Information on Bats

Placement and proper knowledge of how bat houses work is crucial if you want to be successful in keeping these little guys around.

• Bat houses are useful for keeping bats out of attics and barns.
• Bats are chased from their natural habitats when forests are cut. They seek shelter anywhere they can find and all too often an attic or shed is their new home. This can be dangerous to both people and bats. Keep in mind that although they aren't vicious, they are still wild animals.
• Placing a bat house next to vents on the outside of a home with an attic will deter the creatures from inhabiting homes. And in many cases this is a safe way to move bats that are already nesting in homes.
• Bat houses should be placed high on buildings or posts, typically 15-18 feet above ground. This makes it easier for bats to see them at night and keeps them safe from predators.
• Bats don't mind sharing their bat houses. Although if you have a heavy traffic flow of bats it's ideal to have two or three houses. In fact, up to 600 bats can share one bat house if it's large enough!
• Bat houses placed in areas that have 6-10 direct hours of sunlight are a great place for mothers to live together and nest their babies. Bats are relatively small and get cold easily, like other small mammals. Keeping their bat house in a sunny place will keep them healthier and happier.

• Many people fear bats, seeing them as rabid creatures, but, in all reality only .05% of bats have ever been found to carry the disease. This breaks down to 40 cases since 1960 that involves rabies being transmitted to a human via bats.
• There was huge controversy about bats carrying West Nile Virus. There are many blood borne diseases carried my mosquitoes. The bats don't catch these diseases, such as the West Nile Virus, by eating the bugs. Looking at it, it seems that bats really do serve as a great source of disease control.
• Bats mostly eat insects, fruit, and nectar. There are very few species that are carnivorous and eat small animals such as frogs and lizards.
• The only bat that feeds off blood, the vampire bat, resides in South America, getting it's nutrition from small rabbits and farm animals. The Vampire bat actually laps blood, like a cat does milk, very unlike the myths that many people have come to believe as truth.
• Many people think bats naturally seek out their attics for shelter. Untrue again. Bats seek shelter just like any other mammal does, and when forests are cut down and hollowed out trees removed, these little flyers have no where else to turn.
• Bats aren't out to attack anyone. They will, like any other animal defend themselves when threatened. If you find yourself nesting a group of bats and want them out of your house, just follow the tips here on how to humanely and safely remove bats from your home.