Florida >> Gainesville >> The Bat House
Visit the Bat House at dusk on the campus of the University of Florida and you can see upwards of 100,000 bats exit the bat house in a beautiful steady stream resembling a flying rainbow.
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the Bat House, Gainesiville, FL
The Bat House is truly a unique experience that you must do while visiting the Gainesville, FL area. The bat house is located on campus across the street from Lake Alice. For the very best experience get there a little before dusk and bring your video camera.
Right around dusk, as the crowd begins to form, slowly, one bat every 20-40 seconds or so will flutter out. As the sun goes down, a steady stream of over 100,000 bats will pour out and sail over your head as they head to Lake Alice to feed on insects for dinner.
The Bat house was originally built in 1991 and is home to over 100,000 free-tailed bats. This colony of bats serves a great purpose for the co-eds on this Florida college campus, they can consume up to 20 million insects per feeding per night. The bats provide very in-expensive pest control, making your time at the lake much more comfortable.
This bat colony is considered to be the largest occupied bat house in the United States.
The bat house experience has become a ritual for many Gaineville residents and University of Florida students. Located across the street from Lake Alice, it is also a great area to have an early dinner picnic while you await the bat show.
There is some parking just a block or so down the street and the walk to the bat house is quite pleasant as dusk approaches.
Yes, I would like info on how to get there and if it would be appropiate for my grandchildren, they are 5 & 7? If there is an admission charge what is it? What are the hours?
Thank you.
By Wanda on 11-28-2008
We Spoke with a professor at the University of Florida where the Bat House is located and got these answers.
The Bat House is appropriate for children, it is free and open all the time. But the best time to go is about 20 minutes before sunset so you will see the Bats come out - it is impressive.
The Bat House is Located on the Campus of the University of Florida across Museum street from Lake Alice.
By Inside Florida on 12-02-2008
I had the unique experience of visiting the Bat House while visiting in August 2007. At first I was a little afraid because when the first few bats started emerging, some were flying very low, but after a few minutes the beautiful steady stream of bats started flying out and it was amazing. It is definitely a must see.
By Nicole on 09-08-2009
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The bat house is one of the coolest things in Gainesville. I was there the other night and could not believe how many bats came flying out. My kids especially liked it. They were amazed by what my son called a flying rainbow. Just one tip, during the summer,you need to wear bug spray. Also, bring your video camera to film it.
By Diane on 08-08-2008