Bat houses

Zipping, Flipping, 

Skating, Chasing

I watch their preformance in the twilight.

The sun is slipping,

The sky is slate and indigo

I try to rub the sleep from my eyes.

Gentle soul,

you do not frighten me,

I am happy to see you here.

You feast on mosquitos

that cause me grief

and make me itch and fear.

Dancing bat

how fast you dart! 

Only glimpses now in the moonlight.

Not with sight,

but with sound

you will never cease to amaze me.

So stay with me

safe and warm

in the little house I made thee.

All of the poetry I found about bats when I quickly scanned the internet disappointed me, as they were all about how they were frightening creatures of the night; mice with fangs and human faces. I find this incredibly misleading and disheartening in a world where bats populations are slowly fading but needed more than ever before. Bats in Maine are are threatened by habitat alteration, commercial pesticide use, control practices, and wind power development. They are also threatened by the White-Nose Fungus (Geomyces destructans) Disease. White-nose syndrome causes hibernating bats to awaken more often during hibernation and prematurely use up fat reserves needed to survive the winter. For those of you who don't know very much about bats, take a minute to read this quick introduction that I found on the Bat Conservation International website, it's fascinating:

Bats are essential to the health of our natural world. They help control pests and are vital pollinators and seed-dispersers for countless plants. Yet these wonderfully diverse and beneficial creatures are among the least studied and most misunderstood of animals.

Centuries of myths and misinformation still generate needless fears and threaten bats and their habitats around the world. Bat populations are declining almost everywhere. Losing bats would have devastating consequences for natural ecosystems and human economies. Knowledge is the key. 

The more than 1,200 species of bats – about one-fifth of all mammal species – are incredibly diverse. They range from the world's smallest mammal, the tiny bumblebee bat that weighs less than a penny to giant flying foxes with six-foot wingspans. Except for the most extreme desert and polar regions, bats have lived in almost every habitat on Earth since the age of the dinosaurs.

Bats are primary predators of night-flying insects, including many of the most damaging agricultural pests and others that bedevil the rest of us. More than two-thirds of bat species hunt insects, and they have healthy appetites. A single little brown bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in a single hour, while a pregnant or lactating female bat typically eats the equivalent of her entire body weight in insects each night.

Almost a third of the world's bats feed on the fruit or nectar of plants. In return for their meals, these bats are vital pollinators of countless plants (many of great economic value) and essential seed dispersers with a major role in regenerating rainforests. About 1 percent of bats eat fish, mice, frogs or other small vertebrates.

Only three species, all in Latin America, are vampires. They really do feed on blood, although they lap it like kittens rather than sucking it up as horror movies suggest. Even the vampires are useful: an enzyme in their saliva is among the most potent blood-clot dissolvers known and is used to treat human stroke victims.

Here in Maine we have 8 species of bats, the most common of which are the little brown bat and the big brown bat. These bats both eat moths, beetles, mosquitoes, and flies. As bats don't do well in cold temperatures (because there aren't really any insects to eat) they either migrate to warmer places or use a hibernation site called a hibernaculum. The hibernaculum protects bats from predators, light, noise, and other disturbances.

Little Brown Bat (batworld.com)

One fantastic way you can help boost bat populations here in Maine, and to encourage them to live on your property (excellent mosquito control) is to instal a bat house. Often times bats will prefer bat houses over natural structures and bat houses can even become a hibernaculum. They are more likely to live in your bat house if it is in a warm, sunny spot (either on the south side of a house or on a pole) in an open area at least 20 feet from trees. They also like to be not to far from a water source, which is easy in Maine since there are so many rivers and lakes distrubuted across the state.

We installed our own bat house onto our house early this spring. Not only do we want to help out the Maine bat populations, but we also have a lot of mosquitoes in the summer due to a vernal pool in our back yard. We are hoping that the bats will come gobble them up so we can enjoy our evenings outside more!

Here are some guidelines for installing a bat house in Maine from the Maine IF&W website:

• If you are making a bat house to use in Maine, paint it with multiple coats of flat black exterior latex and place it where it will receive full sun. Maine bats need and seek a home that bakes in the sun – a nice warm place to raise their young – and one that lets them decrease their metabolic needs during roosting.

• Build or buy a bat house that is at least two feet tall and 14 or more inches wide. Bigger is better. A roughened or screen-covered landing platform measuring three to six inches should extend below the house.

• The house can be single-chambered or multi-chambered, but chambers should be three quarters to one inch wide; including variety in size will provide for the needs of different species.

• The houses should be caulked during construction and (preferably) screwed rather than nailed. The idea is to create a tight microclimate inside the house, one capable of trapping both the heat of the day and the warmth generated by the bats themselves.

• Place the house in full sun, preferably on its own pole; the next-best location is on the southern side of a building in full sun. The optimal temperature range is between 85 and 104 degrees F. Do not put it on a tree, which provides too much shade and is too close to hawk and owl perch sites. Keep the area around the entrance clear of obstructions for 20 feet.

We had purchased our house from a local greenhouse, and on the instructions it said not to paint it. But everything I've read about installing bat houses say to paint it black! I'm also not sure the house is big enough. So we might end up altering this one, or making a completely new one, but its a start.

Yesterday, while I was outside at twilight, I caught a glimpse of something flying just over my head. I brushed it off as a bird until something in my unconscious mind reminded me it was dark and the birds were sleeping. When I looked up again, I saw the beautiful site of a bat zigging and zagging in the moonlit sky. It was circling and darting with such speed and grace, I couldn't help but take a moment to stand there quietly with my toddler and observe it. I do hope this means that some bats decided to move into our little house. Even if not, I am very excited to see them visiting our property!

If you want to read more about bats, here are some great resources (include info how to build/instal houses):
Bats in Maine: Maine IF&W and Maine Audubon
Bat Conservation: Bat Conservation International and Organization for Bat Conservation