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Wetbug
Member
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Posted: Fri Dec 30th, 2005 06:05 pm |
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I thot I'd share a pic of the bat house I built for my daughter and SIL
for Xmas. The live in a wetland and have bats using the property
regularly. We live in the PNW, Vancouver and Ridgefield WA. (zone
8). Every Fall in Oct/Nov, their home is a magnet for boxelder
bugs. Does anyone know the hibernation patterns of the little and
big brown bats? Will the bats be around to take a bite out of this bug
population? Does a well caulked house keep them in the area later
into the season?
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Joe Spencer
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| Joined: | Mon Feb 11th, 2002 |
| Location: | Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 509 |
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Posted: Mon Jan 2nd, 2006 08:32 pm |
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Thanks for sharing the pic and that's a fine looking bat house there! You spawned my curiousity about box elder bugs I thought I saw somewere that these insects are primarily diurnal so they wouldn't be part of a bats diet. Really not sure, maybe someone can help with that. Big Brown Bats don't venture too far from their summer homes. I believe the majority hibernate within a 50 mile or < on average. However, they can and will travel hundreds of miles if they need to. Little Brown bats often travel hundreds of miles from their warm weather hunting areas to find winter roosts in which to hibernate. A well caulked house may help a little with helping them stay a little longer but primarily it just helps with heat retention, protection from the elements, and bat house longevity along with proper painting. Looking forward to the mounting of the bat house. How many chambers does your bat house have and what is the spacing? 3/4"? Would you post some pics when it is eventually mounted? Thanks again, and welcome to the BHF.
Box Elder Bug excerpts I found:
Note: This is a Home Remedy. An 80/20 mix of water and liquid dish soap sprayed onto the bugs works well.
Insecticides are not effective, but soapy water is. Heck, send the kids out to do it several times a day, they love it !
NATURAL PREDATORS OF BOXELDER BUGS
A couple of contradictions below but here is some info:
Unfortunately, we know of no natural predators of these insects. They emit a foul odor when attacked, and, I'm told, they don't taste very good. My son's piranha would never touch them, the fish made short work of all other bugs, but the boxelders floated around for days, until fished out. Even our company peacock, who dines on most anything, leaves these little fellows completely alone.
Of course, there actually ARE natural predators of boxelder bugs, most of which you probably don't care to have around you.... Mice, rats, chipmunks, most of the other rodents, ducks, geese and other birds too.
Nice sites on them: http://www.unexco.com/boxelder.html
http://www.cirrusimage.com/bugs_box_elder.htm
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Wetbug
Member
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Posted: Tue Jan 3rd, 2006 10:10 pm |
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What a nice welcome, thanks Joe. The bat house has three chambers and
yes, the spacing is 3/4" with the walls scored on both sides. I also
put a piece of 1/4" styrofoam between the two roof boards which is why I
didn't think the green roof would matter as much as a heat attractor... we'll
see. It's not up yet, but I left them a small book of recommendations taken
off the web, so I feel they'll 'do it right'.
Interesting, tho disappointing, info on the boxelder bug, thanks for your research.
I think the main reason they wanted the bat box was for the mosquitoes anyway.
I thought I'd also share that one of your forum members who lives in
the next town wrote to me offering help. Seems like a very friendly
place. I'm glad I posted.
As I mentioned, I don't have a pic of the installation yet, but I can
show you my daughter's face when she found out what it was she was
receiving - see below.
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Wetbug
Member
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Posted: Wed Apr 19th, 2006 03:29 am |
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 Well, the bathouse is up... tho a little late as little brn bats are already
flying over the property. It also didn't get to the height I'd hoped. It's up
about 15 feet, but the initial design had it at 24 feet. As mentioned earlier,
the placement area is a wetland... this means slippery c_- l_- a_- y mud
where ladders readily slide and sink! Believe me, it was no fun!!
The post is pressure treated wood, in a 3x2 foot deep hole with a base of
three bags of cement incorporating large angled rocks, a quarter ton of 'em.
I don't believe it's going anywhere.
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Wed Apr 19th, 2006 04:07 am |
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Looks like a good location..........I went out tonight at dusk and counted approx. 20 little and big brown bats in 5 different houses.......
I wouldn't worry about not getting your bat house up earlier in the spring.......my bats never seem to investigate new bat houses until later in the summer........seems like they explore more in late July, August and September.......
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Joe Spencer
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| Joined: | Mon Feb 11th, 2002 |
| Location: | Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 509 |
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Posted: Wed Apr 19th, 2006 01:52 pm |
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Wetbug it looks great and so does the location! Have you considered mounting another in the future to have two back to back? When I'm in the muck I carry with me a small piece of plywood that I place under the ladder feet to distribute the weight. It works like a charm. Given that it is a wetlands it is quite possible you will have a better chance of attracting little brown bats which do eat mosquitoes when abundant unlike big browns. Don't sweat, your height should be fine. Just curious, how far is the bat house from the or a residence? Given that it is a wetlands which may have some sort of predatory water snake or other predator, you may want to consider placing a predator guard on the post as well at some point. Maybe someone could lend insight about the latter. As Terry mentioned, I had the same situation with the first bat houses I ever mounted. They were up very early in the early spring and I was initially saddened that I hadn't attracted bats but then surprisingly they all arrived later in the season and stayed until as late as early november. Wetbug you may also consider putting a small piece of plywood on the ground directly below the bat house so as to easily notice any guano indicating occupancy. Looking forward to your feedback and bat house occupany! 
