Valeree, you are not stupid for asking that question and although I can't speak for the poster himself we are generally welcoming and polite to one another, especially newbies. The questions I've asked on these forums probably maxed out the "ignorance" quotient. You are lucky to have mason bees. Every time I think about them, there are none left to buy. However I do have one big fat hive of honeybees which gave us about 40 pounds of honey this year. Give us mason bee updates, will you? Marie/Idabean

I came to GardenWeb seeking "how to" maintain a mud supply for dauber wasps. Am delighted to start thinking about houses. They are the host beautiful animals on earth. Do they make music when building in the tubes? A terrible lesson that I learned years ago. During a mosquito panic in my town I put a few drops of orange oil in the bird bath before a hurried trip out of town. I didn't see a wasp one for several years.

I just saw something on television about this. They suggested that size is one of the factors of success. They mentioned that many people build them too small and then the bats don't use them. Because they are social animals, they want them big enough to hold a couple hundred. The one they made was a couple feet tall and a foot and a half across (my estimate). They mentioned they needed to be quite high up for the bats to be able to fly because they are really gliders and need to start up high in order to fly. They also said that you should stain them with dark stain to absorb the sun because they need to stay warm. That is about all I know about them. My dad had a huge colony in our barn when I was a kid. They kind of creeped me out. I know they are good animals to have around, but I haven't gotten the courage to put one up yet.

The problem is not that they are roosting in the clay tile roof, which is very common, it's that they are getting from there into the attic and basement. Start the defense from inside the attic. Check for cracks and loose trim around the eaves, chimney (if any), places the roof changes angles, and ALL vents and caulk the cracks shut. Look for loose flashing along the eaves and repair it. Look for loose or damaged roof sheathing with cracks where bats could get through.