Viewing post #1421605 by UrbanWild

Garden10 said:
Anyway, any help anyone can give me, please, I inherited this bat box when I bought the house, from what I've read about bat boxes, this is like an illustration on How Not To Put Up A Bat Box, I haven't any idea if it's ever been used, and I'm not in a position to sit outside at night with a flashlight and see what happens. I haven't seen any bats since I've been here, at sundown and such, but that doesn't mean they aren't here. I want to have my handyman take it down, but I don't want him to disturb any bats that could possibly be in there, or anything else that might have taken up residence, is that likely, any way I could tell?

Wait until daytime and get a ladder and flashlight and look inside the baffles thoroughly. If you don't see any, the house is not being used. That said, I would doubt it is being used anyway. Poor install and poor box design make it unlikely. Even good boxes, well-placed can often take years for bats to use them. Sometimes it is about color, sometimes there are better nearby options, etc.

For those wanting bat boxes, be very careful. Often those marketed widely are inappropriate at best...even those from trusted sources like other garden/yard/wildlife caterers.