Bat House

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

Maaaaaaaany years ago....about 70 of them....we lived beside, maybe ten feet beside, a Presbyterian church with a four story high, 25' x 25' width and length, honest to Paul Bunyan bell tower with three real bells....a belfry....just full of bats.  Cute little furry bats with funny noses.  Hundreds of them!

 

Not a bug or insect nor sadly, butterfly for blocks around.

 

I went to the local library to get some books (remember books?) and found plans for a bat house. I gathered up some scrap lumber and built a nice place  for "my bats" to live.

 

I don't recall what we put inside for the littles guys and gals to hang on to, but it seems like it was scrap window screen.  Dad helped me fasten it to the east facing garage wall.

 

It filled over night so we had bats all around our garage.  Mom hated that.  

 

I wanted a bat house here, Arizona has several kinds of bats, and decided to buy one made in Mexico.  Solid and right attractive without instructions of any kind.

 

So, what do I need to do beside nailing it up to put it in shape for new tenants?

 

By the way, did you know that most bats can't get airborne if they can't fall a short way?  They don't have the capability to take of from a flat space of up hill.

 

 

Oh, yeah.  That earned me my first Boy Scout badge, too.  I earned a total of five before I gave it up and went my own way. 

 

PS: will bats live where there are yellow jackets and mud wasps?

[Rip Snorter]

We have bats here, I suspect they live in caves in the rimrock.  Often see them in the evening, and on occasion, one will take a pass at our little Koi pond for a drink.  We have yellow jackets and all kinds of bees and wasps.  Neat critters, but they do sometimes carry rabies.  As to the house, not a clue.  I'd bet there is a bat enthusiast website or two.  Yup! https://www.batcon.org/

Edited July 19, 2025 by Rip Snorter
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[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

Call The Lookout on Willow Creek road. 928-443-5900.

 

They sell bat houses and I am pretty sure that they will have someone on staff that can answer your questions.

[Dapper Dave]

Last time I checked, bats have the same incidence of rabies as all other mammals. They also don't attack humans, only in the movies. I would love to have a bat house out here, but the retirement community up the street, full of real old bats, would probably go bananas. 

[Boggus Deal #64218]

I saw the title and read cat house…

[Dapper Dave]

Well, THAT could be fun, too, until the wife found out! They don't have KissCam, do they?

[Boggus Deal #64218]

Just now, Dapper Dave said:

Well, THAT could be fun, too, until the wife found out! They don't have KissCam, do they?

I know nothing!!!

[Yul Lose]

The bat houses that I’ve built and installed didn’t need an attractant to attract the bats. Placement is critical so that they don’t get baked in the sun.

Edited July 19, 2025 by Yul Lose

[Alpo]

If they just ate bugs on the ground.

 

It's wonderful that they eat flies and mosquitoes and wasps and stuff like that.

 

But if they only ate fire ants and palmetto bugs.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

5 hours ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

Call The Lookout on Willow Creek road. 928-443-5900.

 

They sell bat houses and I am pretty sure that they will have someone on staff that can answer your questions.

Thanks.  Never heard of that but I get over that way a lot.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

On 7/19/2025 at 2:22 PM, Yul Lose said:

The bat houses that I’ve built and installed didn’t need an attractant to attract the bats. Placement is critical so that they don’t get baked in the sun.

I have a spot on the north end of my work shop with a very large over hang up under the eaves facing east.  It never gets too hot there and is out of the weather.

Edited July 22, 2025 by Forty Rod SASS 3935

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

2 hours ago, Alpo said:

If they just ate bugs on the ground.

 

It's wonderful that they eat flies and mosquitoes and wasps and stuff like that.

 

But if they only ate fire ants and palmetto bugs.

Look into tarantulas.  I inherited two when we bought the house.  They eat other spiders, ants, and other small critters.

 

They disappeared after three years and I haven't been able to find any others....YET!

 

I'm a card carrying arachnophobe, but tarantulas are different.  They don't trip my switches like other spiders.

[watab kid]

i have lots of bats here along the river - they come out at dark when the mosquitos get bad , i have none in my house . garage or shed as none of those have an attic , i dont have 'houses' for them but they are here all the time , we have no caves and i can only think they live in the trees or my neighbors houses , garages , or sheds but there are lots of them , 

[Yul Lose]

24 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

I have a spot in the north end of my work shop with a very large over hang up under the eaves facing east.  It never gets too hot there and is out of the weather.

That sounds like the perfect place for a bat house. If you can’t find one out there let me know and I can build one, it’s been years since I’ve built any but not that difficult. If you get one put up you’ll be surprised how fast it’s occupied.

[Kid Rich]

I thought this was about a movie like Animal House.

kR

[Trailrider #896]

19 hours ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

I saw the title and read cat house…

I thought you were referring to the building at one end of the Mall in DC! 

[Boggus Deal #64218]

29 minutes ago, Trailrider #896 said:

I thought you were referring to the building at one end of the Mall in DC! 

Brother, that would insult most brothels….

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

On 7/19/2025 at 5:59 PM, Yul Lose said:

That sounds like the perfect place for a bat house. If you can’t find one out there let me know and I can build one, it’s been years since I’ve built any but not that difficult. If you get one put up you’ll be surprised how fast it’s occupied.

Yeah, that first one was fully in use by the second evening...and it took about a week until we didn't have any more bugs to speak of.

 

My next project will be a humming bird feeder and some nests for the little buggers that will stand up to the "monsoons" and rains we get every year.

Edited July 21, 2025 by Forty Rod SASS 3935

[Alpo]

2 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

My next project will be a humming bird feeder

Don't overdo the nectar

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

They'll be just about right for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[MizPete]

I've tried to attract bats to the back yard ('burbs, southern-central NC).. No luck.

[Kid Rich]

Get the humming bird feeders that the bees can't get into.

kR

[Pat Riot]

I found an interesting article on Bat Houses. 
 

https://wildyards.com/where-to-hang-a-bat-house/