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Bat!

JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
in Wildlife gardening
Thought our neighbourhood bats had disappeared some time ago, only to see one just after dark nipping about eating up all the mosquitoes!

 :) 

Is it still worth putting up a bat box or will they have sorted a home for the season?

Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    put the box up, might not be used yet but there's time


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    It's never the wrong time to put up a bat box really. Most boxes get used infrequently as a day time roost. They might get used one day and then not again for weeks. Or you might get lucky and get more permanent residents. The active season for bats is technically the end of April to the beginning of September. If the weather is good though it can extend either way.

    My bat box gets used by sparrows for a roost over the winter. I need to set up a camera to see just how many can fit in there.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Where is the best place to site a bat box?
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    High up on a sunny wall and away from any sources of light like windows or outside lights.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Shelley20Shelley20 Posts: 36
    Wow I’m glad I came across this post, a bat box is a great idea! Bats are my favourite animals and it would be amazing to have them in the garden at night! Would you put anything in the box to encourage them to use it? 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    We’ve got them in our loft, the mess is awful, everything is sticky with wee and the droppings dries my throat when I have to go up there. Everything has to be covered with cardboard sheets, so if you’ve seen bats flying around your house I would definitely put a box up to encourage them there. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    No need to put anything in the box ... they just need a suitable box ... either a bought one or one made like this https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/give-nature-a-home-in-your-garden/garden-activities/buildabatbox/

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Lyn said:
    We’ve got them in our loft, the mess is awful, everything is sticky with wee and the droppings dries my throat when I have to go up there. Everything has to be covered with cardboard sheets, so if you’ve seen bats flying around your house I would definitely put a box up to encourage them there. 
    Bats that use lofts are usually a different species to ones that use boxes or crevices. Loft users are normally something like a horseshoe bat that need to have a lot of flying room in their roost or sometimes long eared bats that need somewhere safe to go and eat the bugs they catch as they eat larger insects. The ones in lofts are usually the rarer species but they do make more visable mess. On the plus side the dropping are great fertiliser if you can collect it easily.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Thinking about it though if you can find out what bats are using your loft you can create a bat box in there which would concentrate the roost area and reduce the spread of the droppings. They're referred to as 'hot boxes' as they're partly enclosed to increase the temperature in there to suit the bats maternity requirements. I've seen male only roosts though and I'm not sure they worry about where they hang to sleep.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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