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True, but not entirely. The ultimate factor that will determine whether a bat house will support a colony is sufficient exposure to direct sun. Bats will not stay in a house that's too cold. Bats need heat early, and they need a lot of it throughout the day. Color is certainly a factor that determines how much sun will or should be reflected or absorbed depending on your particular latitude, but proper exposure even for a properly-matched coloration is why you just can't put up a bat house facing any ol' direction or any ol' place (like in trees, lower than 7 or 8 feet above ground, facing clothes lines or any other solid obstructions they could fly into, next to driveways with lots of car traffic, etc.) and expect it to thrive. Some orientations (especially south and east) are better than others, and some (due north) are practically useless, especially in the northernmost states. Bat conservation sites and instructions that come with really good bat houses discuss the importance of sun orientation at good length, and often the measures of success even for "good" orientations can sometimes come down to just a few degrees on way or another.
Also, while bats seem to like their homes to be of generally similar dimensions, all bat houses are not the same -- especially when it comes to how closely apart the interior slats (which they cling to) are set, and how well bats can cling to the surfaces of the slats.
Bat houses sold thru recognized bat conservation outfits seem to follow the research and work into what makes a successful bat house by the the state agriculture or forestry department (forgot which) in Pennsylvania. Those sold thru catalogs or general stores generally don't, and consequently often fail to attract and/or keep colonies.
Not being a smarty-pants here. It's just that we've have had Big Brown bats in and around our house for years, and we like 'em and do what we can to keep 'em, so I kinda absorbed this stuff out of necessity.
AJS
I hear ya on the "fun to watch" bit. Our swimming pool is right under the flight path of ours when they leave the roost at twilight, and it's a hoot to watch the "what the hell was THAT??" reactions of unsuspecting pool guests when they get buzzed by the occasional low-flyers that are there and gone in the blink of an eye.
AJS
Yeah, I neglected to mention several things...sorry. The space between slats is determined by the local bat types. And, as you mentioned, location is important as well. You can get away with a 10' height in some places, but 20' seems to be the recommended height. All of mine are 18' and they are packed from about the middle of March through mid December....the little brownies migrate.
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