Bat House Forum

[bohningr]

Hey:

I am in the process of building a bat house.  I've talked about it for a long time... now I am finally doing it.

Question about water:  what sources do the bats use?  There is a large pond about four-tenths of a mile away.  But will they use other sources?  Small back yard ponds?  Bird baths?

I've built a fountain/pond in my back yard.  It is basically a box about 4 feet square, and 3 feet high.  I have a fountain in the center of the 'pond' to circulate the water.  Is this something that the bats might use?  Is there some way to make this 'water-box' better for use by bats?

Just curious...

 

Rick

[Dave Miller]

I have read that bats will use any body of water that is at least bathtub-sized.   In dry areas they are more willing to use smaller bodies of water.

So I would say that if you live in a desert with no other water sources, bats may use your fountain.  However it sounds like there is a pond nearby.

Bats also need to have clear "airspace" around the water source, so you might make sure there is at least one easy entrance and exit path to/from the water.

[cloudman75]

My experience with little browns is that they exit the bat houses and leave right away for a good size lake about a thousand yards away. There is a swimming pool next door and they have never been seeen using that. If you have a large pond close by, I would bet that they will use that not only for water but to feed. Of course bats do what I am also building my third bat house right now so my 94 bats can look it over before they leave in Nov. for hibernation. I would find it interesting to know the details of your bat house as to size, number of chambers, etc. Mine is a Johnson type bat house for this one only. It will probably have at least 5 chambers depending on my materials on hand. My bat house under construction is about 24 inches high, 12 inches wide and 12 inches deep. I am using screening on the baffles in lieu of sawing or scratching the wood to help the bats cling to it. I will paint it dark at the top third, blue in the middle and white on the lower third as it gets hot in Georgia.

Good luck