remindertoownersofunsuccessfulbathouses.docVIP

Reminder to Owners of Unsuccessful Bat Houses IF AFTER AT LEAST ONE active season, your bat house remains unoccupied, try moving it to a new location where it receives more or less sun. Reports thus far indicate that most successful bat houses are occupied within the first year, and that most failure results from too little exposure to sun. A house that fails at first, but is occupied after a move, may provide especially enlightening information on what local bats need. If your houses are mounted on poles, try rotating them from a north/south exposure to sun to east/west. Since houses seem to be too cool more often than too warm, this may help. If your houses are insulated and empty, try removing the insulation to permit greater heat gain. You also can try painting houses a different color, most often darker. Attaching nursery houses back-to-back on poles may reduce extremes of temperature fluctuations Such houses in the hottest climates may benefit from tin roofs with enough overhang on the east and west sides to reduce solar heating during mid-day. Ventilation slots, like those used by Lisa Williams, are also a good idea. Advice Summary CAREFULLY CAULK AND ADD two or three coats of paint to all houses. The objective is to provide a seal against moisture and to prevent drafts at the top where bats roost. Best colors in the South are light brown, possibly white or medium brown, ranging to dark brown or black in the North, probably black in Canada. Provision of at least a five-inch extension of the back board for a vertical landing platform, horizontally grooved at half-inch intervals, will help returning bats. Most occupied houses face east or west, but additional experimentation with dark brown versus black, facing south, is recommended in the coolest climates. An overlapping tin roof may provide additional protection in the hottest areas. Our tests last summer showed that houses with at least partial sloping bottoms are more stable in temperature. This coul