little brown bat advice

this is really un-ats subject matter I suppose but I'm hoping someone here on ats can give me some advice.
I live in southern Ohio. This morning I uncovered 2 little brown bats trying to hibernate in my hay in the barn.
I know I have bats in my belfry and encourage their residence.
I tried to put these 2 stragglers in a post and beam hole but because they are hibernating (I know there is a word for this like topor?) they wouldn't go in the hole.
I really want to save them, and I know every touch, etc. is really bad for them because they need their energy sources for winter . any advice on what I can do to save them?
Shove a freeze dried mealworm in their mouth, warm them up, then shove them in the hole?
ok, just kidding but I love my bats.
any bat people on ats that can help me?

reply to post by horseplay


I believe torpor is something that only cold blooded animals do. Like reptiles.

I can't help with what to do with the bats.

If I told you guys the mosquitos told me the bats were plotting a conspiracy against them would someone jump in?
I'm headed to the barn, thinking of building a kind of bluebird house real quick and stuffing them in there and hope for the best.

fun bat facts:
a female little brown bat can only have 1 baby per year.
little brown bats are mammals
little brown bats in north america are becoming plagued with a disease called white nose syndrome. Their numbers are being drastically reduced from this fungus and someday little brown bats might very well become endangered.
and little brown bats are a major contributor to the ecological balance of nature. without them, my little farm in particular would be over run with pests.

Just hoping for a bat specialist or fanatic type person....

reply to post by horseplay


Buy a "bat house".

Kinda like a bird house, but for bats.

reply to post by horseplay


I think the main concern would be providing them with some shelter. Here's a good article:

Bats

I love bats. I once lived out in the country, and I would often sit out on the back deck at night, drink a beer or eight, and watch the bats flitting around, catching insects.

reply to post by horseplay


Hey there. I love those little guys too. They are very beneficial to have around. Have you seen the bat boxes? If your handy at all, There are plans to build them online. If i could upload the picks i would. As you prob know those bails of hay can retain a lot of heat in them. Thats prob what led them there. Maybe you could make a nest back in the back.

reply to post by horseplay


I'm not a bat specialist. I've built many bat boxes and most of them are occupied. Your bats are trying to dig in, imo, and I would be inclined -- in your shoes -- to provide a place for them within the hay and let nature take its course.

Maybe a saucer of fruit juice and bugs for when they come out.

That's all I've got. I understand your desire to help them; I like the bats, because other than the large fruit bats, most of them eat a ton of flying insects. Bats good.

I love bats! I sure hope your pair does well. Any pics??

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reply to post by Night Star


hi everyone, I'm so sorry took me so long to respond.
thanks for all the advice, i did build a bathouse and put them in there. I hung it on the wall in the barn near the loft but where they wouldn't get smothered if the guy ever brings my 100 bales of hay. but yesterday when I finally found my camera charger cord and went to take a pic, they were gone. yesterday it warmed up into the 50's and I guess they decided to go join their friends. Which is a good thing, I don't think 2 bats alone would survive the winter.
So after all that trouble, hopefully the bathouse will be full next winter! seems way safer than a post and beam hole, I'm sure the crevices shift constantly when the weather changes.

I'll get some pics in the summer, I'm always finding the young ones in odd places and I do my best to rescue every single one. When the babies are learning to fly it's chaos! I have to turn every bucket upside down, put sticks in the troughs, etc. I do love my little brown bats.
and as a bonus I collect their poop in the fall on the roof and stuff. great fertilizer for the garden plants!