New Large Three Chamber Bat House

I am very proud to feature our New Large Three Chamber Bat House.  Like our Bat Hotels, this bat house is made of quality long lasting Redwood and comes stained, caulked and ready to mount!  We include a detailed manual to help you have a successful bat house.  As we head into Fall, this is the perfect time to mount your new bat houses! 

This long lasting bat house will become home to 500 bats.  Once a bat colony moves into your bat house, the same colony will come back year after year.  A colony of 500 bats will eat an average of 300,000 bugs per hour each night! This is THE best and most powerful form of all natural insect control.

What most people notice about this bat house is its clean and beautiful look.  You will be proud to mount this in your yard or on your house.

Please visit our website laughingbat.com and if you have any questions please feel free to contact us!

Laughing Bat Success Featured on Information Farm:

We at Laughing Bat are so honored to have been interviewed by Ed from Information Farm! 

 Please visit the link below to hear the interview about the origins of Laughing Bat!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE INTERVIEW

Laughing Bat's marvelous creators!

Or, copy and past link below into your browser, thank you.

http://informationfarm.blogspot.com/2010/09/success-story-ashley-dufflaughing-bat.html

A CALL TO ACTION! White-Nose Syndrome & What We Can Do To Help!

By: Ashley @ Laughingbat.com

“Bats have in the last four years experienced declines
that are unprecedented in the history of wildlife studies in North America
and in the world, for that matter.” 

   

- Thomas Kunz, Ph.D., Biologist, Boston University

White-Nose Syndrome

  Since the winter of 2006, more than a million bats have died in the United States and Canada from an insidious fungus called Geomyces destructans that leaves its white “dust” on the noses, faces, ears and wings of infected bats. 



  When I first heard about White-Nose  Syndrome I was struck with disbelief.  This bat-killing fungus was unknown before 2006. In 2009 and 2010, investigations of some New York State caves found up to 100% of the bat population had died! Especially hard hit has been the Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus). This bat species has survived for 52 million years.  

  52 MILLION YEARS this species has survived and adapted to many of this worlds most extreme changes and now faces extinction in only a matter of years if The White-Nose Syndrome fungus is not stopped.

  Experts are virtually clueless as to the real origins of this disease and why out of no where it is killing bats by the millions.  Many specialists have hypothesized that the bats are dying from this fungus now because of their lowered immune systems.  They believe that the bats have suffered from our over use of toxic pesticides and other environmental / agricultural chemicals and now these chemicals are taking their toll.  This over exposure to pollution has weakened the immune systems of these dying bats and now when they hibernate the bats are susceptible to fungal attacks.

  By poisoning bugs we are in turn poisoning the animals that eat the bugs!  The irony is, we are by proxy killing off the species of bats and birds who's KEY contribution to our ecosystem has always been the control and suppression of the bug population!  Without bats we would suffer a great plague of insects and be overrun by pests eating our crops.  Recently, scientists have noticed a rapid decline in the population of birds who pray mainly on bugs, so we know its not just bats that are suffering. 

Bat eating a bug!

  Bats do play a  major role in suppressing insect populations because, for the most part, bats are bugs top predator! Because of this, bats are considered a keystone species in every ecosystem. The concept of a keystone is that if you remove the keystone of an arch, then the arch collapses. If you remove the insect eating bats, then our ecosystem would be thrown out of whack!

  New research shows that polyunsaturated fatty acids are needed for bats to have good health. The main source of polyunsaturated fatty acids are foods such as corn. If corn and other crops are saturated with chemical herbicides and pesticides, that could be the link to why the population of insect eating bats and birds has sharply declined.  This is why I support choosing to buy and eat organic food at all costs. More and more North Americans are opting to pay the little extra cash for real food that is guilt free and pesticide free.

    We always think of Organic vegetables and fruit as being healthier for us but little do we consider that it is healthier for every species in the food chain!  

Be Super Heroes! HELP SAVE the bat population!

What You CAN Do Now:

1 - Support ORGANIC!  When possible choose organic. You are voting with your fork and supporting the farmers who choose to restore balance back to our ecosystem.

