The location of a bat-house is disquisitional to its success. At that place are many factors to consider when selecting a site including: solar exposure, surrounding habitat, mounting, potential obstacles, protection from predators, wasps, and installation timing.

In summary, bat-houses should be placed:

  • Equally high as possible (at least 3.65 1000 or12')
  • S or southeast facing to ensure high solar exposure. Ideally bat-houses should receive at least 10 hours of sun per 24-hour interval, and more is better, unless you are in the hotter parts of the Okanagan, Fraser-Thompson, or Kootenay regions. Try to find a position that will receive the forenoon sunday and will not be shaded during the twenty-four hours.
  • In an uncluttered location that does not have branches, buildings, or poles in front of it. If the bat-firm is existence placed on a tree, delimb whatsoever branches beneath the bat-house to reduce ataxia.

Solar exposure

The most important influence on the suitability of bat-house placement is solar exposure. In the temperate climate of B.C., it is of import for the bat-house to be exposed to the maximum amount of sunday. In about of B.C., bat-houses should be placed in direct lord's day, facing south or southeast, to receive at to the lowest degree 10 hours of direct exposure each day (and more is better!). In areas where the average high temperature in July is around 27 ºC (southward Okanagan, West Kootenay, Lytton, etc.), the amount of sun tin be reduced to a minimum of 6 hours. In these locations, try placing bat-houses facing east. If you have several possible sites to choose from, monitor them for a few days before you install your bat-house to determine which sites receive more hours of sun each solar day. Also endeavor to set your bat-house out of the current of air, if possible. Paint bat houses a dark colour to maximize heat absorption – unless you live in the hot Okanagan, Fraser-Thompson, or Kootenay regions. If yous live in these specially hot regions, consider a lighter colour or natural forest with clear stain.

Solar exposure

Map of July daily maximum temperatures for British Columbia and the Yukon. Cooler areas within the mapped area would crave specific considerations in regards to placement and color of bat boxes to ensure maximum rut absorption and solar exposure. (Credit: PRISM maps prepared past Spatial Climate Assay Unit, Oregon State Academy). Courtesy of Environment Canada.

Surrounding habitat

Ideally, bat-houses should be situated near good foraging and drinking habitat, such as streams, rivers, lakes or ponds. Bat-houses less than 400 grand from a water source are ideal. Nonetheless, it is nonetheless worth installing a bat-house in areas away from water, because bats may travel farther to notice drinking water each nighttime. Open areas such as open fields, forest clearings, golf courses, green spaces or agronomical land are also advisable areas to install bat-houses.

Mounting

Mounting a bat box

Bat-houses tin can be successfully placed on poles or on the sides of buildings or outbuildings. Bat-houses mounted on poles are often the most successful, because they tin can be mounted high higher up the basis, face any direction, and be gratuitous of ataxia. The platonic scenario for bat-boxes is to mount two multi-chambered bat-houses dorsum-to-dorsum on a pole, and then that 1 faces north and the other faces south. Bat-houses mounted on wood, brick, or stone buildings with good solar exposure are also good choices because the building radiates heat into the bat-house during the evenings. Mounting a bat-firm on a building is particularly effective for single-chambered bat-houses. Houses mounted on trees are more than difficult for bats to detect, and more vulnerable to predators. Avoid mounting bat-houses close to vivid lights.

Obstacles

Bats like a clear path to fly out of their business firm so that they can find predators and easily avoid obstacles. Bat-houses should exist placed in open areas where there is no or petty clutter for at least five g. If a bat-house is mounted on a tree, the branches should be de-limbed beneath and around the bat-house to create an open, uncluttered area.

Protection from Predators

House cats are 1 of the largest predators of bats in B.C., although raptors, weasels, and other animals may attack bats. Mounting a bat-business firm high on a metal pole or building tin minimize the risk of predation. A slippery sheet-metal guard tin can be wrapped on the bottom of a wooden postal service or tree to deter predators at these sites. To reduce predation by raptors, try to mount the bat-house at to the lowest degree 8 m from the nearest tree branches, wires or other potential perches for aeriform predators.

Wasps

Wasp nests can exist a problem for bats. Limiting the width of chambers to iii quarters of an inch helps reduce occupation past wasps. During winter months when bats are absent-minded (November to March), bank check the bat-house and remove whatever accumulated wasp nests.

Installation timing

A bat-house can be installed at any time of year. Withal, bats are more than likely to move into a bat-house when they first return from their winter hibernation site to their motherhood site in April or May. If the bat-house is being installed in combination with exclusion of bats from a edifice, install the bat-house at least 2 to half-dozen weeks before the actual eviction if possible.