OhGizmo! - Latest Comments in Use Bats To Combat Your Yard’s Mosquito Population

Re: Use Bats To Combat Your Yard’s Mosquito Population

Michelle. — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 04:14:12 -0000

If you have bats anywhere in the area they will come by and check it out and most likely move in.

Re: Use Bats To Combat Your Yard’s Mosquito Population

Michelle. — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 04:13:27 -0000

We're so going to do this when we move into the house, we can't at the moment as we rent. I love bats!

Re: Use Bats To Combat Your Yard’s Mosquito Population

Ruth Mettler (FluffyRAM) — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 11:18:49 -0000

I was a bat conservation volunteer before I emigrated so I will share a few considerations....

It can take a few years before bats move in - they are much more fickle than birds and usually return to established roosts.

Bats have different types of roosts - winter / summer / maternity.
Bats eat their body weight in mosquitoes/insects each night and are a valuable part of the ecosystem.
Bats are also struggling, much like the Monarch butterflies and the honey bees, so they need all the help we can give them.
Placement of a bat house is important - there must be a good, clear drop beneath it so the bats can 'let go' and fall into a glide to get 'up and away'.
Preferably place it facing south.
Check periodically for wasp nests etc and remove (bats will not move in if it is occupied).

Never paint / treat the interior (especially do not spray with insect killer).
Once bats have moved in, DO NOT DISTURB.
Check online for a local bat conservation contact and keep it handy, in case you find a sick or injured bat near the roost.
Bats can carry rabies and other diseases, so always wear gloves and avoid contact.

Guano will accumulate below the roost but will not be much (it takes years and years to accumulate to what you see on TV!) - and can be cleared up - it makes good fertilizer!

Hope that helps :)

Re: Use Bats To Combat Your Yard’s Mosquito Population

woodworkingbooks — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 00:10:43 -0000

There are plenty of contraptions that promise to rid your yard of the pests.

Re: Use Bats To Combat Your Yard’s Mosquito Population

wally — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:09:41 -0000

In North Carolina in my back yard I occasionally see bats at twilight. Most people assume they are birds, but you can tell by their fast and mildly erratic wingbeat that they are bats. I wouldn't mind putting this on a tree facing away from my house for the mosquito benefits, but my concern would be smell from the guano that would build up on it or under it. Anyone have one of these and care to comment?

Re: Use Bats To Combat Your Yard’s Mosquito Population

skeptic — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:56:57 -0000

Um... K...
So how are you suppose to get 40 bats in there? Do you have to buy them or do they just show up like birds to bird houses?