Subject: Re: Bat houses - natural pest control
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture

>> If you need information about bat houses:
>> contact:

>> Bat Conservation International
>> North American Bat House Research Project
>> P.O. Box 162603
>> Austin, TX 78716
>> (512) 327-9721

>I certainly don't mean to knock the use of bat houses, since I think its a
>great idea, but do these work for anyone else.  I found plans on how to
>build a house several years ago and put up two near my house.  I attached
>them about 15 feet high on some large trees and I am still waiting for the
>little bug eaters to move into their new homes.  The houses are not in a
>real open area, but I thought the little brown bats were used to living in
>old rotten trees in the forest, so I didn't think a few trees around would
>bother them.  I see a few bats flying around in the evenings, so why don't
>they move in?  Any bat experts out there?

Newsgroups: misc.rural
From: [email-masked] (Gary Colson)
Subject: Re: bat houses
Date: Wed, 18 May 1994 19:55:27 GMT

>A friend of mine just walked into my office and plunked down a book
>entitled "The Bat House Builder's Handbook" by Merlin Tuttle and
>Donna Hensley.   The book came from Bat Conservation INternational,
>PO Box 162603, Austin TX 78716. It has many plans for bat houses,
>along with lots of useful information about bats (or propoganda, if
>you are one of the above-posting bat haters).  Personally, I think
>we had about 23 million mosquitos per night last year, and I live in
>the middle of a desert.  Yes, we had to screen in our porch last year,
>and no bug zappers do not work for the bugs that eat us--gnats and
>mosquitos.  
>
>Martha in NM

Thanks for the above post concerning the bat house book.  I'll see
about ordering it..........after I get through reading the incredible
flames generated from my original post.....my apologies to those of
you being offended.  It's too bad....I had just discovered misc.rural
& pleased to find it so civil compared to rec.motorcycles...oh well

Gary

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Bat houses
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 11:33:50 GMT

|> I'd like to build a bat house, but got very little info from the
|> library or bookstores.  Can anyone describe one made from wood?
|> I've read that the major differences between bird houses and bat
|> houses are that the bat house has a narrow slit near the floor,
|> instead of a hole (as in a bird house).  How wide should this
|> slit be?  Will a bat mind if i used cedar?  I heard/read that
|> bats are beneficial to gardens and they help keep mosquito
|> population down.

 The Spring 1994 catalog from "Plow and Hearth" arrived yesterday
and it has a book called "The Bat House Builders Handbook" by
Merlin D. Tuttle for $5.95. Their discription "the Bat House 
Builders Handbook provides the latest research on how to attract
bats and contains plans for building the most 'user-friendly'
houses. 36pp., photos."

 They also sell assembled houses in two sizes and a do-it yourself
kit in one size.

 The address: Plow & Hearth
              PO BOX 830
              ORANGE, VA 22960-0492

Customer Assistance 1-800-866-6072 (9 AM to 5 PM EST, Monday_Saturday)

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Bat House Plans
Date: 9 Mar 1994 16:22:26 GMT

Wouldn't it be better to buy the book directly from Bat
Conservation Int.?  The profits would go to protecting bats
instead of to Plough & Hearth.

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Bat houses

>I'd like to build a bat house, but got very little info from the
>library or bookstores.  Can anyone describe one made from wood?
>I've read that the major differences between bird houses and bat
>houses are that the bat house has a narrow slit near the floor,
>instead of a hole (as in a bird house).  How wide should this
>slit be?  Will a bat mind if i used cedar?  I heard/read that
>bats are beneficial to gardens and they help keep mosquito
>population down.

-----
Although my knowledge is also limited on this subject, I do
know that a bat house is taller, wider across and not as deep 
as a bird house.  The bottom is left entirely open and inside
sometimes there are small perch-type things inserted.

