Wild About Wild Life

A wonderful way to control mosquitoes and insects, naturally, in your neck of the woods is with BATS!!! Yes, those weird little creatures that fly through the air and are kind of freaky looking. There are many myths surrounding these assets of nature, but that will be for another article. Knowing how to counter act our insects requires knowing what tools are available in our area to do so. Maybe you have considered housing bats for natural insect control and for pollination, but don’t know what bats are in your area to do so. Lets take a look now at what kinds of bats are in YOUR area and we hope this will be educational for you at the same time.

Northeastern States: In this area of the country you will probably see the Little Brown and the Big Brown and they do use artificial roosts or bat houses. You might also find the Evening Bat, Eastern Pipistrelle, Yuma Myotis or the Mexican free- tailed bat and these also will use bat houses. Almost any bat that lives in crevices, old buildings, attics or under bridges will likely live in a bat house. Again as in the previous article on attracting bats you can paint the bat house black or a dark shade in this section of the country and face it to the south-southeast to keep it warm.

Northwestern States: Some of the common bat species that occupy artificial roosts would be the Eastern Pipistrelle, Pallid bat, Little Brown, Big Brown, Mexican free-tailed and the Yuma myotis. Again because of the generally colder temperatures you can paint the exterior of the bat houses a darker color for heat absorption.

Southeastern States: Down here some bats like the roost in total sunlight, some in partial shade and others in total shade. You can leave the house a natural wood or paint it white with a non-toxic latex paint. Again roosts placed on buildings or poles are likely to be occupied first and if not filled by the second summer move to another location. In these states you are likely to see the Southeastern bat, Evening Bat, Big Brown and the Mexican Free-tailed.

Southwestern states: As in the Southeast some bats prefer total sunlight, others partial shade and others full shade. The most common bats in this area are the Mexican Free-tailed, Big Brown, Little Brown and a few other species that I can not find definite conformation on artificial roost usage.

Bat occupancy varies and here are a few statistics to show why we need patience.

• In some surveys bats occupy about 60% of all types of roosts. Bats are always looking for roosts and are experts at detecting all types of shelters while they are foraging at night.
• Bat houses on poles or buildings are easier for them to find and are occupied 2- 21/2 times faster than placed at other areas. 90% of these artificial homes are occupied in the first 2 years , the rest took from 3-5 years. Multi chambered homes seem to work best.
• Maintain your bat houses each year and clean out wasp and mud-dauber nests with high pressure water. DO NOT use insecticides or poisons as they will kill the bats and the babies.
• Check the houses for cracks and seal up for their use the next year and good luck on your bat houses.

**For more information on how you can naturally help your environment with the proliferation and preservation of bats, simply visit:  http://www.wildlife-houses.com/product_info.php?cPath=15&products_id=331

Happy Bat-ting!!!

If you are interested in attracting bats to your garden, here are a few tips for you to follow. We will cover the different parts of the country and perhaps some of the best ways and places to mount bat houses as well as other criteria needed for your own insect controllers.

Lighting And Water To Attract Bats

Some general ideas that work in most places are keep your patio lights and any outdoor lights you have on all night. These lights attract insects and that provides a food source for your bats. Also a birdbath with fresh water would be something good for bats as they need fresh water to drink and it keeps them up a little higher to keep them out of a predators way. Okay, now to some specific information.

The Bats Roost – Where To Place Them

Bats are always looking for new roosts and the primary thing for us to remember is patience. It may take up to two years to establish a roost. So consider were to put up an artificial roost and in what direction to face it and if the OUTSIDE Only of the bat house should be painted. The bat house should be facing to the south-southeast for at least seven hours of direct sunlight. If there is a permanent stream or pond within a quarter mile this would also be great for them and if there is a woods or forest tree line within 100 feet to hide in in case of predators also good. However not all locales support this, so alternatives will be needed. For example a birdbath with fresh water would work or a garden pool would also be agreeable to them.

Temperature – An Important Consideration

Temperature is a critical requirement for bats. In the northern and central parts of the country the bat roosts need heat and lots of it, especially in the winter. You can paint the outside of the bat house a darker color with a non-toxic latex paint and try to provide the roost with at least 6-8 hours of sunlight, preferably eight to twelve hours would be better. Make sure the edges are caulked to prevent air leaks as this will cause the heat to leak out. Most bats have a winter hibernation place to go but you may be lucky and they will stay in the roost, but remember if you disturb them in any way during hibernation they will probably die.

In the southern climes paint the outside with a lighter more reflective color to remove some of the heat from the roost. If you mount the bat houses on a pole in the south, put up two of them and face one north and one south. If the bats occupy the north one more, in extremely hot temperatures between 95-100 and above a 100 degrees you can put up a tin roof over the top of the houses and if the temperatures run between 95-100 it is highly recommended to paint the roost a medium color and a white roof and over a 100 paint a light shade and a white roof. Again temperature is critical for the summer roosts and nurseries. Remember some bats have a winter hibernation area and they will return the next season.

The Importance of Proper Mounting

Where you mount a bat house is critical and they will be occupied quicker if on a building or pole. Again they need to be high enough to be beyond the reach of most predators. Between 12-25 feet at the lowest and maybe better at around twenty feet if possible. New roosts need to be up before winter so they can be found in the spring when the bats come out to eat after hibernation. If the roost is not occupied by the second year try moving it to a different location. Remember, patience is necessary if you want to have bats around. A great natural insect controller.

