I am wanting to put up some bat houses here on the farm since it is mosquito time again. My question is will they eat the bees? I am thinking that the bats will only be out at night and the bees will be inside then, so it seems like it should be okay. Anybody have any insight? I've already ruled out Guineas for flea and tick control as someone told me that they absolutely love bees. I'd still like to have some but I don't want them bad enough to fence around the hives.
Tom
Bats are cool. They will not bother the bees. They come out at dusk. Bees are usually in the hive by then.
I've already ruled out Guineas for flea and tick control as someone told me that they absolutely love bees. I'd still like to have some but I don't want them bad enough to fence around the hives.
Tom
I go out to the bee yard in the morning and watch the bees. In the evening, I go out and watch the bats. I'm amazed by both. I have no problem "keeping" both.
Guinnea hens will eat any old bug and will show no respect for your bees. Pass on them.
We have 5 bat house and about a dozen bats it works out great due to the day and night fight times.
I would not worry about guineas. I have 57 chickens and had a rooster that liked to eat honey bees untill he pecked and pecked and pecked them off the bottom board and then they stung him and stung him and stung him has he ran away cry'n. To this day he will not get close to the bee hives. So a guinea might eat a few but he will learn not to eat them.
I've been considering guineas to control ants and ticks. From every account, nobody I have talked to has ever had a problem with guineas eating honey bees.
I think is is more likely a maater of available calories. If there are other things to eat, the bees will be fine. Keep them to hungry and . . .well a guineas gotta eat.
If you build the bat house, they will come. No buying bats. I suspect there are any number of state and federal wildlife folks and public health officials that would be very upset (even to the point of having a conniption) if someone was selling bats. You should see what we go through just to transfer tropical fruit bats to another zoo.
Anyhoo, bat houses are easy to make and even easier to buy:
i removed a hive last year above a door, hive on oneside and bats on thr other side, about 2 foot apart, when removing bee's i heard a weird sound and started looking and there were 3 mother bats with a baby each.
The one posted on the bat conservation website. Very easy to build but the hard part was hauling it up 20 feet in the air and mounting it to the house because mine was quite heavy. (I enlarged the original plan) Bats are having a hard time finding nesting so we should do everything in our power to help them out. Besides, the amount of mosquitoes that they eat makes any effort to attract them more than worth it. They are amazing to watch too. Theresa.
They are likely to be there. We have loads of them in my neighborhood, and I had some in my attic for a while before I noticed them. Sizable colony too.
They can be hard to find - but they are out there. Just pay attention to the recommendations for siting the thing so it is as attractive as possible.
My bat box is located about 75 feet from the nearest bee hive. The bats come out of the box well after all of the bees are already in for the night. NO problem. According to the experts, if the box is sited properly the bats will eventually find it. If no bats move in within two years, then re-locate it. I had one bat move in the year I put it up. After that it was 3 bats, then 9 bats, then 21 bats. It takes time for the colony to build up.
I like the idea of bat houses. Those of you in the know- are they anything special? Is there special bat foundation? Bat space? Robber bats?
Seriously though, is there much more to them than an enclosure up under the eaves? Are there any good bat sites like there is Beesource? Is there any way to attract them into a bat house?
("Bat House" really does need to be two words, unless you happen to be Roman.)
-jim
Edit->
Sorry to take up vauable bytes and for being such a mamby-pamby whiner. I searched "bat houses" and found all sorts of good stuff, even a forum that looks alot like Beesourse. I've got a spot all picked out for when my new bat house is finished. I'm not going to tell anyone it's there. I've had enough trouble getting the family to accept bees. I'm wondering if they are as addicting as bees. I'll bet they dont smell as good.
Naw, they're not nearly as interesting. About all you can do is sit on the porch or lawn and watch them disperse just as it's getting dark. Or if you're up really early in the morning, before dawn, you can watch them as they fly around in a bunch prior ro their returning to the roost.
Its a great idea and won't hurt the bees! You may have some trouble attracting anything other than common myotis (little brown) bats. Also, remember that bats can carry rabies *before* deciding to nurse any sick ones along.
We have a fair sized colony of little browns living on our property (137 was last years count!) It is much fun watching them fly about in the evening.
Rabies transmission from bats to humans is pretty rare. However, if you see a bat flying in midday, or you find a bat on the ground still alive, DO NOT mess with it. That is a sick bat, and could possibly be rabid. Some folks might want to pick up the poor guy and take him to the local rescue shelter, but I would suggest just letting him die and then throw the carcass in the trash or burn it. Wear gloves!
"The tragic death of a 13-year-old Connecticut girl from rabies last October has once again triggered an avalanche of dire warnings about the supposed dangers of sharing our neighborhoods with bats."
"Inexplicably, a strain believed to be associated with the silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), based on monoclonal antibody tests, now accounts for the majority of all North American human rabies cases."
"The good news is that the North American bat species most frequently found in our homes or bat houses, big and little brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus and Myotis lucifugus), are not known to have caused a single case of human rabies in the past 15 years."
"Some cases could have been prevented—for example, the one involving a man who failed to report being bitten by a sick bat that he dunked in his beer during a barroom prank."
How do you keep guinea hens? Are they just left to roam your property? Don't they wander away if they aren't fenced in? We have about 10 acres but we also raise Labs and Goldens. How would they get along with dogs?
Cindy
It is hard to see from the picture, but it looks like you have a loose slat or two in your attic vent. You might want to fix that or put up a screen behind it, or the bats might end up prefering your attic to the bat house!
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