Putting up a home for bats
How do I get a bat house and how much does it cost? Does it need planning permission? Are bats effective in controlling mosquitoes?
Auntie’s answer: This issue was in the news quite recently, following a release from the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, and you could start by reading this on CNS: Trust urges bat removal ahead of new arrivals. The Trust also has lots of information on bats and housing them on their website, but I did ask them about your specific queries.
A Trust representative suggested you contact them directly to discuss putting up a bat house, explaining that your questions “are best addressed personally, only because bat house placement is down to where homeowners want it, where the bats would prefer, and how CUC can assist putting it up.”
On that last point, every year CUC donates utility poles for bat houses to the National Trust Bat Conservation Programme which the trust says on its website are placed where they are most likely to be successful in attracting bats. Private citizens may qualify to use one of these poles and can discuss their specific bat project with the Trust. You can also purchase poles at local hardware stores.
The information on the website also covers mosquitoes: “Cayman Islands bats are a valuable natural resource. They control our mosquitoes, moths, beetles and other insects that can become crop and garden pests.”
For more on the whys and wherefores of installing a bat house check out the Trust’s website. In addition, the National Trust sells finished bat houses as well as offers free plans to anyone who would like to build their own. To buy a bat house or for more information email the Trust.
Category: Ask Auntie
Cannot seem to load the site for the National Trust. I’ve emailed for info though.
I’ll take 3 bat houses please!
they are 750 CI each to warn you