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 Message Boards » » Bat houses (to help deal with mosquitoes) Page 1 [2] 3, Prev Next  
rjrumfel
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I see synapse wants to get in on the ground floor for the next covid outbreak.

6/21/2021 3:05:54 PM

DonMega
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I was taking the trash out around sunset and decided to watch the bat house for a few minutes. I saw over 25 bats come out in a 5 minute period, so definitely have some residents now!

https://youtu.be/1Mb99hNdszA

5/17/2022 9:12:29 PM

The Coz
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That is cool! Thanks for the update!

5/17/2022 11:13:22 PM

StTexan
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Have you noticed a reduction in mosquitoes?

5/17/2022 11:55:56 PM

Bullet
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Nice. I put mine up a couple months ago, but I assume I won't see any bats in it until next year.

5/18/2022 10:52:37 AM

DonMega
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I haven't really noticed any mosquitos anywhere yet (just saw the first one at the pool on Wednesday). The bats spend a lot of time in the woods behind my house so maybe they are reducing the number of bugs there.

5/21/2022 11:42:43 AM

The Coz
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Maybe?! More like definitely.

5/21/2022 6:51:31 PM

Wraith
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DonMega, how long was it up before you saw the bats. I've had mine up for almost two years now -- I check it every few months and no evidence of anything .

2/10/2023 3:04:22 PM

DonMega
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I didnt notice a ton of activity the first year but I put the house up in late spring. The second spring (last year) I noticed a ton of activity. We have a lot of trees and a creek in the back yard (and my neighbors+me had them in our attics) so I knew there were bats in the area.

I got a new roof last year and the roofing company said the ridge vent was batproof, that was a lie and I have seen bat droppings in the attic again

2/19/2023 8:52:33 AM

The Coz
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Maybe they got in some other way than the ridge vent.

2/19/2023 11:02:20 AM

DonMega
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possibly, but I have noticed the pollen clusters that fall from the trees also get into the attic, and it is directly under the ridge vent. My guess is that the ridge vent has a gap big enough to blow that tiny stuff in and that a bat could also crawl in. I know that when the bat guy installed the screens he said to block a ridge vent you had to pull it up and put a screen underneath - I'm guessing the subcontractor of the roofing contractor just put the standard ridgevent in and the roofing company told me whatever I wanted to hear.

2/20/2023 11:43:29 PM

Wraith
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Been having some nice weather lately. Went up to the roof on Sunday to check the bat house. No evidence of any bats but its prob still too cold for them to move in. There was the beginnings of a wasp nest in there though. Good thing I caught it early and removed it. Do bats eat wasps too?

[Edited on February 22, 2023 at 1:01 PM. Reason : ]

2/22/2023 1:01:29 PM

StTexan
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Updates? If I were a bat, I would love all the mosquitoes about now

6/5/2023 9:02:26 PM

Bullet
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It's hard to see in mine, but I don't think there are any bats in it.

To those who have bat tenants, is there a pile of guano (poop) underneath the house?

6/7/2023 10:54:56 AM

DonMega
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Yes, there is a huge pile of black droppings at the bottom of mine. I will try to get a picture tomorrow. I see them flying at dusk but haven't watched them come out of the house yet this year

6/9/2023 11:20:20 PM

StTexan
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^You and bullet should swap houses and see if they stay in his or come back to your new one! Haha…just wondering, has this had a discernible difference in how bit up you get from mosquitoes?

6/9/2023 11:36:19 PM

DonMega
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I haven't noticed many mosquitos, I did have one buzzing around me this afternoon when down near the creek, but I would have expected many more this time of year

here is the picture of the droppings. when I got close some of the bats in the bat house started making a bunch of noise, it was a little freaky!


[Edited on June 11, 2023 at 11:14 PM. Reason : ]

6/11/2023 11:13:09 PM

Wraith
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Still no tenants in my bat house, outside of the attempted wasp nest that I took care of a while back.

I see bats coming out of the woods and flying around over the streets at night, so I know they are around. I guess they just like the woods more.

6/12/2023 12:14:36 PM

StTexan
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To do list
See a big pile of bat poop

6/14/2023 2:01:09 AM

The Coz
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Not sure that qualifies as a big pile, but nice job completing your list!

6/14/2023 5:12:18 PM

DonMega
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Thank god the rain washes it away, otherwise it would turn into a bigger pile

6/14/2023 8:34:06 PM

justinh524
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Bag it and sell it as fertilizer

6/18/2023 2:12:16 PM

The Coz
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"Now look, Colonel Bat Guano -- if that is your real name. . ."

6/18/2023 3:31:37 PM

StTexan
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Is it possible to give regular updates? Ever thought of putting a 2nd bat house?

7/3/2023 11:59:09 PM

StTexan
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Update please

4/11/2024 10:43:04 PM

The Coz
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Update: Bats doing bat things.

4/12/2024 3:17:05 PM

StTexan
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Bttt

4/12/2024 11:33:04 PM

DonMega
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Noticed a couple turds so far, no real activity yet

4/14/2024 9:13:50 PM

StTexan
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Has turd production noticeably increased further into spring?

5/6/2024 10:36:27 PM

The Coz
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Yes, need an urgent turd update!

