Having bats in your yard offers many fantastic benefits. So it’s no wonder that more and more people are installing bat houses in an attempt to get them to stay. However, you’ll first need to know how to attract bats to your bat house if you want them to actually move in.
Why Attract Bats To Your Yard
Bats are far from the backyard pests many believe them to be. They eat an enormous amount of insects for their size and yes that means mosquitoes. They also provide you with free guano, which is one best all-natural fertilizers in the world.
Your garden will thank you later with blooms and growth. In fact, there are many bat house benefits that you’ll be able to enjoy not to mention the educational experience that housing these important and often overlooked winged creatures provides.
Hedge Your Bets
Bats are of course wild animals. So even if buy the most beautiful bat house in the world there’s still no guarantee that any bats will ever move in. So it’s very important you provide them with a living situation that is well-suited to their needs.
By doing so you will turn the odds in your favor that they will decide to take up residence inside. The following tips will help you to not just attract bats to your bat house but help to make sure they stay long-term allowing you to enjoy their nightly pest control services as long as possible.
The Quickest Solution
Many people don’t realize that having bats take up residence in a roof, barn, gazebo, or other structure can actually be a blessing in disguise. That it is of course, only if you want your own colony of backyard bats. Fortunately one of the easiest ways to attract bats to your bat house right away is to place it near an existing bat roost that you will be bat-proofing.
Just be sure to install your bat house before you evict them from their current home so they don’t find somewhere else to live in the meantime. You don’t actually have to put your house right on the structure where the bats are currently living but you will want to try and place it as close as possible. This will give them a convenient option right next door when they suddenly find themselves homeless. It’s a win-win.
Provide A Warm Shelter
You don’t need to currently have an active roost on your property in order to attract bats to your bat house, however. Bats are actually very temperature-sensitive creatures and they like to roost in warm environments. For most species, this is normally somewhere between eighty and one hundred degrees Fahrenheit.
By creating the warm conditions they prefer inside your bat house you will be making it a very tempting choice. Hanging a bat house where it will get the morning sun for a few hours such as facing the south or southeast, can help to make sure it heats up properly.
You’ll want to remember to make sure it’s not shaded from the sun by any nearby branches or trees. Dark colors absorb more sunlight which can also increase the temperature inside the house. So purchasing a brown or black bat house can help to keep it at a desirable temperature. You can also paint it on your own to make it darker as well.
Location Can Make A Big Difference
The area you install a bat house can really influence whether bats choose to move in or not. Bats like all animals need water and they prefer to roost within a quarter of a mile of a freshwater source. If you don’t have a natural water source nearby, you can use a birdbath or water feature as an alternative. A location that has an abundant supply of insects to feed on will also be seen as more enticing to bats.
Some bats feed on nectar or fruit, so depending on the specific species of bat you are targeting, you may want to consider planting certain plants, trees, or flowers near your bat house. And don’t forget to make sure your house is installed at least ten feet above ground and free of obstacles so they can get in and out easily.
Bat Attractant
For an added boost you can also use a bat attractant to make your bat house more desirable. These come in a few different varieties. Some are made up of bat guano and come in the form of a paste. Others may be a spray or squeeze bottle that contain a pheromone-based liquid or ammonia.
Typically you just add the attractant inside your bat house and wait for bats to show up. There’s no guarantee this will happen, but using a bat attractant can definitely help, especially if you’ve placed your house in an ideal location and are still having trouble getting any bats to call it home.
Having a backyard bat colony is not difficult as long as you have the right setup, location, and patience. And now that you know how to attract bats to your bat house, you’ll want to get started right away.
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