2 - Stop using toxic pesticides!  Seek all eco-friendly alternatives (such as owning a Redwood Bat Hotel!) to using chemical insect control.  Be sure to support your neighbors in joining you as the more neighbors that opt for eco-friendly solutions to insect control the healthier your whole community will be!

3 - Buy a bat house! Of course I am going to say buy a bat house! This is a blog about bats!

4 - Spread the word!  Share this blog with your friends and family!  We can help support our local bat population and as the old saying goes, there is power in numbers.

5 - Do not touch bats.  There is concern that humans can spread the White-Nose fungus by unknowingly carrying the fungus from one location to another.  Its best to enjoy bats from a short distance.

6 - Report unusual bat behavior, such as flying during the day, to your local Fish and Wildlife Service.  If you come across bats that you think may have White-Nose Syndrome let the Fish and Wildlife Services know as they are the agency that is tracking WNS. 

 

Thank you so much and if you have any questions or have a topic you wish for me to discuss in a future blog please contact me!  

http://laughingbat.com/contact/

Laughing Bat 2.0

This week we relaunched our newly designed website, laughingbat.com, and we are very excited about it! Stay posted for more educational videos and bloggs about bats and bat houses! Thank you!

SIMPLE STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL BAT HOUSE

As bat lovers and bat house builders over the years we have learned a thing or two about creating a successful bat house. Through all the questions our customers have asked we put together a 20 page Bat House Manual.

Here is the simplified version of the literature we include with our bat homes, nice and simple...

Follow these simple steps to a successful bat house:

1. STOP USING PESTICIDES AND OTHER INSECT REPELLENTS. -You want your yard to be a free bat buffet! Bats will move in quickly when they know they will always have a good meal waiting in your back yard.
   

2. MOUNT YOUR BAT HOUSE FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES COVERED IN OUR MANUAL. -Southern exposure, average of 8 hours of sun, match your bat house color to your climate, mount on pole or side of house and at least 12 feet above the ground.
   

3. USE OUR INSECT ATTRACTING TIPS EXTERIOR LIGHTS, LURES AND NIGHT BLOOMING PLANTS AND FLOWERS. - There is a natural way to attract the right bugs that will in turn attract the right bats. I cover this in detail in my book, The Law of Bat Attraction.

4. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A FRESH WATER SOURCE CLOSE BY, CREATE ONE: A FRESH WATER POND OR BIRD BATH. - Bats have been known to even drink out of swimming pools.
   

5. KEEP DOGS AND CATS AWAY FROM BAT HOUSE. - Cats will hunt bats and dogs will bark at anything that moves. I know its not rocket science but keep your pets away from side of your yard where the bat house is mounted.

6. BE PATIENT. - Bats are very smart. They will not move into a newly mounted structure. They first want to make sure its something that will be premanent, so when you mount your bat house, expect to wait a few months before you see occupants. On the bright side, your bats will stay, hybernate or migrate (depending on your climate) for many years.
   

7. CHECK YOUR BAT HOUSE ONCE A MONTH FOR WASPS OR OTHER UNWANTED OCCUPANTS. - Light maintenance is required.
   

8. IF THE HOUSE IS NOT OCCUPIED WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR, MOVE IT TO A BETTER LOCATION WITH MORE SUN EXPOSURE. - I say "better location", in my bat manual I go into many details and elaborate on this term. Basically it all comes down to temperature. Your bat house may be too cold. Look into moving it to a place that gets more sun or painting it a darker color. Most bat species like it to be around 100F in their house!

I hope you find all of my tips and tricks helpful. Please stay tuned and visit our website laughingbat.com for more details. Thank you!

BUSTING BAT MYTHS!

Bats are misunderstood creatures that are generally quite harmless to people. They do not become tangled in hair, nor do they attack humans. There have been fewer than 10 cases of human rabies infection from bats in the last 50 years!

Not many people know, care, or even appreciate bats for their many benefits. Unfortunately, most people believe the myths. When people think about bats, their minds conjure up images of a black silhouette gliding in front of a full moon on Halloween. Many people view bats as evil creatures that hang out with witches and vampires. The truth is bats are shy, gentle and intelligent creatures. Don't be afraid if a bat swoops down close to your head. It is not "attacking" you. It is probably catching a juicy mosquito that was about to bite you!

