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cloudman75
Member
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Posted: Tue May 20th, 2008 03:02 am |
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I went out of town for a week on vacation. When I returned this weekend I only had 6 bats on the exit count. Shining a light in the bat house proved it was empty. I checked again tonight, only 6 on exit count. Anyone else had this experience? I have had them leave for two or three weeks in past years and return to have pups.
I had 39 at one time this year in the bat house.
With all the hawks around I am somewhat concerned this year for their safety.
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Tue May 20th, 2008 05:37 am |
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My bats both little and big brown leave during dry periods. (because I am one mile from a sizeable stream)
They also move around alot I think to evade parasites.
This year my big brown maternity has used 4 different houses. That number should double by the August.
My little brown maternity has used 2 houses so far.
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cloudman75
Member
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Posted: Wed May 21st, 2008 10:17 pm |
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| Thanks for comment Terry. All the bats were gone last night. I don't think it was mower exaust fumes since I have been gone over a week. I'll post it if they come back. I have two houses and the maternity colony of little browns hasonly used one this year.
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LarryH
Member
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Posted: Thu May 22nd, 2008 03:02 am |
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We are also seeing a lot more hawks this year, and I'm sure they have gotten a few bats. There has been a Red-Tailed Hawk sitting on top of the pole that the bat houses are mounted on almost daily, but it is always gone before the bats emerge. I have been watching it to see if it is waiting for them to emerge, but it always leaves beforehand.
But, there doesn't seem to be any significant decrease in the number of bats so far.
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IowaNate
Member
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Posted: Thu May 22nd, 2008 10:39 pm |
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Sorry to hear about the bats leaving. As long as the house is in good condition, I would definately suspect predators or some other disturbance being the cause of thier departure. I once saw a raccoon fetching bats from my house and the number went from 150 to 30 bats in two days time...and it took weeks for the number to increase to over 50 bats. A well thrown golfball sized rock hitting him in the hindquarters made him hastily scoot down the pole and make a run for the tall weeds, and I haven't seen him since (but I can't blame him for getting an easy buffet while he could.)
I guess my point is that if I hadn't seen the coon raiding the bat house, I wouldn't have any idea why the bats left either.
I hope they return soon for you!
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Joe Spencer
Administrator
| Joined: | Mon Feb 11th, 2002 |
| Location: | Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 529 |
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Offline
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Posted: Thu May 22nd, 2008 11:56 pm |
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I'd consider making a ground predator guard for your poles. You can make one out of a plastic or metal trash barrell cover and putting 100-200 drywall screws (very sharp) through it and the sides as well. If you put it high enough on the pole so they can't jump on top of the cover, you're all set. Of course this is easier to do prior to putting the pole in the ground or the bat house on top of the pole via slipping it on. 
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IowaNate
Member
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Posted: Fri May 23rd, 2008 01:29 am |
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| Joe's suggestion is perfect for thwarting ground predators. Depending on the diameter of the pole, a five gallon bucket should be large enough for even a 6x6" post. Just cut a hole in the bottom the same diameter as your pole and one slit from the hole down the side to the mouth of the bucket, add the screws through the sides and top of the bucket and gently twist the bucket around the pole. Add a few screws about 4 feet from the ground in the post for the bucket to sit inverted on, and you have a great defense against snakes, raccoons, and possums.
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Fri May 23rd, 2008 02:12 am |
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Here is link to a picture of a stove pipe baffle commonly used on bluebird box posts that is racoon proof. The site has more detailed info on installing it.
http://www.sialis.org/baffle.htm
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Joe Spencer
Administrator
| Joined: | Mon Feb 11th, 2002 |
| Location: | Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 529 |
| Status: |
Offline
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Posted: Sat May 24th, 2008 01:21 pm |
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Good feedback Nate and Terry! The simplest mehtod I've used is smooth aluminum cheap flashing on the post with roofing nails as below however, although it does a great job on racoons, it may not be as effective for ground snakes. The methods above are likely additionally effective for snakes since they are protruding out. Any thoughts?
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cloudman75
Member
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Posted: Sun May 25th, 2008 01:50 am |
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Thanks for all the input about my bats leaving. I also have bluebird boxes on poles and easy access to sheet metal tools for baffles. I have not seen any signs of ground predators. I also noticed the hawks have disappeared in the late afternoon.The bats have been gone now for about a week. I still see a few flying around my back yard. I'll make a baffle to slip around my metal pole just in case it is needed.
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cloudman75
Member
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Posted: Sat May 31st, 2008 02:10 pm |
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My maternity colony has returned if the large number of droppings is an indication. I checked last night around midnight and there were no droppings. This morning around 9 AM I checked and there are many droppings under the maternity bat house. I will get an exit count tonight but I am guessing it will be in the 30 range.As you folks may surmise, I am feeling much better today. It is time for the little browns to have pups. I feared they had abandoned my bat house this year, but it appears that is not the case.The 6 hawks have been missing for about two weeks now. I actually saw three different species hanging around in the evenings but they are gone. I don't know if this had anything to do with the bats leaving. I also had one large owl but saw it only once. I am a happy camper today. The bats were gone for over two weeks. I have no idea where they went.
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Sun Jun 1st, 2008 02:02 am |
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| Cloudman, my big brown mothers were no where to be seen tonight. I only had bachelors roosting........but they will be back as they have always done in the past.
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cloudman75
Member
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Posted: Sun Jun 1st, 2008 02:27 am |
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Terry,
Thanks for reply. I counted my little browns on exit tonight, and there were 31 that flew out around 9 PM.. After about 30 more minutes I shined a light up in the bat house. There were three adult bats and a house full of little ones. These bats look to be at least several days old. I believe my bats went somewhere had the pups and brought them back to my maternity bat house. I have had bats for several years but nothing like this year has happened before where little ones were transported back. I am going out of town for a couple of days for R&R. When I get back, I will check them again. I don't want to disturb them while the pups can still be transported . The back panel has plastic window screen stapled on it. The other baffles are scored on both sides. The front panel is scored also. The little pups have not had any problem in the past with falls. We have had so many near miss tornados this year that it makes me wonder if they went back into their caves to have the pups about 30 miles from here. I am glad they are back with the pups.
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Sun Jun 1st, 2008 02:55 am |
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| Cloudman, that is very interesting! It does make sense that they may go elsewhere to give birth.........
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cloudman75
Member
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Posted: Fri Jun 6th, 2008 02:47 pm |
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I checked the exit count last night and counted 31 adults. After an hour, I shined a light in the bat house for a brief moment. There are many pups, but no adults were present. I can tell they have grown in 6 days from my initial viewing last Sat.The bats all appear to be little browns on the exit count. In years past I have had several evening bats in with them. I did not see any present since the little browns had pups. My bat house is in good condition as I checked it during the winter and washed it out with a water hose after removing two wasp nests, I think the double top, a ceiling and a roof, gives extra protection from leaking and drafts. I saw no evidence of leaking. I also have the top covered with dark fiberglass roofing shingles. We are in a severe drought here but it is not a problem for the bats. There are two lakes and a large creek within a half mile and/or nearer. I am somewhat puzzled as to why the maternity colony did not grow this year. There were 72 bats in the house in October last year, only 31 returned.
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