* For More Information On Roosts For Your Local Bats To Help With Natural Insect Control And Pollination, Please Visit: http://www.wildlife-houses.com/product_info.php?cPath=15&products_id=331

When you think of a “butterfly”, maybe is causes you to think of Disney’s Prilla and the Butterfly Lie  which is a story about  Nettle, who asks Prilla to join in on caterpillar sheering for the second day in a row, but Prilla tells a little white lie—she prefers butterflies to caterpillars. Then all the butterfly-herding talent fairies come down with a case of fairy pox, and because of her “love of butterflies,” Prilla is asked to help out. But butterfly-herding is a lot harder than it sounds. Butterflies are downright mischievous, making Prilla’s life perfectly miserable.

But that is not the type of “Butterfly” that we are referring to. This is a bat, not a real butterfly. Here you will find how the Eastern Pipistrelle Bat got the nickname “Butterfly Bat” and a whole lot more fun facts about this handy little guy.

Recognition: The Eastern Pipistrelle is just slightly larger than the Western Pipistrelle and just barely reaches 3 ½ inches long with a wingspan up to maybe 9 inches and weighs in at a whopping 5-8 grams or .17 to .28 ounces. This bat is readily distinguished by its tri-color dorsal hairs. Dark brown at the base and tips with a yellowish brown coloring in the middle. This is considered the smallest bat in the Eastern states. There is growing evidence that the Eastern Pipistrelle is only distantly related to the pipistrelles proper and some feel that it should be removed from the pipistrellus genus and moved to its own genus called Perimyotis. The nickname for this bat is the Butterfly bat because of its moth like flight pattern.

The Multi-Colored Butterfly Bat!

Range: The Eastern Pipistrelle usually is found in Eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and Minnesota, through Mexico to Guatemala and the Northern Honduras.

Habitats: This bat typically spends its summers in the same general area as the hibernaculum (Winter Hibernation Roost).Seldom does it travel more that fifty miles when this animal get ready for winter hibernation. It generally roosts in caves, more than most other bats in the eastern North America’s. They will roost in rock shelters and quarries but prefer caves. In the summer they will roost in hollow trees and buildings which puts this bat in the possible use of artificial roosts. This bat is one of the first to hibernate usually in September or October and one of the last to emerge in the spring. Males are usually solitary and the females will roost with populations of 35 or less. The average life of these bats are 4-8 years. As a side note this is one of the few bats that give birth to twins, probably because of the high mortality rate of the young.

Food Habits: The Eastern Pipistrelle usually emerges early while still light out and forages over waterways and forest edges eating moths, beetles, mosquitoes, midges, bugs, ants and a variety of other insects. This bat will eat 25% of its body mass in the first 30 minutes of hunting (And we thought our kids eating Big Mac’s was bad). It can capture and eat an insect every 2 seconds.

Problems: As with all bats some of the problems are the same. This bats biggest problem appears to be disturbances of the hibernaculum ( The shelter of a hibernating animal) and it has been found that placing bat friendly gates on these abandoned mines and caves has prevented human disturbances of their hibernation time and thus reducing the loss of the bat population.

For more information on how YOU can help these little creatures as well as naturally control pests in your yard, simply go to:  http://www.wildlife-houses.com/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=38&osCsid=9b401fe7d8adf8c81f2db1cf5cdd48f2

Our featured wildlife house for this week is The Bat Mansion – Bat House! The Bat Mansion – Bat House  houses several hundred bats in five chambers plus an attic, which provides for greater temperature stability.  Bats seek most comfortable temperture by moving up or down inside the house.  A popular house because of its large capacity.

This can be fun and educational for the whole family and at the same time, provide natural pollination and insect control as an alternative to the ever decreasing polularity of using chemical or non-organic substances.

For more information on where you can aquire a Bat Mansion – Bat House of your own, visit us at:  http://www.wildlife-houses.com/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=40

Be a part of the solution and enjoy!

The Bat Mansion

The Little Brown Bat (Myotis Lucifugis) is one of the most common bats in the United States and is found from Labrador, the Northwest Territories and central Yukon into Alaska, all of Northern United States to Georgia and Southern California. The population is stable but is highly susceptible to pesticides and habitat destruction.

The little Brown’s favorite foods are gnats, beetles, moths and mosquitoes. The Little brown will eat about 1200 mosquitoes a night and helps protect crops from insect damage. The Little Brown hunts at night and requires water to survive. They fly just over the water swallowing water as they hunt for food.

During the summer the mothers and their babies will roost in giant nurseries with maybe 1000’s of bats in it. The mother can always find their pup by its smell and sounds it makes.

As winter sets in these bats may travel up to about 170 miles to their winter roost. This will be some safe place for them to hibernate during the winter months. This winter roost is called a hibernaculum. These bats are mammals and will die if disturbed during their hibernation period. They have enough body fat stored away to let them survive the winter, but as more and more habitations are being destroyed these bats will die off.

The bat does need our help as hollow trees are removed and caves and mines are blocked off or people enter, they will die. There are ways to help these gentle creatures if we remember all they need is food, water and shelter, much as we do. A colony of bats will eat a tremendous amount of insects each night and think what a great BBQ you could have with no gnats or mosquitoes around.