Encouraging pipistrelles

[JennyP]

I'd love to encourage bats to roost in my garden but don't have any tall enough trees with clear flight paths. Do you think they would appreciate boxes on my seldom used chimney ? I had thought of lining the back of the boxes with silicone so they would never heat up even if the chimney was ever used? Has anyone managed to encourage bats?

[thunder]

I know a few people who have had bats in bat boxes on their house walls, so it is certainly worth a try. Perhaps a shallow one (front to back), wider, so that it mimicked weatherboarding, would have a higher chance of success. The bats are not going to be too bothered about extra heat from the chimney, if used. They probably won't use a box on a house wall/chimney in winter, anyway.

henrya

[ronscams]

High up on a chimney woud be a good place to put up a bat box. You can make your own bat boxes by visiting Bat Houses these boxes are quite large and heavy . If you put these up as high as possible and preferbally where the box can get at least 6 hours of sun to warm up the box, could be home for many pips.

[nightshade]

Three boxes East, South, West, roughly most occupied boxes I have seen are SE. just make sure the chimney integrity is good so no fumes leak from the brickwork and that the chimney pot is tall enough to take fumes well away

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by JennyP

I'd love to encourage bats to roost in my garden but don't have any tall enough trees with clear flight paths. Do you think they would appreciate boxes on my seldom used chimney ? I had thought of lining the back of the boxes with silicone so they would never heat up even if the chimney was ever used? Has anyone managed to encourage bats?

Just a thought, I have a post at the top of my garden with a homemade Batbox on top.The box is made of thick planking (short 18" sections scrounged from a scaffolder working in our street) and has two or three almost full length internal chambers about an inch or so apart to give the snugness that smaller bats prefer the only entrance is a slot across the bottom giving access to each vertical chamber and the solid top has a roofing felt cap (the base is a solid piece also)
The box is mounted at about eight feet, with three feet in concrete (ideally it should be at least twelve I feel) but it is what I had It could be made to look more like a Dovecote and mounted as a feature in the middle of a lawn with good bat hunting areas, hedgerows honeysuckle crowned trees etc.
I am full of good ideas, if you have the money/inclination