In Asia these gentle animals are symbols of good luck, long life and happiness. They are extremely clean animals, meticulous in their grooming, spending a fair part of the day and night combing and grooming their fur.

The old belief that bats are blind was started long ago when we knew little about their sophisticated gift of navigation. When bats fly, they navigate by means of a complex echolocation system. The bat sends out signals of sound waves, which are reflected back, giving the bat the location of an object as well as its texture and other characteristics. They can avoid a single human hair with extreme accuracy, even in total darkness. It is similar to how a submarine navigates using sonar and yet far more accurate and complex.

The Pallid bat (seen above & Below) - Antrozous pallidus - (I gave them the pet name "Pally") is my personal favorite bat because Pally the Pallid bat hunts scorpions!


Pally can hear the foot steps of an insect on the ground from 16 feet away! They fly, navigate and hunt with extreme accuracy. In fact all bats are extremely cool in one way or another. All species of bats are intelligent, clean, sophisticated and very misunderstood. When researching individual species of bats you will come across a common theme among them. "We still know very little about this bat." Scientists will admit we have much more to learn about these sophisticated and mysterious mammals, however every year we seem to discover something new and profound.

Recently the saliva from the South American species of bat, commonly known as Vampire Bats, has aided in the creation of a new and successful treatment for stroke patients! Even new antibiotics and other medicine have been created from the help of bats. I know in previous blogs I have beaten to death the important rolls bats play in our lives and ecosystems.

What I want is to bust the old bat myths that have plagued these mammals with human fear and persecution! Don't think of them as little blood sucking vampires! They are more like little flying kittens! Since they don't attack humans and up close they are gentle, furry and so freaking cute!

When you can let go of your unwarranted fear of bats and embrace their grace, let them into your environment, you will reap the great benefits of powerful pest control, pollination and potent fertilizer!

Give a bat a home! Visit our website, Laughingbat.com
btw, Bat Hotels make great gifts too!

Open Bottom vs. Closed Bottom Bat House

I had a great question from a customer the other day and wanted to share.

Q: I have been comparing bat houses and I wanted to know if there is a benefit to having a base at the bottom of the house vs not having a base to prevent the possible fall of a baby bat? I know not having a base is an advantage to not have birds nest in the house, but I am concerned about the safety of baby bats?

My response:
Thank you for the excellent question! Its amazing how bat mothers take care of their young. Bats share MANY of the same behavioral qualities as humans do. Bat mothers will take great care of their young and nurse them for the first two weeks of their life. After that the babies learn to fly and begin to hunt for bugs!

Just think of other animals, such as horses or cows, that can walk only moments after being born, or chicks that have to hatch themselves from their eggs. The act of the baby bats holding onto their mothers and holding onto the sides of the bat house strengthens them for their very long (average of 40 years) and happy bat lives!

Within the two weeks that the babies are still growing strong, getting ready to learn to fly, they live inside the chambers of the home, holding onto their mother and the grooved sides of the chambers.

In nature, bats would live upside down in caves, mines, barns, attics, and some in the bark of trees. Bats have been around since the age of the dinosaur and have developed the amazing ability to live hanging upside down! In nature, these baby bats do not need a safety net. Bats prefer the open bottom bat house as they can easily locate and land on the landing pad that extends below the chambers and the box.

I think bats are just amazing animals, so much so, that I wrote a little book to help people manifest successful bat homes. I include great literature along with the bat homes I sell. My husband, who is also a huge bat enthusiast, has been a professional carpenter for over 20 years. Together we build our bat homes and look to provide the HIGHEST quality bat home for the most affordable price.

Closed bottom Bat Houses are more common in Europe, however, they are larger and require regular maintenance. You would have to take a hose and regularly spray the inside of the bat house (while the bats are not currently home) to clean the build up of urine and guano. If you did not clean it regularly, the build up would increase the bat colonies chances of becoming sick or catching parasites.

Studies have shown that once a bat colony has chosen your bat house, they will return year after year. If you have chosen a good bat house they can last longer then 10 years. By using open-bottom designs, even bat houses abandoned by their human owners will remain available to bats for a long time.

