Do Bat Houses Work?
While we are in the business of getting bats out of houses, we’ve also been known to give them homes as well.
In fact, in this post you’ll find video of two bat houses mounted on Ryan’s chimney which are currently occupied by bats.
Do bat houses work? Yes, but sometimes there are problems with them.
In this post, our goal is to discuss bat houses as they relate to bat removal and point you to some resources we feel provide the best info on bat houses on the internet.
Bat House in Action
When we perform a bat exclusion at a client’s building, we know that we’ve purposely separated bats from a habitat they found agreeable.
And while we believe keeping bats’ living quarters and people’s living quarters separate is better for bats in the long run, there is always concern in causing habitat loss.
Moving bats out of homes is a good thing in many respects, but there are sure to be a lot more mosquitoes and other flying insects if there are fewer bats about.
As biologists continue to tell us, bats are important players in healthy ecosystems and we need all the bats we can get. Yet, their numbers continue to decline in Ohio because of white nose syndrome and habitat loss.
Consequently, we feel that bat house installation is a great thing we or anyone with the opportunity can do to help these important and valued little mammals.
Take a look at two bat houses Ryan has installed on his own house.
Ryan put up the bat houses because he 1) likes bats 2) values their insect eating habits and 3) knows they can use a collective helping hand from us humans for good habitats.
His bat houses have colonies living in them because they are in a good spot and are designed to be inviting for bats.
Not All Bat Houses Are Equal
While Ryan has had success in getting bats to use his bat houses, we do know that some people’s efforts with bat houses have not been successful.
In order to be successful with a bat house,we want you to consult the experts. And, believe it or not, that’s not us!
We’re really good at getting bats out of homes, but still amateurs concerning bat houses.
But, we do think that if you follow the three links below (like we’ve done) you will be well on your way to getting the best info and products out there for your bat house efforts.
- Bat Conservation International’s main page on bat houses. Bat Conservation International’s team of researchers has many useful tips on bat houses. Also they have a certification program for designs of bat houses and provide lists of links of who sells them. This is a must see page for anyone interested in bat houses.
- Organization for Bat Conservation’s main page on bat houses. Here you can access questions on bat houses, purchase bat houses, and much more. This Michigan based non-profit does a lot of bat education in the Midwest.
- Bat Conservation and Management’s bat house tips page. This business is in Pennsylvania and is a teacher and supplier to bat biologists. Their bat houses are Bat Conservation International certified.
Interested in Building Your Own Bat House?
If you are interested in building your own bat house, a good place to look for bat house plans is in this post from Jessica Barrett Halcom of Insteading.com:
In this post she notes it is a good idea to keep bat houses off of your house. We don’t disagree. But, Ryan opted to install his bat houses on his house. He did that because, as an excellent bat-proofer, he is confident the bats don’t have an entrances into his house. It’s a test of his bat-proofing abilities and so far, so good.
Bat Removal for Akron, Canton, and Kent
If you need bats removed in the Summit , Stark, and Portage County area, we can help.
We know how to remove bats and make homes bat proof. And, we also know that bat houses are great additions to any neighborhood.
For more on bat removal check out our:
