I am interested in your bat houses. I would like to mount it away from my house on a pole. What do you suggest and can your bat house be installed this way?
Thanks, David
One of the best ways to mount one of our BAT HOUSES is on a pole. Here is the best bat house placement guide on line:
Proper placement of your bat house will ensure bats will want to live in it. Such placement will let your bat house provide long term housing and meet the needs which bats have for temperature and safety. Follow this list carefully and bats will move into your house quicker and will stay longer. Be sure to use some of our BAT CALL to increase the likelihood of getting bats as well.
1) In general, your house needs to get a lot of sun. It should face south, southeast or southwest. If you have more than one house, have each one facing a different direction.
2) Choose a bat house which is built well. Like you, bats do not like an airy, leaky place to live. They like a solid feel, a surface which provides a sure grip and a home which will provide a wide range of temperature. This is generally accomplished by having chambers inside your house. A minimum of two chambers is required. The front chamber should have small air vents about halfway up to allow hot air to escape.
3) Although one house is usually enough, having two allows for a wide range of temperature. If you have two houses and the bats only prefer one, set the second one up like the first. Temperature seems to be the biggest variable which affects if and how many bats will occupy your house.
4) Try to mount your house at least ten feet high. They may move into a house which is less then this height, but the general rule is the higher, the better.
5) Mount your bat house on a pole, the side of your home or on a tree. When mounting your bat house on a tree, make sure there are no branches close to hinder bat flight. Bats will not use a house which is close to branches. Flight here is hard for them and they are less likely to move into a house which is hard to access. Find a tree which has its limbs higher than where you intend to place the house and one which is alone or at the edge of many trees. There is always exceptions to this rule. One sure way to see if a bat will find your house is to watch where they fly on your property. If they continuously fly close to a certain tree, it may be a good location.
6) If you use a tree, make sure you place a shield around its trunk. Although this is not necessary when you first mount your house, as soon as bats move in they will become the target of many predators. Such predators include raccoons, cats and rat snakes. To stop them from raiding your bat house, place a sheet metal band two feet wide around the trunk of the tree and mount it eight feet up. Do not place it too low because some animals may jump over it.
7) Bats prefer to live within a mile of a stream, river or lake.
8) Having some sort of night light close to your house or mounted below it will attract many insects which in turn will attract bats. This appears to be one way to attract bats to your house. Bats tend to be opportunistic and they can see well. Once they find an ongoing supply of insects adjacent to your house, the house becomes a logical place to roost.
9) Place one ounce of our BAT CALL up inside the house as well as on the landing pad. This lure is made from Bat Guano along with some special secret components which bats will smell. Once they smell it they will naturally inspect where it is coming from which will lead them to your home. Since bats will readily colonize the inquiring bat will be more likely to take up harborage in this new found home.
Remember that it is usual for a bat house to be up one or two years before any bats will move in. Some people install a bat house and have bats move in within a month! Have patience and watch closely. If you follow these guidelines, you will soon have these mysterious and helpful animals taking up residence in your bat house!!!
We were recently interviewed for a segment FOX 5 NEWS ran during their evening news program. The segment talked about bats, why they are good to have around the house and features owner Jonathan Schaefer along with some of the Bat Houses we have been selling.
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