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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 29
Lunker
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OP
Lunker
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 29 |
I know that many of you have problems with flying/biting insects around your ponds. I work with my local DNR and wildlife agencies in bat house management.
I would be willing to bet that a few of you already use bat houses around your ponds for insect control. If not, here are some facts about bats.
A little brown bat (common to the Eastern 2/3 of the USA) can catch up to 600 mosquito sized insects in an hour.
A bat house just 24" wide, 36" tall, and 6" deep can easily house up to 500 bats.
Bat houses have been successful in every state of the USA.
Imagine an evening by your pond with a small fire burning and watching the aerial show of bats flying about and not being bothered by insects...also best enjoyed with a bell on the tip of your fishing pole while waiting for "Old Mr. Whiskers" to bite.
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,365
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,365 |
Bats are cool animals. They're more closely related to humans than they are to rats.
Other critters to encourage for mosquito control are swifts, swallows, any night flying birds, purple martins and dragon flies. Of course lots of small lepomis and any type of minnows are good for controlling the larvae.
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,086
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,086 |
I think I'll look into building a bathouse.Any recommendations on the best way to go about building one?And what about attracting the bats?
I subscribe Some days you get the dog,and some days he gets you.Every dog has his day,and sometimes he has two! 
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
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Tom, I bought some books about bats and built a bat house. No bats have ever moved in and it's been about 5 years. It's not like going to the pet store.
If I can find that stuff, I'll send it to you.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,902
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,902 |
If you can get the search feature to work there has been at least one "building a bat house thread". I'm thinking it was authored by Brettsky.
Pond Boss Subscriber & Books Owner
If you can read this ... thank a teacher. Since it's in english ... thank our military!
Ric
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 29
Lunker
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OP
Lunker
Joined: Nov 2008
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Try Bat Conservation International's "Bat House Builder's Handbook". It contains the latest research and designs for the highest success rate.
I have over a dozen bat houses and only two have not been occupied. The successful houses were usually occupied within 6 months.
In the Southern states(ie Texas), the most common bat house occupants are Mexican Free-tailed bats. In the Northern states, Little Brown and Big Brown bats are the most common bat house users.
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Joined: Dec 2006
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Dec 2006
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Im a little batty myself.Do you think that will help?
I subscribe Some days you get the dog,and some days he gets you.Every dog has his day,and sometimes he has two!
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Joined: Oct 2005
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Ambassador
Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador
Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,934 Likes: 2 |
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,934 Likes: 2
Ambassador
Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador
Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,934 Likes: 2 |
...from the popular Purple Martin.org Martins, like all swallows, are aerial insectivores. They eat only flying insects, which they catch in flight. Their diet is diverse, including dragonflies, damselflies, flies, midges, mayflies, stinkbugs, leafhoppers, Japanese beetles, June bugs, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, cicadas, bees, wasps, flying ants, and ballooning spiders. Martins are not, however, prodigious consumers of mosquitoes as is so often claimed by companies that manufacture martin housing. An intensive 7-year diet study conducted at PMCA headquarters in Edinboro, PA, failed to find a single mosquito among the 500 diet samples collected from parent martins bringing beakfuls of insects to their young. The samples were collected from martins during all hours of the day, all season long, and in numerous habitats, including mosquito-infested ones. Purple Martins and freshwater mosquitoes rarely ever cross paths. Martins are daytime feeders, and feed high in the sky; mosquitoes, on the other hand, stay low in damp places during daylight hours, or only come out at night. Since Purple Martins feed only on flying insects, they are extremely vulnerable to starvation during extended periods of cool and/or rainy weather.
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 29
Lunker
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OP
Lunker
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 29 |
Brettski, your bat house looks great. The black MIGHT be a bit dark, as I use a dark brown paint here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
But if you get that bat house about 12 feet up and within a hundred yards of the pond facing South or Southeast, you have a high chance of occupancy (80% or more).
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