Another point I would like to make is that bats are extremely clean animals, they spend most of their waking day time hours grooming themselves and each other. Since a bat house with a closed bottom would not only make it harder for them to land and enter, it would also collect all their guano (bat droppings) as well as their urine. A much healthier design is the free bottom. Most gardeners love collecting the guano for their compost as it makes an excellent fertilizer.

BATS EAT SCORPIONS?!

Living in Nevada we don't see a lot of moths or have many run ins with mosquitoes. We do however have an abundant supply of cockroaches and scorpions! Ask anyone that lives in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Texas even parts of southern California and they will agree, desert cockroaches and scorpions are the hardest bugs to get rid of once they are in your neighborhood!

Growing up in Canada I loved bats for taking care of all the black flies, mosquitoes and other blood sucking insects that would torment my summers by the lake. With out bats I would not have been able to survive, let alone enjoy, my vacations at the cottage. I used to watch the bats fly around the forests edge by the lake swooping down and gobbling up all the bugs! It was great.

Now living in scorpion country Nevada, until recently, I never knew that some species of bats specifically eat scorpions and cockroaches by the dozen!

The Pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus), unlike most bats which hunt for flying insects, feeds almost entirely from the ground and captures little, if any, prey while in flight. With their big cute ears they can detect insects simply by listening for footsteps.

After swooping down upon its prey, the pallid bat carries the insect to a safe perch to enjoy its meal. Its most common prey include cockroaches, crickets, beetles, grasshoppers, and even scorpions. What I find amazing is the pallid bat is actually immune to a scorpion's sting!

Pallid bats make their homes in rock crevices, buildings, bat houses and bridges in arid desert regions. They are know to live across the western part of North America, from Mexico and the southwestern United States north through Oregon, Washington, and western Canada.

The Pallid bat is just one of 1,100 species of bat. I am sure there are more species of bat that also eat gross ground bugs, but with their cute ears, hungry appetite for the bugs I despise and their strong desire to live in my bat houses, I would have to rank the Pallid bat as my personal favorite bat!

WARNING: BEFORE YOU BUY A BAT HOUSE!

BE CAREFUL OF FRAUDULENT BAT HOMES!

It angers me that literally half the so called "bat houses" sold online are so poorly designed and built that bats will never live in them! Many people nail together scrap wood and claim it is a "Bat house" when it is nothing more then nails and wood! For example, there are sellers on eBay that post broken wooden peach crates claiming they are quality craftsmanship! As long time bat enthusiasts and animal lovers, we want everyone to know what it takes to have a successful bat house.

DO NOT BUY A BAT HOUSE IF:

• It does not have a landing pad! Successful box style Bat Houses ALL require a landing pad of two or more inches.

• It does not have gripping surfaces! Bats require that the chambers and landing pad BOTH have horizontal striations. Unfortunately, many fraudulent bat homes are being sold without horizontal striations! As bats will not live in a house that does not let them grip the sides of the chambers easily, the typical eBay bat house, with no gripping surface, is just useless nails and wood, wasting your money and time.
  

• It does not have ventilation. Bats are just like you and me. They want a warm, dry, ventilated house to live in. Too many bat bat homes have NO ventilation or too much ventilation! Too much and the house is damp and cold. To little and the house is stuffy and hot. Both problems lead to an unsuccessful bat house.
  

• All joints are NOT nailed and glued or caulked. Studies have shown that once bats roost in your bat house they will return year after year. If your bat house is not built to last, what is the point? You want to make sure it does not look like it was just thrown together. If it looks like shady craftsmanship, then it probably is. Be sure that the carpenter who built your bat house took the time to glue each joint and seal the outer joints with outdoor caulking. Also, if plywood is used, be sure that they painted or stained it with a non-toxic outdoor treatment. MOST BAT HOUSES FOR SALE DO NOT HAVE THESE FEATURES!
  

• IT'S TOO SMALL! Bat Homes will NOT be successful if they are too narrow or too small! Each chamber space should measure between 3/4" to 1 inch apart on the inside. Bats will not roost in a bat house where the chambers are too big! Bat Homes that are successful are wide and tall.
  

My husband and I care about Bats too much to not warn you of the BAD BAT HOUSES out there for sale. We would love for you to buy our bat house of course, and before you do, please take a moment to do some research. Once you do, you will see why we warned you.

