Maine's Off Topic Thread -- Part 5 (Bangor, Penobscot: credit, first time home buyer, neighborhood)

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by elston

Bats and Skunks.....whats next....perhaps a porcupine? Oh My! I havent seen any skunks since I have been in Maine and only once I thought I might have smelled one on the road....I was wondering if their numbers had been thinned by disease; I used to see more of them when I lived in a small city in NH.


I like Bats too, Maineah....they give me a bit of the creeps.....but I do like them. I was wondering about putting up some bat houses in the back yard.....hoping a colony of bats might cut down on skeeters and flies. Has anyone had any luck with bat houses?

Out here north of Bangor there are plenty of skunks to share, Elston. Shall I ask a few to start heading your way?

We like bats, too and putting up bat houses is on our "to do" list, but we haven't got to it yet. I have not seen many, but the swallows have been busy critters.

[Maine Writer]

Oh my! Weren't you looking for a kitten earlier? Ask and you shall receive?

[elston]

Originally Posted by starwalker

Out here north of Bangor there are plenty of skunks to share, Elston. Shall I ask a few to start heading your way?

We like bats, too and putting up bat houses is on our "to do" list, but we haven't got to it yet. I have not seen many, but the swallows have been busy critters.

No let "Pepe La Phew."...and all his relations stay up there....(I would hate for my dogs to get tangled up with a skunk....and I have one foolish one who would definately get into it. In NH I had skunks living under the barn....but we managed to co-exist.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by elston

Bats and Skunks.....whats next....perhaps a porcupine? Oh My! I havent seen any skunks since I have been in Maine and only once I thought I might have smelled one on the road....I was wondering if their numbers had been thinned by disease; I used to see more of them when I lived in a small city in NH.


I like Bats too, Maineah....they give me a bit of the creeps.....but I do like them. I was wondering about putting up some bat houses in the back yard.....hoping a colony of bats might cut down on skeeters and flies. Has anyone had any luck with bat houses?

How 'bout those (as my son calls them) "W Chucks?" We've got a couple of fat ones perusing the garden here, but so far, none have sampled.

[elston]

Originally Posted by reloop

How 'bout those (as my son calls them) "W Chucks?" We've got a couple of fat ones perusing the garden here, but so far, none have sampled.

They are cute from a distance.....but can really be a nuisance....I am glad that I dont see any evidence of them here.....at least so far....famous last words.

[Maineah]

Not a fan of W Chucks. I'll spare you the details but it suffices to say the herd has been thinned substantially around here in the last year or so.
I was thinking of putting bat houses on the cupola of the barn. I saw in the Vermont forum that something is killing off bats in that area. I too have noticed a decline in the number of bats around here as well. We used to have five or six of them spending the summer in our garage attic and would watch them fly out at dusk on their "skeeter run" This year the only one we have seen was the one in the house last night.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by Maineah

Not a fan of W Chucks. I'll spare you the details but it suffices to say the herd has been thinned substantially around here in the last year or so.
I was thinking of putting bat houses on the cupola of the barn. I saw in the Vermont forum that something is killing off bats in that area. I too have noticed a decline in the number of bats around here as well. We used to have five or six of them spending the summer in our garage attic and would watch them fly out at dusk on their "skeeter run" This year the only one we have seen was the one in the house last night.

Yes, as creepy as they are, they serve a purpose for sure. I'd hate to see them all disappear.

[CoastalMaine]

There is a fungus wiping out all of the bats in the Northeast.

Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Bat-killing syndrome spreads in Northeast - Science- msnbc.com

The map in the first link seems to show no problems yet in Maine. This might be just the year to put up as many bat houses as you can to help them. Don't know if it would work, but it couldn't hurt, right?

There is a guy up in route 3 just outside of Belfast that sells bat houses, but I don't think they're very difficult to slap together.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by CoastalMaine

There is a fungus wiping out all of the bats in the Northeast.

Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Bat-killing syndrome spreads in Northeast - Science- msnbc.com

The map in the first link seems to show no problems yet in Maine. This might be just the year to put up as many bat houses as you can to help them. Don't know if it would work, but it couldn't hurt, right?

There is a guy up in route 3 just outside of Belfast that sells bat houses, but I don't think they're very difficult to slap together.

It's really too late this year Bats are migratory and have been in their established homes since May

[elston]

Originally Posted by Maineah

It's really too late this year Bats are migratory and have been in their established homes since May

That is good information to know.....thank you.