Where do the fruit bats go at day?

[Chicken Charlotte]

Hello guys,
Where do they go its hard to study them at night so I wondered where they went??????????

 

[bagendhens]

they sleep all day, usually somewhere high and dark/secluded. fruit bats tend to choose dense bamboo, mangroves ect.
there actually harder to study during the day because you have to be incredibly carefull not to disturb them. waking a roosting bat can lead to disorientation.
their roost can be MILES from the usual feeding grounds but they usually stay within 3 miles of a readily available food source

 

[oldchickenlady]

I have found bats roosting on the cross members up in the roof of my garage...don't know what kind they were, but they were little buggers.

 

[Akane]

Most bats near people in the US are one of the brown bat species. They will roost in the tops of buildings and if I left my truck by the barn in the bottom of my truck. I'd move it and find bats fallen out on the ground confused. I had to get gloves on and scoop them up to return to the dark barn.

Fruit bats will roost just about everywhere depending some on species. Thick tree growth, caves, buildings, anywhere dark and within range of their food source. I don't know if you could build bat boxes for them. We have several bat boxes up for our brown bats. I nailed them to the chicken coops and barn. All it takes is some plywood, 2x2s (2x4s can be used if making a big bat house), and hardware cloth. You make one piece of plywood slightly longer than the other, staple the hardware cloth over it, lay the 2x2s around 3 sides, set the 2nd piece of plywood on the 2x2s, and screw the whole thing together. The bats will land on the extra part that sticks out from the longer plywood with the hardware cloth on it and climb up between the 2 pieces of plywood. Paint it a dark color if you are in a colder climate or if the location gets less than 6hrs of sun and a light grey or not at all if you are in a warmer climate. Then hang it up somewhere as high as possible (15' or more suggested) with plenty of sun during the day. The exact dimensions of bat boxes is not of great concern but longer, taller boxes will have more success than very small ones that don't have as dark of area. You can add a 1" thick board at the opening to narrow the opening so less light gets in and the bats feel safer but it's not necessary if you only make it 2" thick. I have a commercial one that is only about 8"x12" and a custom made one that is 3'x2'. You can also make them multiple layers thick. You can house hundreds to thousands of bats in a bat box. It may take a year or 2 for them to move in though.

 

[Aubrinator]

Ask my mother. She once got hit in the face by a bat while at my bus stop!

Of course I had a close call at the same spot a few weeks ago with another

they are cool critters