Songbird Or Bat Houses

At least 44 species of birds have been reported to use nesting boxes. Bluebirds, chickadees, flycatchers, nuthatches, warblers, swallows, and wrens will use songbird houses. Competitors for their houses include kestrels, owls, bats, mice, squirrels, tree frogs, lizards and snakes.

Dimensions of houses vary by the species you want to attract- the size of the entrance hole is the most critical dimension, however, to eliminate undesirable competitors.

Considerations include an entrance hole near the top of the front panel; a recessed floor; a pitched roof to shed water; holes for drainage and ventilation; top or side opening for cleaning and inspection; and predator guards.

Generally, up to 4 small nest boxes can be used per acre.

Bat houses

A single little brown bat, the species that most often occupies a bat house, can catch hundreds of mosquitoes in an hour. A colony of 150 big brown bats can eat 18 million rootworms in a year. Stink bugs, leafhoppers, and cutworms are among the other pests and insects bats consume. The most successfully occupied bat houses meet these conditions: 1) a quarter mile or less from a stream, large lake or wetland 2) receives at least four hours of sun daily 3) house stained or painted dark and 4) located in an area of mixed agriculture. A single bat house two feet by two feet by 6 inches can house a nursery bat colony of 300. Important considerations include using rough wood, vertical partitions, placement on poles 15 to 20 feet high, and mounting houses back to back in pairs to face east and west.

Don't be discouraged if it takes several months to get inhabitants for the houses.

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Songbird houses (23K) can attract the sights and sounds of songbirds to your wetland.

Martin houses (18K) and bat houses (63K) will attract natural predators of mosquitoes and other insects.

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