Bat Gardens & Houses

Many bats eat night-flying insects, so you’ll want to plant flowers that either stay open through the night or bloom through the evening. Use native plants that match your region and site conditions, as they have evolved to attract native insects. Remember: native plants attract native insects that in turn provide bat food! Other things to consider:

Moth host plants – Bats love to eat moths, so planting host plants will ensure you have lots of these preferred bugs at your backyard bat buffet.

Trees – Trees are beneficial in so many ways. They don’t close their flowers at night, and they are host plants to many kinds of native insects. Oak trees especially are a boon to adding diversity and richness to any habitat. Added plus, trees create roosting options for cavity roosting bats and our solitary tree bats too!

Light-colored flowers – Moths and other nighttime pollinators are more attracted to flowers that are either white or very light in color.

The “stinkier” the better – Insects are also attracted to fragrant flowers and plants.

Check out our ongoing list of bat-friendly plants for regions around the United States.

For many bat species, dead trees are like a comfy lodge or beach house – a great hangout spot. Some bats like to squeeze between the narrow, rough space between the tree bark and wood, while others seek out tree hollows to roost. If a dead tree does not pose a safety or property concern, consider leaving it standing.  If you do need to fell a dead tree, you can always leave the wood on the ground to rot. It will still attract lots of different insects.

Avoid the use of pesticides in your garden and the use of remedial timber treatment agents in structures. Both can lead to the poisoning of bats. Consider bats in your backyard and neighborhood as natural pest control. Insectivorous bats devour astonishing quantities of night-flying insects.  In fact, pregnant or nursing mothers of some bat species may consume up to half their body weight in insects each night.

Cats and bats don’t mix. Period. Cat attacks are one of the most common causes of bat (and bird) casualties. Keep your cat indoors at night, especially during summer months when bat mothers are feeding their young. Make certain your cat is indoors a half hour before sunset and a half hour after sunset when bats are most active. If your cat finds a bat, it may learn where the roost is located, which places an entire colony at risk.

Setting up a bat house near your home is a great way to get involved in protecting bats. Plus, it provides you with the opportunity to observe bats’ fascinating behavior. Bat houses are great for certain species of bats, but they are a bit complicated and frustrating to get right. Bat gardens are a great way to get started helping bats, and they also provide habitat for other wildlife! See the Bat House Builder’s Handbook for information on purchasing or building your own bat house.

Bats prefer roosts mounted on buildings or other large wooden or concrete structures rather than roosts mounted on poles or trees. Pole mounts can work well in moderate to hot climates that do not experience extreme temperature swings between day and night. Tree mounts should be avoided. They are vulnerable to predation and almost always too shaded. Bat houses should receive at least six hours of daily sun exposure. Bat houses should have a nearby water source, preferably less than a quarter-mile away.

The bottom of bat houses should be located at least 10 feet off the ground. Twelve to 20 feet off the ground is even better. Bat houses should have 10-14 feet of clear space above any vegetation below the bat house. Bat houses should be mounted 20 to 30 feet from the nearest trees.

Bats are more likely to move into a group of three or more roosts. Multiple bat houses can be mounted side-by-side on buildings and structures or mounted back-to-back on poles. Some bat house owners number bat houses to identify roosts. Some paint north-facing bat houses a light color and south-facing roosts a dark color. You can play around with different combinations of color and directionality to offer a variety of thermal options for the bats.

Be sure to carefully seal all the seams. Bat houses work best when they effectively trap warm air. It makes the temperatures more stable. Be sure to roughen the roosting boards and landing pads. Avoid using oil-based paints and stains. Make sure there are no nails or screws sticking into the inside of the house.

Installing a bat house does not guarantee that bats will roost.  Seasonal migration, geographic location, local availability of other roosts, specific roosting behaviors and presence of predators in the area all have an influence on use of bat houses.  Sometimes bats can take a couple years to move in, so patience is key. Individual bats or small groups may also use bat houses temporarily (for a night or two) so it may be hard to pinpoint if bats have been using the house.

If you don’t see bats using your bat house you may be able to find local experts to help you evaluate your placement and construction. They will know your area best and be able to provide more detail than we can.

Rocket boxes work only on poles but the 3-4 chambered houses we recommend work best ideally on a building (but can be put on a pole as well).  A building offers a more consistent temperature than a pole mount.

Wood, brick, and stone siding work the best. Bat houses mounted on metal siding rarely attract bats.

The color you should paint your bat house doesn’t matter as much as the shade of that color.  This varies based on your area and its climate, as the different colors absorb different amounts of heat. Average high temperatures in July should be used when determining the color needed on your bat box:85 or less: Black. 85-95: Dark or medium colors like brown, gray, and green. 95-100: Medium/light colors. 100 and higher: Light colors or white

Any kind of exterior-grade paint is fine if it’s not oil-based – only use water-based paints.   For the inside we recommend 2 coats of water-based stain. Water-based paint is ok, but if you use that make sure it does not fill in the grooves.

We completely understand your concern about rabies and bats.  The truth is that any wild mammal can carry rabies (so the squirrels in your yard, raccoons, foxes, etc.).  Bats do not carry or have rabies any more than any other wild mammals.   The main thing to remember is that if you see a bat on the ground it’s best to use common sense (like you would with any wild animal).  Don’t touch them or pick them up and tell children to get you if they see one.  If you do take a bat to a rehabber, avoid any direct contact, using a tool to place them into a container.  The benefits of having a bat house far outweigh the very small risk of having a rabid bat in your yard.  They eat lots of bugs (including mosquitos) and are very important for our ecosystem.  Bats are losing roost sites everyday due to human disturbances and urbanization, so providing a bat house is a great way to help them!

We found the larger houses with more chambers much more successful. Single chamber houses tend to be less thermally stable than multi-chamber houses. That doesn’t mean that a single-chamber house wouldn’t work but we feel that the larger houses provide more meaningful habitat to the bats.