try to keep the pole mounted bat house higher than surrounding vegetation and structures within about 30 feet. Also, bats will occupy bat houses mounted ten or eleven feet high but, according to the BCI, occupancy rates rise significantly if the box is mounted 15 to 20 feet high. Hope this helps, Gary Springer
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