What I do know for certain, is that you'll have the best luck
attracting bats if you attach your bathouse on the south side of
your house at least 15-20 ft. from ground level.  Although you see 
the houses hung often on fir and pine trees, bats don't like shade.  
They like it where it's warm, hence the attraction to attics in houses!

Do you have a wild bird specialty store in your neighborhood?  Here
in Portland, we have lots of "Backyard Bird Shops".  It has been
here that I have found lots of info. on bats. The one I go to
even has 2-3 different kinds of already built bat houses on display.
(Already built, they run about $25, so it would be definitely cheaper
to build your own!)

Good luck!
Danni 

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: [email-masked] (Dick and Jill Miller)
Subject: Re: Bat houses
Date: Wed, 9 Mar 94 12:53:53 EST
 
>I'd like to build a bat house, but got very little info from the
>library or bookstores.  Can anyone describe one made from wood?
>I've read that the major differences between bird houses and bat
>houses are that the bat house has a narrow slit near the floor,
>instead of a hole (as in a bird house).
In some designs, that's the main external difference.  But the major 
differences are internal.  A bathouse has lots of 'walls' to make lots of 
slit-shaped 'rooms' each just the size for a bat to hide in.  (Remember 
how bats like to hide behind shutters?)  Most bat houses have several 
different spacings of these 'walls' so that different species of bats can 
be accomodated in one bat house. (Only one kind at a time usually 
inhabits a house.)  It helps if the house has an almost sealed, 
sun-warmed 'attic nursery' which also helps to warm and stabilize the 
temperature in lower area of the house.
 
        |\                                    
        |  \                                  
        |    \  <-roof may be less steep      
        |      \                              
small   | attic  \                            
opening |          \                          
to get->|  --------|                          
into    | | | |  | |                          
attic   | | | |  | |                          
        | | | |  | |                          
        | | | |  | |                          
        | | | |  | |                          
        | | | |  | |    <- no floor is needed 
             ^                                
     various-width slits (I've only shown a couple)
 
>  How wide should this slit be?
Slits should be (typical) 3/4", 1" and 1-1/4" wide.
 
>Will a bat mind if i used cedar?
Bats have sensitive noses and would prefer weathered pine or another less 
aromatic wood.  They are purported to prefer locations which already 
smell of bats.  Bat guano, anyone?
 
For lots more information write to:
 
Bat Conservation International
P.O. Box 162603
Austin, TX  78716-2603
 
--Jill (who intends lure more bats and fewer mosquitos to her own garden)
 
A. Richard & Jill A. Miller            | MILLER MICROCOMPUTER SERVICES |
InterNet: [email-masked]       | 61 Lake Shore Road            |
Voice: 508/653-6136, 9am-9pm -0500(EST)| Natick, MA 01760-2099, USA    |
MMSFORTH: The cure for the common code.| 42 18'00.79" N, 71 22'27.68" W| 

From: "Marcie G. Mastracci" <[email-masked]> Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Bat House Plans Date: Wed, 9 Mar 1994 08:42:50 -0500

Wasn't someone asking about how to build a bat house a few days ago?

I found just the thing:  "The Bat House Builder's Handbook" by Dr.
Merlin D. Tuttle, founder of Bat Conservation International, for only
$5.95

available from:     Plough & Hearth
                             PO Box 830 
                             Orange, VA 22960-0492

telephone:  1-800-843-2509 answers 24 hrs 

Also available "America's backyard Bats" by Dr. Tuttle & bat houses at
$39.95 to $84.95.

Article 11193 (72 more) in rec.gardens:
From: [email-masked] (John Trimble)
Subject: Re: Bats - way cool
Organization: Best lil' ol' Pubnix in Texas
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 20:50:44 GMT

Here's an article I wrote for several weekly newspapers back when 
Batman (the first movie) was released. It has some information 
about bats that you might like. There was a terrific article about 
the founder of BCI in the New Yorker in about '88, that anyone 
with serious interests in bats would want to look up at the 
library. 
[email-masked]

     Billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne modeled his vigilante alter 
ego on an image that strikes terror into the hearts of cowardly 
criminals and honest folk alike.  But according to experts at Bat 
Conservation International, the fears the Batman exploits are 
deeply misguided. Bats are not only the daring detective's best 
friends, they are among humankind's best friends.      