Please visit the Bat Conservation International website for more details about what makes up a successful bat house. Even if you don't buy our bat house we want to do everything we can to steer you in the right direction.

We at Laughingbat.com put bats first and believe that with a little education and compassion we can all be successful bat house owners!

BAT FACTS!

The more you understand about bats, the easier it will be to make your bat house a successful one. Now, when I say a successful bat house, what I am really saying is a bat house that is home to happy bats. Anything else is just some wood nailed together and NOT a bat house!

What is scary is I have seen really poorly built "bat houses" for sale online and it makes me sad and angry knowing that good people spend their well earned money on these fraudulent "bat boxes" in hopes they will reap the benefits of hosting a local bat colony. Little do they know, they have been had by an ignorant "bat house builder"! I have even seen what appears to be nothing more then broken wooden peach crates being sold as BAT HOMES! This is a shame! My husband and I strive to not only provide quality bat homes, we also make a conscious effort to educate everyone as best we can so they do not end up with a broken peach crate for a "bat house".

I promise to cover, in later blogs, all the details of what makes up a REAL bat house. I also plan on busting all of the old bat myths that have haunted these poor and gentle creatures. Lets just say, Hollywood has done these cute little mammals no justice!

As the chief predators of night-flying insects, bats play a critical role in maintaining the balance of nature. Bats protect local farmers from the pricey assault of 33 million rootworms each summer. Cucumber beetles, June beetles, stink bugs, leafhoppers, cutworm and cornearworm moths are all well-known pests that are just a few of the many insects contained in the bat's regular diet. Some species of Bats in North America even eat Scorpions and cockroaches making them my best friends!

The increasing trend of bat house ownership may contribute greatly to saving the species of bats that are in fear of endangerment. By preserving your local bat population you work to maintain nature's balance.

The sharp decline of the bat populous contributes to the growing demand for toxic, harmful pesticides that continue to threaten our personal and environmental health. It is a well-known fact that exposure to pesticides significantly lowers the immune system, leaving the human body open to developing disease and, in the worst cases, to chronic and life-threatening illnesses. A wide variety of health problems that have occurred in the last 20 to 30 years, for instance behavioral problems in children, food allergies, sensitivities, autoimmune disorders, etc., have been cited as being caused in part by the increase in toxic pesticide consumption.

So, as you can clearly see, by supporting your local bat population to regain its foothold and strengthen, the pests that wreak havoc from your garden to the crops of your local farmers will be brought back into balance. This balance will allow for a significant decrease in toxic pesticides. By being exposed to fewer pesticides, your health, along with the health of your local ecosystem, will strengthen!

This is where people often ask themselves, "Why doesn't everybody have a bat house!?" Good question! I hope you can take what you have learned in this blog to help educate your friends and family about the exciting benefits of bat house ownership! If you would like to refer your friends to purchase a great quality bat house please have them visit our website! Laughingbat.com!

Stay tooned for more interesting Bat Facts!

The Birds & the Bats

An interesting fact that many may not know is that bats are not birds! Bats and birds both can fly, yet they belong to different animal classes; birds are in a class called Aves while bats are in the class Mammalia. Bats are mammals, just like humans, which means that all bats are warm-blooded, have hair, bear live young, and feed their babies milk.

Most people think bats are some kind of flying mouse, or related somehow to rodents. Rodents will give birth to many many litters and increase their family tree by the hundreds in the span of a year. Bats on the other hand have more in common with humans as most bat species will give birth to only one baby each year! Few species will give birth to twins or triplets each year but that still pales in comparison to the multiplication power of rodents!

You will hear me talk about the importance bats play in our ecosystem and just how tragic it is that more than half of North America's 45 species are listed as endangered or close to being endangered!

Bats play a key roll in maintaining the diversity of life on earth. To give you a specific example, the Mexican Free-tailed bats from just three caves near San Antonio, Texas, consume a million pounds of insects on average nightly over local towns and farms. Two thirds of Mexico's tequila production can be attributed to the pollination of the giant cacti and agave from which tequila is made. without bats whole agricultural industries would be in jeopardy!

