Bat manor....
This year we seem to have a bumper crop of bats here at Boo Manor. The bat family came over about 6 or so years ago when I found a small group of them nesting in the attic gable vents. I had some screening over the vent to keep bugs out, and it kept the bats from getting into the attic. One squeaked through though and I had to catch it, and release it outside.
They've been back every year since. Tiny little brown bats, only an inch or two long body-wise. I can hear them squeaking which is interesting since I still can hear high pitch stuff.
Anyway, there are a lot of them this year, and last night the babies were out with the moms. There were about 5 sets of bats on the walls, this morning I found one bat still there and stuck. So I got it unstuck, put it on the ground, and it looked like it was panting. Not good. So I used the hose to make a small puddle, then put the bat next to it.
Crawled over and drank a lot. Must have been thirsty, little tongue was lapping away. Came back 10 minutes later and it was gone, I guess it flew up back to the bat base.
Tonight the babies were out flying. Even at 10pm we could see them darting around, there are a *lot* of bugs out but oddly enough very few mosquitoes. The mosquito magnet is catching a lot of them, and I think the bats get the rest. So far this year I think I have been bitten once, which is pretty low for a very wet and rainy season.
Bats. Nature's solution to mosquitoes. This fall when they leave I'll go to the attic and clean the eaves out. Wonder if I can get a bathouse built somewhere for them to move into in future years. But I want them to stay, they're having tough times in places, so I want to give them a home at boo manor.
C
They've been back every year since. Tiny little brown bats, only an inch or two long body-wise. I can hear them squeaking which is interesting since I still can hear high pitch stuff.
Anyway, there are a lot of them this year, and last night the babies were out with the moms. There were about 5 sets of bats on the walls, this morning I found one bat still there and stuck. So I got it unstuck, put it on the ground, and it looked like it was panting. Not good. So I used the hose to make a small puddle, then put the bat next to it.
Crawled over and drank a lot. Must have been thirsty, little tongue was lapping away. Came back 10 minutes later and it was gone, I guess it flew up back to the bat base.
Tonight the babies were out flying. Even at 10pm we could see them darting around, there are a *lot* of bugs out but oddly enough very few mosquitoes. The mosquito magnet is catching a lot of them, and I think the bats get the rest. So far this year I think I have been bitten once, which is pretty low for a very wet and rainy season.
Bats. Nature's solution to mosquitoes. This fall when they leave I'll go to the attic and clean the eaves out. Wonder if I can get a bathouse built somewhere for them to move into in future years. But I want them to stay, they're having tough times in places, so I want to give them a home at boo manor.
C