Response to Brack and Sparks

While we agree bats face potentially lethal risks when using natural roosts, this possibility does not justify provisioning bats with unsuitably hot artificial roosts, for which temperatures are more readily controlled. If hot boxes can kill threatened and endangered species, and we clearly showed that they can, then why not develop guidance and, where appropriate, protocols and policies regarding box design and landscape placement that will reduce the likelihood of adverse effects? To provide safer artificial habitat for bats, we urge careful consideration of bat box design and placement, as well as additional research on box microclimates and bat responses to boxes.