     According to bat expert Merlin Tuttle, BCI's founder and 
guiding force, human fear of bats continues to lead to acts far 
more criminal than even those committed by arch villains like the 
the Penguin, Catwoman, and Riddler.  Bats are being killed off by 
the millions without regard for the fact that they are keystone 
species in the life of tropical rainforests and solely responsible 
for the continued existence of untold numbers of  plant species. 
The furry flying mammals are also nature's most vigilant 
eliminators of night flying insects, such as mosquitoes which 
transmit dangerous human diseases like malaria.  Tuttle doesn't 
begrudge Batman's exploitation of batphobia, though, saying the 
new movie has generated a number of calls to BCI headquarters in 
Austin, Texas.          

     Taking time for a telephone interview away from taping a bat 
segment for the popular PBS series, "Marty Stouffer's Wild 
America"  Tuttle reels off at breakneck speed bat-facts that 
contradict common knowledge, then slows to discuss the mission of 
the group he founded in 1982.  Bat Conservation International  
supports bat research and bat conservation efforts, and most 
importantly of all,  promotes bat education.  The group has grown 
to over 9,000 members in over fifty countries, but according to 
Tuttle, the work has just begun.     

     A card or letter to  Bat Conservation International will get 
you membership information, some beginner's bat facts, and a 
catalogue of bat items, sale of which provides important bat 
revenues. Catalogue offerings include bat jewelry ($6.95 and up), 
bat-T-shirts ($10.95), books (including bat poetry), a kite, and a 
bat mobile (the kind that hangs in harmonic balance: $26.95). Bat-
ominiums, at 29.95 are bat houses which, according to Tuttle, make 
great conversation starters even though they may take three or 
more years to attract bats to roost. A mini bat detector ($210.00) 
lets you electronically listen in on  ultrasonic bat echolocation 
signals.  Sorry, no Robins; have you tried the Audubon Society?                

Bat Conservation International
P.O. Box 162603
Austin, TX  78716
Phone: (512)327-9721

Bat Facts:

*Bat beliefs...Scientists once mistakenly believed that bats 
were capable of carrying rabies without suffering symptoms. 
Experts  under the influence of unsound research (like the Dallas 
animal control expert who in 1974 declared, "The only safe bat is 
a baseball bat") have done untold damage to bats' reputations. 
Actually, fewer than one half of one percent of bats contract 
rabies, a lower percentage than holds true for cats or dogs. Bats 
differ from other rabies-stricken mammals only in that they rarely 
exhibit aggressiveness as a symptom.

     On the other hand, in much of the far east, bats are omens of 
good. An oriental talisman called /wu fu/ contains five stylized 
bats symbolizing the five elements of good fortune.
 
*Bat-pix...You may think your driver's license picture looks bad, 
but it would be worse if you were a bat. The mug shots you've 
probably seen are the result of stretching their wings out 
painfully and scaring  the bejesus out of these timid little 
critters to make them open their eyes with results resembling what 
might happen if the only photos of "cute cuddly kittens" were 
taken when they were drenched with water and tossed in the air. 
Bat-ographer Merlin Tuttle has countered by taking bat pix in 
natural and near-natural settings.       

*Bat ecology...Many species of  tropical rain forest trees depend 
exclusively on fruit and nectar-eating bats for pollination and 
seed dispersal. If you enjoy bananas, figs, dates, avocados, 
mangoes, peaches, cloves,  or tequila, thank a bat for making them 
possible. Bats occupy key positions in these and other products' 
natural ecological chains.

