I built a bat house today!
I live in Northern WI and have been finding bats on our west facing deck recently. I believe they’re little brown bats, as they’re little and brown and they’re native to my area. Every time I’ve found them, it’s only been one at a time. First, there was one inside a deck cooler, wedged between the outer wood and the inner styrofoam. Next, there was one inside the closed up deck umbrella (I scared the poor thing when I went to open it mid afternoon 🥺). Lastly, there was one wedged underneath the deck storage box and the deck boards. Every time they’ve been discovered, we’ve left them alone and the next day they’re gone.
So, fast forward to today; I decided to build a bat house based on the plans and guidance provided by the Bat Conservation International. Their guidance recommends the house be hung on a building to help provide the most stable inside environment. They also say it should be on a southern facing wall.
Now for my question: since all the bats I’ve encountered have been on the western facing wall of my house, can I put the house on that wall, or should I put it 30ish feet away on the southern facing wall?