How to Hang Bat Houses
Far from being the rabies-carrying harbingers of death that many people perceive them to be, bats offer a useful service to humans. One bat can eat as many as 1,000 mosquitoes an hour. Invite these helpful neighbors to move into your yard by offering them a house.
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Things You'll Need
- Bat house
- Tall tree or pole
- Ladder
- Pulley (optional, depending on size of bat house)
- Nails and/or screws
- Bat guano lure (optional)
Instructions
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Build or buy a bat house. Free bat house building plans or links for purchasing a prefabricated house are readily available online. Whether building or purchasing a bat house, keep the bats' requirements in mind. They require a surface with a sure grip for hanging. Bats need a solidly built home with at least two separate chambers. Although bats dislike airy or leaky housings, the top of the front chamber should have vents to permit air flow and variability of temperature.
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Choose a location. Bats thrive in an environment that receives warmth from the sun during the day so do not place the bat house in a shady area. The site should be away from a densely treed area and should face south, southeast or southwest. Select a spot at least 10 feet above the ground to enable bats to fly in and out undisturbed by humans or pets. Generally, the higher the house, the more the bats will like it. In addition to in a tree or on your home, a sturdy pole can be purchased and installed to hold the bat house.
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Mount the house to your tree, home or pole. Make sure you have a safe, sturdy ladder that will reach to your desired location. Depending on the size of the bat house, you might need the help of a few friends and a pulley to lift the bat house up to its intended spot. You will need screws and/or nails to attach the bat house securely. If mounting the bat house on a tree, protect your bats from predators by placing a shield around the base of the trunk.
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Set out a bat welcome mat. You can make the house a more desirable piece of bat real estate by installing a night light nearby. The light will attract bugs and bats will want to live near the easy food source. You can also purchase a bat lure made out guano. Place a little of this in the house and curious bats will come to check out the smell.
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Wait patiently. Sometimes bat houses remain unoccupied for a year or more before a colony moves in and begins eating mosquitoes and garden pests.
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