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LarryH
Member
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Posted: Sat Apr 22nd, 2006 02:47 pm |
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I agree with Joe about putting some type of predator guard on the pole. I had to add one to the pipe that my Purple Martin house is mounted on. Even thought is a galvanized pipe, last year I caught a Rat Snake climbing the pole towards the house. I had heard of snakes getting into Martin houses, but I didn't think they could climb a metal pipe, until I observed it first hand. Here is the link to a site that I found good information on putting snake guards on the poles: http://www.purplemartin.org/forumarchives/archive/Ratsnakepred.htm
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Wetbug
Member
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Posted: Thu Jun 15th, 2006 02:01 am |
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 Thanks for the
comments folks. I'll keep a watch and let you know about occupancy. As
of this date, Jun 14, it does not seem to have guests. I'll look into
predator guards and let you know how that develops. Joe, the bat
house is about 40-50 yards from the main house and approximately 15 yds
from the evergreen trees. The area in front of thebat house is
low growing bushes and grasses. There should always be clear access to
the opening with ample room for entry and exit.
The bat house can also be raised to a height of 21 feet with a bigger
ladder planted on a secure foundation, like the plywood you suggested.
I did what I could with the equipment on hand the day it was raised.
There's also a dry spell over the summer when the clay gets baked and
the ground is very stable at that time, so there's ample opportunity
for adjustments.
For the immediate future, we thought we'd just leave it be and not create any unnecessary disturbance for a couple of months.
As I said, I'll keep you posted, thanks again for all the help!
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Joe Spencer
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Posted: Thu Jan 25th, 2007 10:40 pm |
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| Wetbug do you have an update on potential occupancy last season?
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Wetbug
Member
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Posted: Sun Jan 28th, 2007 04:07 pm |
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Joe, it wasn't used last season, tho there were bats seen flying over the meadow/marsh. They appeared to be Big Brn Bats and I'm not certain the openings or the temps generated at that site would have been to their liking. No gano was noticed below the house and no entry or exit flights were seen. We'll see this year.
The house is at 15' and can be elevated another 6'... what do you think?
As a side note, we didn't erect the predator guard as yet since there appears to be no occupancy.
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Joe Spencer
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| Joined: | Mon Feb 11th, 2002 |
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| Posts: | 509 |
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Posted: Sun Jan 28th, 2007 04:39 pm |
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I think your height is fine. My rocket bat house is only at 12' and has been occupied every year since erection and Kent has had numerous bat houses occupied at lower heights. If you don't get it occupied this year I would consider putting another one on the opposite side so they're back to back and then put some ventilation slots in the new one to see if that gains you anything. Do you have 1" rough-cut white pine from a saw mill available in your area? I'd give that a try and you wouldn't have to score it for the footholds. Just stack them 2-4 pieces on top vertically leaving a couple horizontal 3/4" spaces for them to switch chambers. Given your location you would think that overheating shouldn't be a problem but giving temperature ranges is advantageous. How many hours of sun does this bat house receive on a normal spring/summer day? Big Brown Bats abandon roosts when they exceed 95 degrees. I would consider one of those cheap $15-20 digital temperature probes with the long white wires and sensor on the end which you could place in the center of the middle divider to get high and lows temperatures. It operates on a battery and you can build it a little box shelter on the lower area of the post to shelter it from rain. It works quite well. Another thing to do which I believe helps is to always make your partitions removable for modification such as creating movement slots as I described above which allow bats to switch chambers based on temperatures. This can be important especially if your partitions extend and meet the top of the roof. Creating the bat house in 2 or more separate pieces (exterior shell) (partitions) eases the weight installation factor so you can easily mount it. I remember how difficult it was in your spot for footing. Will keep our fingers crossed for you this season. We have had so many bat house-rs fail in their first attempts only to be pleasantly surprised when they kept at it and gave the bats additional options. This year I may incorporate Kent Borcherding's theory of the airflow principal. Both Kent and I have encountered happy bats and nursery colonies roosting (diurnally not hibernacula) in barns and areas with areas above which allow or support a draft and air movement. Only time will tell whether or not it is factor in pleasing bats. The Mexican free-tails don't have that at Bracken Cave unless there is natural movement air of which I'm not familiar. I know I'm getting deep and a bit off on a tangent, but we just keep experimenting and learn more each year through failure and success. Wetbug, other than the marsh, how far is it to a year round water source such as a stream, pond, river or lake?
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Wetbug
Member
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Posted: Sun Feb 4th, 2007 01:48 pm |
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Just a quickie... I'm on the run, the neighbor to the west has a 1/4 acre pond about 100 yds from the bat house, Joe. I'll keep you updated as spring turns to summer.
Here's hoping we'll need that predator guard. 
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