Dear Uncle Joe:
My neighbor recently told me that he will be demolishing the old barn
at the back of his property. I’m concerned about the bats who are now
living there and will have no place to go once the barn is torn down.
Is there
something I can do for them?
Adam
Malaga, NJ.
Dear Adam:
Thank you for caring about the well being of the bats! There is indeed
something you can do, and the sooner you take action the better chance you
have of keeping the bats around.
First, speak to your neighbor and make sure he will not be killing the
bats. If he does not care about their fate, remind him that bats can help
keep a yard free of mosquitoes. According to
www.batcon.org a
single little brown bat can catch 1,200 mosquito-sized insects in just
one
hour. Bats are exceptionally vulnerable to extinction, in part because
they are the slowest reproducing mammals on earth for their size, most
producing
only one young annually. More than 50% of American bat species are in
severe decline or already listed as endangered. Losses are occurring
at alarming
rates worldwide. These are some very good reasons to have bats around.
You can encourage the bats to move from your neighbor’s barn to the
safety of your property my mounting bat houses on your trees. Plans
for a
simple bat house can be found at the
www.batcon.org website, or you can
buy them at your local garden center or agricultural supply store.
The houses should ideally have a southern exposure and mounted 15-20 feet
up a tree or on a pole. You should expect the bat houses to remain vacant
for several months before bats begin to call it home. A common
single-chamber bat house is capable of housing 50 bats, while a larger
multi-chamber design can attract colonies of 200 or more.
With a little effort you can be sure that the bats on your neighbor’s
property will have a safe place to relocate once their current home
is taken
down.
Peace,
Uncle Joe
