Utah has 18 different bat species, but you'll find only three in urban areas.  These are the Little Brown Bat, the Big Brown Bat, and the Mexican Free-tailed Bat.  All these bats eat only insects such as mosquitoes, beetles and moths which they catch in flight.  One bat can catch from 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes each night.  Bats are one of our most beneficial creatures alive.

• Bats have changed very little over the past 50 million years.  They once filled the night skies throughout the world.

• The bone structure of a bat's wing is very similar tot hat of a human's hand.  Their biological group is called Chiroptera, meaning "hand-wing." 

• Bats are the only mammal that can fly.  Other mammals, like the Flying Squirrel, really only glide through the air using skin flaps on their side.

• Bats are not blind.  Some have quite good eye sight.  However, at night vats us echolocation to navigate and locate insects in the night sky. Humans have developed sight, speech and hearing devices designed after the bat's navigational system.

• During daylight hours bats seek out dark sheltered areas.  In the wild these include rock crevices, abandoned mines, and hollow trees.

• While many bats do stay and hibernate in caves during the winter, some migrate south to warmer climates.  Disturbing hibernating bats can cause serious damage to them, even death.

• Bats live about 20 years.  They mate in the late fall, and the females give birth to one baby bat in the lat spring or early summer.

• Female bats form a nursery, sharing duties when raising their young.  Males and non-producing females leave the colony at this time and form bachelor colonies

Bats will not attack humans nor will they get caught in your hair.  Bats like most small  mammals are quite timid and keep their distance from humans.  Bats do not carry rabies.  Like all mammals they can contract rabies, but you are more likely to see a rabid dog, cat or even squirrel than a rabid bat.  North American bats do not drink blood.  They eat only insects.  Although bats eat only insects, they are not ideal for mosquito control.

Trouble between bats and humans is rooted deep in many societies, but in Eastern Europe it started over 600 years ago.  Because of theological legends concerning purgatory, the  "undead" and blood sucking vampires dread was instilled in the population which insured compliance with theological doctrine. For some reason the illustrations that accompanied these texts usually showed these creature as a cross between humans and bats.  Angles were usually white with bird feathers and devils were usually black with bats' wings.  This persists today. 

When the Spanish came tot he new world, they found blood-sucking bats in Mexico.  Aware of the mythical vampire, they called them "vampire bats," a name which stuck.  So a word that signified a mythical figure in the old world became attached to a species of bats peculiar to Mexico and along with it came centuries of fear and suspicion.

This food for countless horror novels and creepy movies, few of which, with exception of the modern Batman, depict bats or bat-like creatures in a good light.  In our present society children learn about bats from a vary early age, probably from paper bats associated with Halloween. This, of course is creepy stuff for little kids, and its a lesson many never forget.  Our parents tell us not to mess with bats, and to this day most of us heed those early warnings.

 Bats are one of the most beneficial creatures we can have around.  They consume millions of insects each night.  For many years bats were misunderstood and persecuted.  The population of bats in the Untied States declined rapidly because of toxins such as DDT, and mass killings of bats in caves because we thought they were evil.

Today in our urban areas we generally remove old dead trees, a favorite bat roosting place, and are regularly sealing up mines and caves. (Some are now being protected as bat roosting sites.)

Studies show that communities that encourage the placement of bat houses have significantly increased the population of resident bats.  Some communities have even eliminated the need for mosquito abatement. (Although that is not advisable, because mosquitoes are only 1%  of a bats diet, when mosquitoes are sparse.)  

 Bat houses come in many different sizes and designs ranging from very small, one or two bat designs to large colony designs.  The most typical design is the smaller bachelor colony design consisting of one to three chambers.  These are easily hung and most often used in residential areas.

Several companies make bat house kits which are normally single chamber houses and are easily assembled.  Several of these can be hung in a yard.  You can build your own bat house quite easily, if you have a power saw and basic hand tools.

The best times to hang a bat house is in the late fall.  This way it weathers and is ready for arriving bats in the spring.  Be patient.  Allow two seasons for bats to occupy your house.  A properly hung house in the right locale has an 83% change of occupancy in the first two years.  During daylight you may observe the bats in your house.  Just don't disturb them too much, or they'll leave.

Mount a bat house to a structure, pole, or tall, bear tree trunk, 10 to 20 feet off the ground.  Mount in a location being free of obstacles like branches, foliage, or power lines for 30 feet in front of the bat house entrance.  Mount so the box receives at least four to five hours of morning sunlight per day.  Avoid mounting a bat house above a patio or barbeque where smoke might enter the box.

Bat House Designs

http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/pest/factsheets/265-95.htm

http://www.batcon.org/bhra/economyhouse.html

topˆ