How do I install my Bat House?
Bat Conservation and Management has a great page on installing a bat house on a pole. Another interesting bat house pole mounting system is the Pivot-Pole Bat House Mounting System. For added stability you can mount bat boxes between two poles as shown in the University of Nebraska's Bat House Construction and Installation Guide look at page 3 of the pdf for the picture and instructions. Bat Houses can also be mounted on buildings and in trees as shown in Bat Management and Conservation's great pdf with lots of pictures and instructions called Building a Better Bat House. Finally Bat Conservation Internation has a good 12 page pdf that has some good pictures of mounted bat houses called (warning the following pdf takes awhile to download) A Decade of Bat House Discovery.
What are the Top 10 Criteria for a Successful Bat House?
Bat Conservation International has a page that lists the Top 10 Criteria for a Successful Bat House. These criteria include: Bat House Design, Bat House Construction, Wood Treatment of Bat House, Sun Exposure, Habitat, Mounting, Protection from Predators, Avoiding Uninvited Guests, Timing and the Importance of Local Experimentation.
Where is the best Bat House Placement?
The best bat house placement is at least 10 feet off the ground and within 1/4 mile of a water source. Maryland Department of Natural Resources has a good page called Ideal Bat Box Location. Another good page is Bat Conservation and Management's page called Choosing the Right Site.
What bats can I expect in my bat house?
Organization for Bat Conservation had a good online guide to types of bats to expect in your bat house by geographic location. Look at the bottom of the page I link to below and see the links for the Northeastern US, the Southeastern US, the Northwestern US and the Southwestern US.
More on What types of Bats to expect in your Bat House
More on Field Guide to Maryland Bats
What are my chances of Attracting Bats to my Bat House?
Bat Conservation International has a good article about Attracting Bats. Some of their finding are that tall designs like multi-chamber and rocket-style bat houses performed best. Bats have to find new roosts on their own there are no proven lures or attractants. Bat inhabited around 60% of bat houses surveyed.
Bat Conservation International FAQs.
Bat Conservation International has a good set of 9 FAQs. The question include.
How can I determine the likelihood of attracting bats?
Why might bats not be attracted to my bat house?
If I have bats in my attic, but would prefer that they occupy a bat house, what should I do?
More on Bat Conservation International FAQs.
More FAQs from Bat Conservation and Management.
How do I get bats out of my house?
Bat Conservation International has a good bat exclusion guide called. Bats in Buildings: An Information and Exclusion Guide.
Also see Bat Conservation and Management Bat Exclusion
Also see University of Nebraska's Bats In and Around Structures
How to Bat Proof Your Home?
A Homeowner's Guide to Northeastern Bats and Bat Problems is a great 28 page pdf from PennState which covers the benefits of bats, how do you bat proof your home, attracting bats with bat boxes and many more interesting bat topics. See Homeowner's Guide to Bats.
