Enhance Wildlife Habitat

There are many different ways you can be a friend to wildlife! Read below for some general tips on how to improve wildlife habitat near you!

 We offer bluebird houses and bat boxes for sale year-round! Check below for prices.

 

Bluebird House – $21.00 Bat Box -$20.00

 

batbox

Bluebirds

Loss of nesting habitat has greatly increased for native cavity nesting birds like Eastern Bluebirds. As bluebirds are the official New York State bird, why655px-Eastern_bluebird not encourage them to nest on your property with a bluebird box? Here are some guidelines to follow if you want to give bluebirds a home in your yard:

  • Use a box made of untreated wood 
  • The entrance hole should be approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter (any other sizes may attract invasive bird species) with no perch (these allow predators to enter the box!)
  • Mount the box on smooth post or pipe to further discourage predators from climbing to the box
  • The box should be near a wooded or brushy area and away from human traffic
  • Point the box entrance away from prevailing winds 

 

Bats

Mounting a bat roosting box is a great way to control insects in your area without pesticides. Little Brown Bats – the most common bat in New York, can eat thousands of insects in one night! Just like bird houses, you can also mount a bat box to attract bats to your area. Here are some tips to keep in mind when doing so:

 

  • Boxes should be at least 10ft off the ground in an open area facing the southeast – this is because the box needs to get 7+ hours of direct sun exposure
  • Bats will more likely colonize a box if it is near a waterway
  • Bat boxes should be painted black with a non-toxic chemical

Bats are unfortunately being devastated by an invasive disease known as White Nose Syndrome (WNS). Introduced from Europe, WNS has decimated bat populations throughout the United States – in some areas by as much as 95%. Without bats we can expect insect populations to dramatically rise. It is estimated that bats save farmers $3.7 billion a year in eating pests that farmers would otherwise have to use pesticides to control. They also control mosquito populations, and in effect help reduce the spread of mosquito born illnesses.

 Bat

So if you want to help your fields, community, and environment, then think about installing a bat box today!