Northern California Bats

Question
	Where is the ideal place to put a bat house?
Answer
	An important factor is where you put the bat house. Think like a bat. If an owl or other predator can get to your home, your not safe. So bat houses in trees tend not to be occupied very well. Also, most of our local bats need to drop for flight, most cant take off from the ground either. Again, if you drop several feet for flight and this puts you in reach of a predator such as a cat or raccoon, before you can turn to gain height, its not safe. Bat boxes 16 to 20 feet off the ground have the greatest success. Boxes placed on buildings also have more success than those on poles since the building helps to keep the temperature constant. In an 8-year study from 1997 to 2004, Rachael F. Long (UCDavis), W. Mark Kiser and Selena B. Kiser (BCI) evaluated the use of 186 bat houses in rural areas of Californias Central Valley. They considered the bat houses size, color, height and location, and found that location was the main factor affecting bat use. Complete article: Well-placed bat houses can attract bats to Central Valley farms

Question
	We have a bat house that doesn't have any bats in it.
Answer
	This can be for various reasons. Bats are loyal to their roost, so unless there is a reason to move, they won’t. Reasons include the population becoming too large for their current space, or destruction of the habitat. In the mean time they notice other potential homes, so keep your house up. If they need a place, they will know where to go. It can take a couple of years before the bats move in. Location is the number one factor for bat house success in this part of CA. Also, bat box design is important. The size of the space inside is a key factor. They prefer a space of ¾ inch to 1 inch. Much bigger than this and the bats don’t tend to move in, but the wasps do. They box also needs to be sealed at the seams and painted. This keeps out the drafts and moisture.

Question
	What do you feed the bats that you rescue?
Answer
	In captivity, the bats are taught to eat meal worms. If the animal is a pup (a baby) when it comes into care we feed it formula. Bats are mammals. Without formula (milk) their bones will not develop properly. Next they graduate to a combination of blended meal worms and formula with other supplements. Many of our bats, both juvenile and adult then get a blended mealworm smoothie. Finally they move on to mealworms. What we feed the mealworms is also very important. My family teases me that I feed the mealworms better food than I feed my kids. They get organic 10 grain cereal, vitamin supplements, various fruits and vegetables, and organic grain bread.

Question
	How long do you keep a bat until you release them back into the wild?
Answer
	This varies with the bat, why it came into care and the season of the year. Wing injuries can take a very long time to heal, if they ever heal well enough to fly. Some pups gain enough strength by fall to fly, some stay with us over the winter. Sometimes we get bats in mid –winter that were woken from hibernation. These we care for until the weather is good enough and the insect load is high enough. A torn wing will heal fairly quickly, a break can take weeks, infections can also take weeks. Once the bat seems healthy and eats well on its own, it goes to our flight cage were it spends at least a couple of weeks, sometimes a month or more, so it can build up its flight strength. We spend time ensuring that the bats fly and check each one separately prior to release. They must fly well and for an extended period of time to survive in the wild. If they pass the flight test, they are released. If they don’t pass, then we evaluate – do they need more practice or will they never fly well? Bats that can’t fly or have other long term problems stay with us in captivity. Some enter our education program and help children and adults learn about the benefits of bats.