Building Bat Houses by Dale Evva Gelfand

Author:Dale Evva Gelfand
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Published: 1997-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

Timing Is Everything

Whether you’re installing a bat box to attract a new colony or as a new home for a colony in an existing but undesirable roost — say, your attic — the best times for box placement are between January and April or in the fall when they leave for their winter hibernation. Bats come out of hibernation in March and usually arrive at their summer roosts in April. But since in many areas trees are leafless at this time, a location that receives plenty of sunshine in February might be in full shade come June, so house placement might require some preplanning. It might be better to hang a box after a colony disbands at the end of the summer or early fall, when trees are still in full leaf.

When you’re looking to move a colony out of a traditional roost, allow the bats to familiarize themselves with their new home, if possible, before expelling them from their old one. Which is to say, let them investigate the new quarters over the course of the summer while they stay in your attic, and in the fall, when they leave for their winter hibernation, you can bat-proof your house so that when they return the following spring, they may well take up residence in the bat box.

If allowing them to remain for another summer isn’t an option, install the bat house and bat-proof your own house before the bats arrive in April. Since colonies in part use smell to identify their roosts, consider scenting the new box with their droppings before putting the box in place. To do so, gather a cup of guano from your attic — bat droppings are dry, black, about the size of grains of rice, and accumulated in piles, unlike mouse droppings, which are scattered — and mix with water to a watery-paste consistency; then pour the mixture into the box, allowing it to soak in before hanging the box. Note: Wear rubber gloves and a paper filter mask.

As a less odious alternative, some people have had success “aging” their bat boxes by filling them with slightly damp soil for a few days, then dumping out the soil. If scenting the box isn’t possible, and new materials are used for construction, allow the box to weather outside for a while before installation to eliminate that new-box smell. You´ll be surprised what a difference scenting a box can make in your success rate.

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