* Bat sex.  Male and female vampire bats  share equally in rearing 
young, and they're monogamous. Indications are that vampire bats, 
which live only in Latin America, mate for life.  Other bats 
differ in their mating habits across a range that resembles 
humans' with regard to promiscuity and unwed motherhood. Mothers 
almost never give birth to more than one young one per year, and 
that's one reason for the steep decline of bat populations 
worldwide.

*Bat types...  
      Microbats are the eight hundred or so insect-eating species 
of bats that echolocate (locate things by hollering and hearing 
the echoes). Their strange shaped noses and large facial flaps are 
Mother Nature's sonarlike navigational tools. Even in Tuttle's 
photos, these bats look funky. How would your face look if it 
equally matched your lifestyle, say with ears capable of 
microwaving TV dinners and a nose that could tune in MTV?

     Megabats are the second of two main group of bats. 
These large fruit-eating bats called flying foxes don't 
echolocate. They have big eyes that see /very/ well and brain 
pathways with the distinctive signatures of primates. Evidence 
that they're closely related to humans (gasp!) is still regarded 
as controversial.  

*Bat trivia...Bats emerging from caves in the evenings  spiral 
counter clockwise. 

Bats' knees bend backwards. This adaptation comes in handy for 
knocking around on cave walls and somersaulting from hanging-
upside-down into proper position for neat delivery of guano to 
cave floors where it is frequently gathered for use in fertilizer.  

Bats keep their bodies well groomed. 

Bats are not rodents. 

The tiniest mammal is the Bumblebee bat of Thailand which weighs  
less than a penny.
 
*Bat conservation...The earliest know bat conservation effort took 
place in  San Antonio, Texas where between 1900 and 1920 bats were 
encouraged to move into bat-houses on tall poles.  Residents swore 
the bats held down the population of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, 
though scientific documentation was not then made.  Early in this 
century Texas passed state laws with stiff fines to protect bats, 
but pro-bat laws were rescinded during the phobia-plagued fifties.   

*Bats v. humans...More people die annually from food poisoning 
contracted at church picnics than have died from contact with bats 
throughout history. Ancient Egyptians valued bat parts as 
medicinal. Modern bat studies have spun off information useful to 
research in birth control, vaccines, artificial insemination, low 
temperature surgery, and navigational aids for the blind. Study of 
the anti-coagulant chemicals in vampire bat saliva continues to 
yield helpful information. 

     America's Neighborhood Bats by Merlin D. Tuttle is available 
in most public libraries and from Bat Conservation International.  
The fact and photo filled 104-page resource tool by the founder of 
BCI offers excellent advice on everyday dealings with bats such as 
what to do about bats in your attic, what to do if you see a bat 
lying on the sidewalk, and how to identify and live in informed 
and responsible harmony with bats as you would with birds or any 
other neighborhood creatures.   

--------*--------

Article 11072 (90 more) in rec.gardens:
Subject: Bats - way cool
From: Robert Chambers <[email-masked]>
Date: Monday, 28 Sep 1992 21:35:32 EDT

I've been meaning to post something about this, but anyhow.... In last
Thursdays New York Times there was a Q & A part in e Home section.

Q: I've seen bats flying around my garden at night and they are a bit
   scary.  Are these good guys or bad?

A: paraphrase They are definately good, eat all sorts of bugs and mosquitos
   Talk to these people about building a bat house and attracting some
   If you're interested... a free catalog of bat paraphernalia including
   bat houses is available from Bat Conservation International, P.O. Box
   162603, Austing Texas 78716  (in us) 1-800-538-2287.

I'm waiting anxiously for my info packet...  (but not hanging by my feet
yet).

Robert

Newsgroups: misc.rural
From: [email-masked] (Mark Alexander)
Subject: Re: bat houses
Date: Tue, 17 May 1994 05:27:54 GMT

I went to a talk by a local bat expert, who said that bat houses are
not such a great idea.  As an alternative, she recommended putting up
what I would call "bat cones" on trees.  These are simple cones of tar
paper tacked around the trunk of a tree, sort of like those squirrel
baffles you sometimes see.  The cone is very slightly flaired out at the
bottom, just enough for the bats to get under it (they like it nice
and snug).  The advantage of the cone compared with a bat house is
that bats can move around the tree as the sun moves to keep the
temperature more steady.  You have to place the cone fairly
high off the ground (12 ft.?) to reduce predation by cats etc.