In fact bats play an essential role as the primary pollinators and seed dispersers, around the world, for countless trees and shrubs that are of great economic value. Bananas, dates, figs, avocados, even the endangered saguaro cactus, are dependent upon bats for pollination because they bloom at night.

Bat-dependent products:

bananas breadfruit avocados dates figs

mangoes cloves allspice nutmeg cashew nuts

cashew fruits guava chewing gum naseberry

kapok for stuffing life preservers rope tequila

balsa wood for carving and for making model airplanes

important new heart medicines

Bats are also responsible for 95% of the reforestation of the tropical rain forests through their dispersal of seeds. However, the talent that they are most known for is their enormous capacity for consuming insects! A nocturnal mammal, the bat eats when the insects are out, in contrast to birds, which eat during the day. Some bat species consume half their weight in bugs in a single night!

Birds and bats do not compete for food or space, so your bat house is compatible with your bird houses and bird feeders, should you have any. I would however warn you to keep your dogs and cats away from the bat house while you are working on attracting occupants.

Bats my not be related to birds but they do share the same predators! Outdoor cats, snakes and raccoons will pray on bats. There are snakes that learn to climb trees or buildings in order to get into a bat house or roosting site! This is why I believe mounting your bat house on a pole to be the safest option.

In later blogs I will go into greater detail about the optimal strategies for mounting your bat houses so stay tuned!

Visit our website Laughingbat.com!

WHY OWN A BAT HOUSE?

As longtime animal lovers and bat enthusiasts, my husband and I were surprised at the number of people who have never heard of a BAT HOUSE! Since we started offering our handcrafted Redwood Bat Hotels for sale, our inbox has been flooded with questions about how to manifest a successful bat house.
My goal for this blog is that after reading it you will not only want to have a bat house of your own, you will also hold a deeper understanding, love and appreciation for our bat buddies and the great benefits that come with living in harmony with our friends of the night sky!
Why Own a bat house? Why go to all the trouble to buy a bat house, find a good spot to mount it, take the few minutes every season to do light maintenance on the bat house? What is in it for you?! Besides looking cool and being a great conversational piece during your back yard BBQ party's, owning a successful bat house will bring you many benefits you many not have thought about before today.

Bats are an invaluable natural resource. It is unfortunate that from years of unfounded human fear and persecution, the bat population has taken a significant downturn. In the last 50 years the bats natural habitat has been compromised by the increase in urban living, by taking away their homes and poisoning their food and water source with the overuse of urban and agricultural pesticides.

We have seen a rapid decline in the North American bat population and now it is time to fight back. YOU are doing bats a huge service by hanging just one bat house. With a little education, understanding and compassion we can help to bring balance back to our local ecosystem. You will greatly benefit from the kind act of investing in a small piece of Bat Real Estate, as once bats occupy your bat house they will begin to eat the pesky bugs that infest your lawn and neighborhood! As you may have heard, the average small bat eats around 600 bugs per hour!

The Two Chamber Redwood Bat Hotel that we make houses an average of 40 bats. That's 24,000 bugs per hour on average! Installing a bat house would consequently require less and less toxic pesticide use, ending the vicious cycle of decreasing the bat population. In return you can safely save money by no longer needing to use chemical sprays and insect repellents!

Although I will often refer to the North American species of bat, if you plan on mounting your bat house in a different region, you will find that many facts in this blog will still apply. I encourage you to research the needs of your local bat species. All bat species however, prefer their home to be warm, dry, well ventilated and clean. Our bat homes have been successfully mounted not only in Canada and the United States but throughout Europe as well!

If you are an avid gardener or farmer you will love knowing that bats not only eat the insects that eat your flowers and tomatoes, they also help to pollinate your plants! If you have fruit trees bats are especially helpful in aiding the germination process by traveling from tree to tree, much like bees do, carrying with them the pollen from the previous plants.

So, as you can see, the small yet significant part you play will, over time, have a great impact on your local ecosystem. In addition, studies have shown that the same bat colony will return to your bat house year after year, so you will have FREE pest control for years to come!

For more information or to order a Bat House please visit Laughingbat.com!

Now, lets just get the bats IN your bat house, shall we? Stay tuned for great all natural bat attraction tips & tricks!