And it is part of my job as a parent to teach my children about new things.
I bought the bat house in a hardware store. It is made of cedar, about the size of a birdhouse, but instead of a hole on the side for birds, it has slots on the bottom for bats to fly into the house. Determined to attract bats to this new abode, I did some research - where else - on the internet.
The house needs to face the southeast to maximize the amount of sun it gets in the morning. That helps keep the bats warm. Some people will paint their bat house black to absorb more heat - I did not.
The bat house needs to be placed 10-15 feet off the ground. Most "bat sites" advise putting the house on a pole; for some reason that leads to more success. The second best spot is said to be on the side of a building. I did not have a 10-foot pole lying around the house, and I don't want to risk attracting the bats into my own home, so I attached the bat house to the side of a large tree, far away from my house, with the accompanying screws (I included a picture of it in this blog). We'll see how it does.
Whenever I tell someone about the bat house, their first question is always the same: "why do you want to attract bats?" Simple. Because I want to eradicate other flying pests. Bats love to eat insects like mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects. One website says a single bat can catch hundreds of large insects per hour.
Yes, bats can carry rabies, but most conservationists say they are no more likely to have the disease than other wildlife. In fact, batconservation.org says only 0.5-percent of bats have been known to carry rabies, while 99-percent of animal-to-human transmission rabies cases involve dogs. And when a bat is suffering from rabies, it is usually unable to fly.
Sure, a bat has been known to fly near a human's head every now and then, but it's probably because it is capturing an insect that was about to bother you. If a human gets bit by a bat, it is usually because that person tried to pick one up. And no, bats are not blind; they use a sensory system similar to radar that is actually better than "seeing," especially during the darkness of night when they search for insects.
Finally, conservationists have noticed a troubling drop in the bat population due to disease. By having a successful bat house, you are helping the environment. (The most common species, the little brown bat, is not currently endangered or under any protection status).
So, any bats in my bat house yet? No, but it's still early. If and when they set up shop, they will offer my children a glimpse into a misunderstood mammal, and a feeling of responsibility for nature.
Oh, and it will be pretty cool to watch them flying around.
Great site with advice on putting up bat houses plus other bat facts: http://www.batconservation.org/
Troubleshooting if bat house does not attract bats: http://www.batmanagement.com/Batcentral/boxbuild/build1.html
Bat house builder's handbook: http://www.eparks.org/wildlife_protection/wildlife_facts/bats/bat_house.asp
Bat info from National Wildlife Federation: http://www.nwf.org/get-outside/outdoor-activities/garden-for-wildlife/gardening-tips/build-a-bat-house.aspx
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