Disclaimer: I haven't tried this technique and can't vouch for it.

P.S.  The bat lady also said that reports of bats and rabies are
greatly exaggerated.  Bats with rabies are sick; they're not flying
around biting people.  For this reason you don't want to attempt
to pick up a bat you find lying on the ground.

--------*--------

Article 11072 (90 more) in rec.gardens:
Subject: Bats - way cool
From: Robert Chambers <[email-masked]>
Date: Monday, 28 Sep 1992 21:35:32 EDT
Organization: CUNY/UCC VM Systems
Lines: 16

I've been meaning to post something about this, but anyhow.... In last
Thursdays New York Times there was a Q & A part in e Home section.

Q: I've seen bats flying around my garden at night and they are a bit
   scary.  Are these good guys or bad?

A: paraphrase They are definately good, eat all sorts of bugs and mosquitos
   Talk to these people about building a bat house and attracting some
   If you're interested... a free catalog of bat paraphernalia including
   bat houses is available from Bat Conservation International, P.O. Box
   162603, Austing Texas 78716  (in us) 1-800-538-2287.

I'm waiting anxiously for my info packet...  (but not hanging by my feet
yet).

Robert

Newsgroups: misc.rural
From: [email-masked] (Anmar Caves)
Subject: Re: Was: Bats!; now Rabies
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1993 14:05:35 GMT

>Sigh again.  This thread got started because the original poster wants to 
>start some kind of bat haven in his/her attic.  I'd say the possibilities of 
>getting rabies from any rabid bats in such a situation are pretty high.

I hate to jump into your little flamefest, but I've been dealing with
bats for 10 years now, and as I posted in a very early post to this
thread, the chances of contracting rabies from having bats in the
attic are quite low.  This was confirmed by Indiana Dept. of Natural
Resources non-game fish and wildlife naturalist Scott Johnson, who
specializes in bats, when he gave a lecture on bats to our caving
group a year or so ago.  I was quite interested because I handle bats
on a regular basis and am intending to start a colony out at the
ranch.
This was also confirmed by bat expert Dr. Suthers, of Indiana
University, from a lecture 3 years ago he gave to our caving group.  
This can also be confirmed through BCI (Bat Conservation
International) headed by Merlin Tuttle.  

Again, as I posted before, one should not handle wild bats unless they
have experience doing so and take precautions, but a bat colony in the
attic is *not* going to pose a significant rabies hazard for the
occupants of the house.  If anyone is having problems and would like
to evict a colony, feel free to email me, I've got quite a bit of
experience in that area :-(.

-- 
Anmar Mirza   #Chief of Tranquility  # I don't need to carry a weapon,
EMT-D         #Base, Lawrence Co. IN # People talk to me long enough they
N9ISY (tech)  #Somewhere out on the  # then go and hurt themselves.
Networks Tech.#Mirza Ranch.C'mon over# ---Patti Cummings

From: [email-masked] (Chris Lewis)
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Re: Was: Bats!; now Rabies
Date: 11 Sep 93 03:02:20 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Jan Marshall) writes:
>Sigh again.  This thread got started because the original poster wants to 
>start some kind of bat haven in his/her attic.  I'd say the possibilities of 
>getting rabies from any rabid bats in such a situation are pretty high.

Sigh indeed.

You have a better chance at catching rabies from a cow at a petting zoo.

Ontario has one of the highest incidence of rabies anywhere in the world,
with approx 1500 confirmed cases in animals, and 2200 sets of rabies series
shots given to people yearly.  60% of the animals are domestic dogs and cats.
Most of the rest are skunks, foxes and squirrels.  Every year there are
about a dozen confirmed cases of rabies in domestic cattle.  With all of
the hysteria about rabies in bats, on average, less than one bat is
found to have rabies in Ontario yearly.  Less than one...

