Bat House Filter

May 6, 2010 7:04 AM

Bat House Filter: Can I install a swallow house on the same pole as where my bathouse is installed?

I have a bathouse on a 20 ' pole and I am wondering if I can put a swallow house on the same pole at 5'?
Will having a swallow house AND a bathouse on the same mounted pole hinder any of theses creatures?
Can bats and swallows live peacefully together?

posted by jek to Pets & Animals (3 answers total)

Dunno why not, but be aware that bats generate copious amounts of guano, which is typically how you discover that they're roosting in the gable vents of your house. Another recommendation I've seen is to put some sort of small barrier around the bottom of the bat-house-pole, which would limit child- or pet-exposure to any pups that fall out, as they're known to carry rabies.

This article indicates that if the bats don't move in reasonably quickly, you may need to move the house a round a little bit.
posted by jquinby at 7:11 AM on May 6, 2010

Ah, something else to consider - the bats may only need so share facilities during the swallow's nesting season, so there may not be much overlap depending on the species, your location, etc.
posted by jquinby at 7:14 AM on May 6, 2010

The birds and bats will coexist peacefully since they hardly ever inhabit the skies at the same time. It sounds like you already have a successful bat house going, right? You have it up at 20 feet? The bird house can go 10-12 feet on the pole, so they'd be pretty far apart. Try putting the bird house facing east if the bat house if facing west (or whatever direction as long as they're opposite...) so that guano falling onto the swallow house won't be a problem, because the swallows will really be put off by the smell. The guano is your biggest concern - you want it to be able to fall freely to the ground so that you can clean it up.
posted by iconomy at 7:29 AM on May 6, 2010