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Bee Hut Bat House?

 
Posts: 38
Location: British Columbia, Canada
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So I plan on starting beekeeping soon. I'm also planning on building bat houses to help with the incredibly bad mosquito issue on our land. I saw Paul's awesome bee hut and then I had this little inkling to combine the bee hut with some bat house to save space and materials.

Here is what I am thinking:



If you see any issues with this please scrutinize away.
 
steward
Posts: 3704
Location: woodland, washington
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the only issue I see immediately is probably common to all bee huts: placing hives so close together will lead to horizontal transmission of pathogens.
 
Posts: 82
Location: Olympia, Washington
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Isaac,
The one thing I can think of in my experience with Bat houses, (I am only talking about Little Brown Bats that used my houses). The bats seemed pretty skittish about the houses they would decide to establish themselves into. The beekeeping activity under them on the bee hut floor might reverberate through the posts into the houses. Any banging, thumping, or shaking going on in the bee hut, would (in my limited experience) disturb them enough to keep them from using the houses. I say give bat houses a try for sure, just put them up on separate posts, but then that would kinda defeat the saving material idea.
 
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Hey Isaac,
regarding the hives: it is not a good idea to place your hives at ground level, a bench of some sort will help the bees and save your back. You need room to move around your hives, especially on the back but also on the sides, you will get frustrated working in this tight space especially as a beginner. There is no need for a roof over your hives; it will be in your way and will make it very difficult to do what you need.
the bats: they might get jealous of these super-pollinators on the first floor and decide to stink the whole place...
 
gardener
Posts: 658
Location: Wheaton Labs, MT and Tularosa, NM
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It might not be an issue in BC, but for anyone else considering putting bat houses on poles or trees, be sure to include a snake guard. Otherwise, a snake can drive away the bats by munching on them and their young.
 
Jean-Jacques Maury
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Hi Fred,
would you have pictures of snake guards you know work? Thanks.
 
Posts: 947
Location: Graham, Washington [Zone 7b, 47.041 Latitude] 41inches average annual rainfall, cool summer drought
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If you go with that system with the bee hives sitting on the ground and in such constricted quarters...

... you'll bee batty.
 
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