Those are pretty good odds.  Especially since the MOH is so good at pursuing
cases, that the last person to catch rabies was back in the early '50s.

It is not a good idea to encourage bats in your attic.  Not because of
rabies, but because of the toxoplasmosis hazard from bat feces.  Or, indeed,
having your ceiling deteriorate and collapse on your head from the weight
and dampness of bat feces and bat pee.

Toxoplasmosis is usually a pretty innocuous organism.  Something like 40%
of the human population already has the "bug".  And the bug is present
in the feces of many other animals, eg: cat litter boxes.  However, pregnant
women/ unborn fetuses are sometimes extremely susceptable.  And, contact with
large quantities of the bug (you're trying to shovel out the attic)
can have extreme consequences - up to and including blindness, brain damage
or death.  A few (3-5) people suffer these consequences in Ontario per year.

Cleaning out bat feces is sufficiently hazardous, that contractors removing
the material are required by the government to use class-three isolation suits
(complete with air packs).  Rather like asbestos, but here the hazard is
much better proven.

Bats are extremely valuable animals.  They're about the best bug controllers
there are.  People *should* encourage them.  But not in their attics.

If you encounter bats in your attic during the spring/summer, there are simple
ways to evict them without harming them.  Ie: waiting for them all to
leave on their nightly foraging, and block up the access holes.  If you
do this, it would be a really good idea to put up a bat box or three near
your house to provide them with alternate lodgings.  Keep your fingers
crossed that they stay nearby.  It is really fascinating to watch
them swoop around catching insects.  And if you're like me, living
too close to mosquito country, you'll really appreciate their activities.

If, on the other hand, you find bats in your attic during the late fall
or winter, leave them alone!  They go into a hibernation-like state for
most of the cold weather.  If you disturb them, they will wake up.  But,
chances are that they will use up so much energy waking up, that they
will not have enough left for the rest of the winter and will die.  There
is no need to evict them during the late fall or winter, because they're
hibernating and won't be producing much feces at all.
-- 
Chris Lewis; [email-masked]; Phone: Canada 613 832-0541
Psroff 3.0 info: [email-masked]
Ferret list: [email-masked]

From: [email-masked] (Dick and Jill Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Bat House
Date: 12 Jan 1994 21:38:51 GMT

>I've been following the BAT thread with interest, especially the post
>from Maryland about dimensions.
>But, does it work?  I would like to know if any bats actually live in
>these houses before I invest the time and energy constructing one.
>Anyone else had positive experience with a BAT house?
>I read somewhere that you should install the house on the EAST side of
>the residence, at least 25 feet above the ground.  Any wisdom would bew
>appreciated.

I've had a bat house for several years and no bats.  HOWEVER, I recently
learned that my homemade house is not well designed and in the wrong 
location.  The best book I've seen on the subject is "America's 
Neighborhood Bats", by Merlin D. Tuttle, Univ. of Texas Press, 1988, ISBN
0-292-70403-8 or 0-292-70406-2 (I suppose one is paperback, one 
hardcover).  One hint I've gotten recently is that bats find roosts by 
the smell of bat guano, therefore one should spray/smear some guano on a 
new house to make it more attractive to bats.  Now all I need is a source 
of bat guano! :')

--Jill

Contact below (NOT at theory.lcs.mit.edu):
--
A. Richard & Jill A. Miller            | MILLER MICROCOMPUTER SERVICES |
InterNet: [email-masked]       | 61 Lake Shore Road            |
Voice: 508/653-6136, 9am-9pm -0500(EST)| Natick, MA 01760-2099, USA    |
MMSFORTH: The cure for the common code.| 42 18'00.79" N, 71 22'27.68" W|

-=-
Lawrence London
[email-masked]