bats

[AncientHouse]

Thanks Pat. I'll go on researching.

Lee [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Ancient, I wonder if we are trying to be too high tech? Do you suppose you could place a "check valve" over the ingress/egress hole the bats use? A lightly spring loaded flap that a bat could push open from the inside but not push open from the outside.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[AncientHouse]

well we put screen on the larger entries with the bottom being the only side not sealed and we used expanding foam for any other holes we could see. So either we've missed something or they are getting back in or they aren't all leaving. So it seems we have to scare them out.

[Pat]

Ancient, Perhaps you could try some sort of semi-natural biological scare tactic. Fit a cat (preferably a good mouser) with booties to prevent the use of their claws and put them in the attic (or space containing bats.) The cat will have fun chasing the bats but will not lilkely harm many and the bats will probably want to "get out of Dodge" ASAP.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[AncientHouse]

That actually sounds like a great idea. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] Great if you get the right cat. How about the insulation that's up in the attic? Hence, the booties. Hard to get booties on a cat. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[Anjou]

farmerjim,

Lucky for you that you've got a sizeable bat population for insect control. It's too bad that they're becoming a nuisance. Perhaps your bat house is not as appealing as the barn. maybe if you put up a few more or tried moving the existing one to a different location or oriented it in a different direction (South?) We've only got a bat or two around our place at night so I was hoping down the road to build a few boxes and attach them to the telephone poles.

Our living room, with the 17' cathedral ceiling was open for awhile and we had an unexpected visitor roosting in the trusses... a barn owl! I'm not sure who was more startled me or it, but it hasn't been back since. He got at least one juicy mouse to eat while he was there. I hope that once I do get around to building a barn that I can get him to come home to roost again. That would be sooooo cool.