During the month of June in 2010 five bat boxes were installed in McDougall Park which is in South Perth, Western Australia. Well, great news, five months later a bat has found box number 4 mounted on a Lemon Scented gum tree. By looking at the amount of guano(droppings) it appears that it hasn’t been there too long. Probably only a week or two. A council bush crew worker was with me at the time of inspection and we were so excited that a grandmother and two young children came over and asked us what is the excitement all about. I asked her would she and the kids like to see a micro bat. Of course they would be delighted. So, up I climbed on a ladder to the bat box and carefully removed the bat from it’s home.
He was feisty. Snapping and snarling at me. He thought he was going to become someone’s takeaway.
I gave the visitors a quick look and put him back into his new home.
Once one bat has found a home, he will fly back and tell his mates. Then, the word will get out….
More bats, more dead mozzies….One bat eats 1,000 mosquitoes per night…
Rock on the bats….
Bat discovers new home.
GoBatty 
Hi there,
Just thought I’d mention that my young son found a dead bat on his bike ride yesterday [ 10th March ] on Mill Point Rd in South Perth. Are they common in this area?
Hi Kerryn,
Yes, Microbats are found everywhere, even in South Perth. They would probably hunt around Kings Park eating solely insects. Also the lakes off Douglas Ave would attract them. It would probably be a Gould’s wattled bat or maybe a Southern Forest bat. Many people don’t realise that we have them because they go to work when humans go to sleep. Also to detect them requires a electronic bat detector.
Cheers
Joe.
I live in a suburb north of the swan river and I’m curious whether there are any bats around were I live and what are the chances one of them may end up in my backyard?
Sarah, if you’re close to bush or a lake the chances of bats coming to your box is pretty good. They are always looking for new homes. In fact, research has shown that bats will search around houses before trees.
They seem to know that a human house offers a great place to roost.
Try it and see…