Information about Bat Houses
Why Build a Bat House
Most people are frightened by false myths about bats, but the truth is that bats are very beneficial to the environment. Bats will eat up to their full body weight in insects each night, reducing backyard and farm-crop pests. Some species play a critical role in fruit production, as they disperse seeds and pollinate fruits by drinking the nectar of flowers such as mangos and avocados.
Today bats need our help. Almost 40 percent of all bats are threatened or endangered, due to a variety of threats. Sometimes people intentionally destroy bats, driven by largely unfounded fears: fear that bats attack people, that they will fly into people's hair, or that they all carry rabies. Habitat destruction is also a significant problem. Many people remove snags (dead or dying trees) from their yards, but snags provide preferred habitat for many bats. By building a bat house, you can help provide critical roosting sites for bats in your area, providing them with an alternative to attics and garages.
Click on the following for additional information about bat houses:
Bat Conservation International
www.batcon.org/catalog/catp3.html
Bat Conservation International
http://www.batcon.org/bhra/index.html
Chiroptera Cabin Company
www.chiropteracabins.com
National Wildlife Federation
http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/bathouse.cfm
RayCrafters
home.att.net/~dsray
Daniel Boone National Forest
MacGregor-Dourson
Bat House
Rocket Box on 2" steel pipe
Dourson - MacGregor
Design
(Documented to support Indiana Bat maternity colonies)
Scott’s Bat House Page
http://users.ms11.net/~habitat/bat/bathome.htm
