Search

Bats roosting in my porch: 24. A bag of red chillies

on 12th June 2015

So far, all attempts at discouraging Common Fruit Bats (Cynopterus brachyotis) from roosting in my porch failed. I tried spotlights and hung CDs LINK 1 and LINK 2 but without success.

One outcome of the search was the opportunity to study various behavioural traits of these bats from grooming LINK to feeding LINK to courtship LINK and mating LINK.

One bonus was when I came across the alpha male one early morning licking the varnished wooden strips, using the site as a sort of “salt lick” LINK.

Thanks to Johnny Wee who suggested the idea of a bag of red chillies (Capsicum annuum), I have now found a solution to discourage bats from roosting in my porch.

The video clip below shows arriving Common Fruit Bats flying in on the evening of 27th April 2015 during the hours of 1930-2030 to immediately fly out one by one. The clean floor of the porch in the morning testifies to the absence of roosting bats during the night. So far it has been about 2.5 months and the floor has remained clean every morning.

The fresh red chillies have yet to become completely dried up… let’s see how long can the chillies be effective…

YC Wee & Johnny Wee
Singapore
June 2015

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

5 Responses

  1. That was a clever idea! These highly-intelligent creatures will be back, no matter what else you throw at them: chilli, garlic, pepper, bell, book or candle! If they stay away for good I’ll buy you a large TIGER!

  2. You can try replacing the chillies, but I think the bats will get used to them. They may even eat your chillies.I still think the only way for you to get rid of them is not to have places under your porch where they can cling & rest. Interesting subject. I am following this diligently…..

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
848
6469
Visitors Today
51618424
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)