Something a Little Different

Jose Rodriguez · Fri Jul 04, 2014 7:44 am

Just sharing other friends in the fight of bug control. After waiting 6 years for these guys to move in they finally did. Brazilian Free-Tailed Bats "aka" Mexican Free-Tailed Bats. Each of the houses can hold up to 600 bats. We waited so long because I did not want to move the bat house. it was centered on our property and we had perfect area to sit and watch them come out. They come to the edge like this when it is very hot outside.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

msalcido · Fri Jul 04, 2014 8:06 am

That is awesome Jose! WOW so many! We had a bat house but took it down after two years! Didn't know that it could take that long to get them.

Anthony Neira · Fri Jul 04, 2014 8:14 am

That is a REAL Cool Factor! Congrat.s Jose !

Jose Rodriguez · Fri Jul 04, 2014 12:28 pm

Thanks everyone! I have to clarify something. The bats showed up 8 years ago "2006". The houses were up for six years before that year. Normally it takes a lot shorter time to have them move in but the location has to be just right for them. Every June is when the have one Pup. So that's how we have so many.

patw · Fri Jul 04, 2014 1:15 pm

did you make that?

Jose Rodriguez · Fri Jul 04, 2014 3:26 pm

Pat,

I built my first one. It was a one chamber 24" w x 18" h. I wanted something bigger so I ordered 2 Extra Large Bat Houses from Organization for Bat Conservation. I have friends that have used the small bat houses sold at hardware stores. Trust me they do not work. The chambers are to wide and the boxes are too small. The larger the bat house the better chances of having bats move in.

Here is the link to the houses. They came down on their prices.

http://batstore.org/collections/bat-hou ... -bat-house

patw · Fri Jul 04, 2014 5:10 pm

Jose thanks for the info, I do see bats around, this looks like something fun to try.

Connie · Sat Jul 05, 2014 7:17 am

Want!!

Jose Rodriguez · Sat Jul 05, 2014 3:14 pm

Just wanted to mention, the bats have a strong pungent urine odor. The guano does not have an odor. It's the urine from the bats. We don't mind it. We have gotten used to it. We don't smell it every day. Just every now and then when the wind is blowing in the right direction. It's better for people that have large properties. We have an acre lot and the houses are located way in the farthest part of our back yard.

P.S. It's mainly the Mexican Free Tailed Bats that have that odor. Not all bats have this. It all depends on the type of bats you have for your region. My wife grew up in PA and their attic was full of bats but no odor.

JF in FL · Sat Jul 05, 2014 7:44 pm

do you put your bat houses on a pole-how high-what direction should it face-I live in central florida-can they be in same area as my purple martin houses

Jose Rodriguez · Sun Jul 06, 2014 8:31 am

JF,

The bat houses need to be at least 16' to the bottom of the houses. The poles only came in 16' so I had to add an extra 4'x4x4 piece at top and mended the 4x4s like a splint using 1x4 cedar planks, liquid nail, and galvanized deck screws. The bat house needs to face southeast. I added a second one so they are back to back and they use both. They do not bother the Martins at all. Not from what I have witnessed. The Martins and the Swifts come in in the evening and then the Bats come out for the night. A sight to see!

I wanted a stronger pole "foundation" so I added extra 4x4s on each side and bolted all three 4x4s together with galvanized bolts all the way through. I used about 4 big bolts. the poles were at least 4 feet in the ground with concrete. I also added a predator guard around the upper part and because we have pets I made a little barrier with hardware cloth on the ground to keep them away from the guano. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Hope this helps! Good luck!