Bats at dusk

[motleynm]

Hello!

We had our new build pool filled just over a week ago. We were away on vacation for a week so we have not really used it yet. Tonight the kids were swimming around dusk and we had to pull them out as there were bats dive bombing the water. We saw 15-20 bats, I think they were drinking the water but it was creeping us out!

The light was not on and the water is not yet treated w salt. I am wondering if this will alleviate this issue once these items are completed.
Has anyone else had this problem? Thoughts..............

Thanks!

 

[RonsPlc]

My thoughts are that the bats were going after the mosquitoes that were on their way towards your kids, and the water.

 

[Saturn94]

Occasionally we’ll see bats doing that in our salt pool. They’ve never bothered us.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Our first year we had bats also. They scared me but Skippy was happy there were bats someplace near our yard as they eat a mess of bugs.

After our first year they must have moved, I rarely see them now?

Bats are not a bad thing.... just creepy. Avoid swimming after dark I guess is the answer.

Maddie

afterthought!--> We got two new Dynatraps for our yard and they seem to work *great*....we empty dead bugs out and haven't seen many at all bothering us. If you had fewer bugs, you'd probably have fewer bats. Just a thought.

 

[ajw22]

Our first year we had bats also. They scared me but Skippy was happy there were bats someplace near our yard as they eat a mess of bugs.

After our first year they must have moved, I rarely see them now?
.

The bat population on the East coast has been decimated by White Nose Syndrome White-nose syndrome - Wikipedia

Be happy if you have bats around. Our ecology needs them.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

The bat population on the East coast has been decimated by White Nose Syndrome White-nose syndrome - Wikipedia

Be happy if you have bats around. Our ecology needs them.

I first read that as White Noise Syndrome

But after reading this - this is no laughing matter! I had no idea. Now I have something else to worry about along with the honeybees. thanks.

Seriously, thanks for sharing. Glad to have learned something today.

Now, do I have to give snakes a pass next too..??

Maddie

 

[HiddenRiver]

The bat population on the East coast has been decimated by White Nose Syndrome White-nose syndrome - Wikipedia

Be happy if you have bats around. Our ecology needs them.

Thanks for sharing this information. The company I work for employs bat ecologists. WNS is a tragic situation occurring to the natural cave hibernating bat population and some populations have gone from 100s of thousands to a handful of individuals, with 99% reductions. Bats perform many wonderful functions for agriculture and forestry as well as our own back yards. They will be found around Ponds and rivers with emerging insects at the edges of forests in the evenings. They will be at the tops of trees in forests eating moths and beetles. They also do drink from open water bodies. I agree that eventually the bats will leave—but if you are in the south and these are tree bats or the west where WNS is only very recently arrived, the visits may continue for a while.

 

[smoses]

We have a bat house on our house and bats actually live in it. We find them harmless, sure they swoop pretty low sometimes but we’ve never been hit by one.

Fascinating to watch them fly around and come and go into their house.

 

[HiddenRiver]

We have a bat house on our house and bats actually live in it. We find them harmless, sure they swoop pretty low sometimes but we’ve never been hit by one.

Fascinating to watch them fly around and come and go into their house.

This is great and doing yourself a good service for bug control! Bats are amazing creatures and nothing at all like flying mice which I used to think. Females only have one pup per year, if that, which is also why WNS is so devastating. I have a bat house but not sure where to install it. Although ground zero for WNS was in NY, PA was hit pretty hard. In my yard I see only two or three Big brown bats flying around for about an hour in the evening.

 

[motleynm]

Me TOO! White Noise Syndrome!

 

[motleynm]

Thanks y'all!
I do live in eastern PA. We have had bats for years and have always enjoyed watching them from our patio. We have taken down about 10 oaks each over 150 feet in the past couple years (pool prep) and noticed a decline in the bats we had. I attributed this to the tree removal. This year, we noticed many more bats compared to the past couple of years. I do welcome them for the bug removal, I just don't want them to dive bomb my kids!

 

[otter86753]

We have bats that skim our salt water pool nightly. They are only interested in a drink of water after being under our neighbor's metal roof all day (the neighbor knows but does nothing about removing them!). We are thrilled to have them eat mosquitoes and other bugs, although they don't eat nearly enough mosquitoes. With their excellent echolocation, they have never even come close to contact with us. We usually move to the side so they have a clean runway down the center of the pool to drink.

 

[bmoreswim]

We only ever have one bat at a time. But I love it when he comes by. I’m entranced by his patterns through the night sky and yard area.

 

[Divin Dave]

I have a few bats too and I also like watching them swoop down across the water. They dont bother me at all.