Well, not in the belfrey, but hoping to attract some! In my continuing battle against mosquito infestation, I mounted a bat house.
The term "bats in the belfrey" was used to reference a person that is crazy or wildly eccentric. I guess from the random thoughts spinning about their brains, much like bats swarming in a belfrey or out of a cave.
I don't have a belfrey, but mounted this bat house under the eaves in hope of attracting some bats to take up residence and assist in mosquito control. This house is about 12" x 15" by 4" deep. It can supposedly house 75 bats. That's a lot of mosquito dinners!
Statistics vary widely, with some claims stating that a single bat can eat over 1,000 mosquito's in an hour. While this seems to be a slight exaggeration extrapolated from a study where bats were turned loose in a room filled with thousands of mosquito's, it certainly is reasonable to think they would still eat a substantial number of them in the thousands over a night mixed with other flying insects. This means that those thousands will not breed and create more, so their value is even greater than just the number eaten.
There doesn't seem to be many negatives to having a bat house. Only the bat droppings (Guano) that actually make really good slow-release fertilizer full of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium.
There are a few things when it comes to attracting bats. This can sometimes take a year or more for bats to find it and take up residence, so may require some patience. Also, the female breeding bats will only take up residence if within a couple miles of water. Luckily, I have time and a few nearby water sources. The bat houses should be mounted 15-20 feet up and away from where other predators may get to them. I mounted this one under the eaves, to protect it from the snow a bit. In the far north, where we are, it's also important to mount it where there is a lot of sun, and to paint it black so that it absorbs heat in winter.
The house has been up for a month or so now, and no bats inside yet, but I have seen some out flying in the evenings, so I know they are around and only a matter of time. I suppose it would be fairly easy to make your own, but I decided to buy a proven design from a known maker. I make use it as a model for more later and mount them farther away to cover some other fields in the back if this proves successful.
(Pic of the Bigbatbox.com marketing material and description).
I haven't given up on the zapper with mosquito attractant. It has definitely reduced the numbers dramatically, but does require replacing the attractant every month.
This is just 5 days worth of bug collecting, and doesn't show all those that just fell out the bottom. It takes blowing out with the leaf blower each week to keep the screens clear.
I'll be keeping an eye on the bats, and hope to have some new neighbors soon! Has anyone else tried bat houses? What was your experience? I've also read that purple martins eat lots of mosquitos, that may be another project, mounting a pole and a Martin house in the back of our meadow to see if I can get some of those around too..
