Two and a half years ago, Jamey Emmert and her husband built a bat house. It was vacant until this spring, when a little brown bat named Wyclef moved in.
We were thrilled to have this little guy living with us,” Emmert said.
From November to March, bats hibernate in caves, rock crevices, and buildings, but they need a place to roost during the day and hunt for insects at night, which is when bat houses come in handy.
Occasionally, Emmert conducts programs on building small bat houses from kits as a wildlife communications specialist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. It was a gift, though, to give the couple a huge bat house, with multiple chambers that resembled an apartment building for bats. Since little brown bats tend to be loners and don’t like roommates, that worked well for Wyclef.
Specifications
With the bat-friendly decor, Wyclef can spend his days snoozing upside down. The interior is scored or textured so the bats can dig in and hang on with their claws.
In the humans’ home, the bat house was placed next to the attic vent because bats need some altitude before they can fly. Emmert recommended bat houses be placed as high as possible, at least 15 feet off the ground.
It’s also because bat houses have an entrance at the bottom rather than the front like birdhouses do. When Wyclef is ready to hunt bugs, usually after 9 p.m. on summer evenings, he “flings himself out of the opening at the bottom, drops down, makes a U-turn and comes up flying,” Emmert said.
According to her, bat houses should face east or southeast to avoid getting too hot in the afternoon sun. Trees, vegetation, and other obstacles should not exist in front of the house so that resident bats can swoop down and crawl through.
In the South, reflective white is preferred, while in Canada, darker colors are preferred to absorb heat. Ohio has relatively mild temperatures for three-quarters of the year, so neutral gray or greenish gray is good.
In addition to plans for building bat houses of varying sizes, Bat Conservation International has a list of approved vendors who sell kits or bat houses that have already been assembled. In addition to bat houses with one to four chambers, the Bat Conservation & Management organization sells “rocket box” houses that resemble dead trees.
Bat-friendly gardening
It is also possible for homeowners to help bats by planting native plants that attract nectar-drinking insects, such as moths. The book “Gardening for Moths: A Regional Guide” by Jim McCormac and Chelsea Gottfried recommends Culver’s root, evening primrose and spiderwort.
Similarly, bats need water, but a bird bath won’t do. Bats do not land to drink, but float down and sip water while flying, so their flight plan requires a pond, stream or other body of water that is long enough.
Emmert said, “Humans have a need for bats, and bats have a need for humans.” Protect bat populations, and you’ll also save countless other species.
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