5/7/2024 6:49:30 AM

StTexan
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A pic like above would be awesome too

5/7/2024 6:35:31 PM

DonMega
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Rain washed away all turds, haven't noticed much activity yet. I will check in daylight hours tomorrow

5/7/2024 8:57:14 PM

StTexan
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They wouldn't like abandon it, would they? Do you know what the inside of the house looks like, a few years into this?

5/7/2024 9:04:21 PM

DonMega
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Fresh turds!



I haven't noticed a bunch of bats at night yet, but I also haven't really been looking yet. Guess they are there.

5/8/2024 10:45:16 PM

StTexan
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So freaking neat!

5/9/2024 2:07:52 AM

DonMega
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my daughter and I were out watching the fireflies in the backyard (there are a ton this year!) so we happened to be near the bat house when the bats were coming out. We counted at least 60, but they were coming out so fast it is likely we missed a bunch. They were still coming out once it got too dark to see, so who knows how many are in that bat box. It was very exciting!

also if you want a turd update, there are so many turds you can't even see the concrete any more

[Edited on May 27, 2024 at 9:17 PM. Reason : turd alert]

5/27/2024 9:15:54 PM

StTexan
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Still get bit by mosquitos? Or pretty much never?

5/27/2024 11:04:43 PM

The Coz
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Sounds like you could start a lucrative fertilizer business on the side.

5/28/2024 9:37:43 AM

Bullet
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I've had mine up for 2 or 3 years now, I don't think they've ever moved-in, even though we see bats flying around every night during the summer.

5/28/2024 12:23:14 PM

DonMega
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There are mosquitos, but they haven't been bad this year. I went out to film the bats leaving the batbox last night, and I didn't get bit despite standing still in the backyard for 10ish minutes. Here is the video from last night, I missed the mass exodus but you can still see bats leave every few seconds. After the 2 minute mark they started circling the bat house, not sure if it was defensive reaction because I was standing there. Took a shot of where they normally go too once leaving the bat house, down the hill and into the woods along the creek.

5/29/2024 9:15:31 AM

Bullet
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Very cool, thanks for sharing!

5/29/2024 9:48:36 AM

JT3bucky
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Bought a small 3 chamber recently. I think I will eventually have to move it though as its near the edge of the woods and doesn't have direct sunlight.


Excited about the bats but I know it's a waiting game. The mosquitoes this year are horrific, which caused me to get a box.

^^My box said it needed to be up 15' high, I notice yours is not nearly that high and it still works just fine, interesting.

[Edited on May 29, 2024 at 10:25 AM. Reason : g]

5/29/2024 10:11:46 AM

The Coz
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^^^I enjoyed your mosquito dance from 12 years ago.

5/29/2024 7:21:54 PM

DonMega
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My box is 7-8 feet high. I put it in the morning sun and afternoon shade. When the bats were above my door, it was also only 7-8 feet clearance, but really the height was determined because that was the longest 4x4 I could get.

I question how many mosquitoes they actually eat since it seems they fly pretty high and the mosquitoes are low, but it is not like I am monitoring them that closely.

^ didn't expect people to scope old my old videos! Wait until my old travel blog is found

5/29/2024 10:17:52 PM

The Coz
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LOL! You didn't expect people on The Wolf Web to look at what other content you had previously posted?

5/30/2024 12:55:43 PM

emnsk
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Wow, you people actually exist?

5/30/2024 6:06:15 PM

StTexan
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^^^idk why i thought it was higher up than that. Concrete block not visible in pic above, covered in poop

[Edited on May 30, 2024 at 9:05 PM. Reason : So like are they mating etc in that box or is it somewhere else?]

5/30/2024 9:04:28 PM

DonMega
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the bottom of the box over my head by a foot or two, which is why I think it is 7-8 feet off the ground. And definitely lots of turds! Even the rain didn't wash it all away

the pest guy that helped me get rid of the bats from my house said they mate from April to August, and they have babies that stay in the box during the night while the mother feeds. I read online that you want afternoon shade so that the babies don't overheat in the hot summer sun, but you want morning sun to warm up the box from the cooler nights.

I think I have seen the box shake slightly during the day, not sure if it is an optical illusion but I took it to mean that the bats are shifting position or the box gets top heavy. If the box is a rockin, don't come a knockin.

5/30/2024 11:50:54 PM

StTexan
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I guess at this point, I'd be curious about their predators. And whether they would reproduce and return to your house cause they had that home(the one you built) to plot and scheme.

[Edited on June 2, 2024 at 6:32 PM. Reason : -]

6/2/2024 6:32:28 PM

Wraith
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Quote :
"I've had mine up for 2 or 3 years now, I don't think they've ever moved-in, even though we see bats flying around every night during the summer."


Same with me. I've had my bat house mounted to the side of my chimney for years now with nothing more than an attempted wasp nest. Its definitely high up enough (two story house and it is near the top of the chimney), it gets sun in the morning and is shaded from about 2pm onward. I see tons of bats flying around at night. I guess they just don't like me as a potential roommate.

Quote :
"I question how many mosquitoes they actually eat"

Probably depends on the type of bat, but I've read that they can eat as many as a thousand mosquitos a night. Which sounds crazy. I fully support them eating those little bloodsuckers though.

[Edited on June 3, 2024 at 1:06 PM. Reason : ]

6/3/2024 1:05:39 PM

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