How does one attract bats to their yard?

tilathehunn
tilathehunn Posts: 168 ✭✭✭
edited October 2020 in Endangered Species

We live in the city but not too far from "The Nature Center so we get some interesting guests. One we have not gotten are bats. Looking for suggestions on trying to attract bats

Comments

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    I would say to put up a well built bat house in an appropriate location. That is my only suggestion.

  • Melissa Swartz
    Melissa Swartz Posts: 270 ✭✭✭

    A bat house is a great idea. Be sure to research where to put them to make sure that the bats will inhabit them. The location is important.

  • Annie Kate
    Annie Kate Posts: 680 ✭✭✭✭

    If you get them, you will love them. It's a joy here to see the bats come out at night, and then a bit later the fireflies come out. So beautiful!

  • blevinandwomba
    blevinandwomba Posts: 813 ✭✭✭✭

    A bat house is the only thing that comes to mind, but knowing what bats are in your area might give additional insight. Check out this to search for your area.

    https://www.batcon.org/about-bats/bat-profiles/

  • Ethereal Earth
    Ethereal Earth Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    I would say planting some night blooming flowers to attract either the bats or bugs for the bats. It all depends on the bats in your area, what they eat.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    The most common way of attracting bats in my area is bat houses and they all seem to be inscetivores but there may be other species of bats that are attracted by other things.

    The species' that are referred to as fruit bats are not found in North America but there are a few species of bats here that do eat some fruit. There are others that feed on nectar.

    So @blevinandwomba's advice about getting to know which bats you have in your area is a good starting point. You might be able to grow some of the food plants that the individual species are interested in.

  • MelissaLynne
    MelissaLynne Posts: 205 ✭✭✭

    Occasionally I see bats outside our barn, but I haven’t seen any this year. A bat house is on my project list to hopefully encourage them to hang around a bit more.

  • tilathehunn
    tilathehunn Posts: 168 ✭✭✭

    Thank you everyone...bat house is on my wish list...need to make it a priority i think. I like the idea of researching what is common here...this pandemic is making it just a tich more challenging...grrrrr

  • tomandcara
    tomandcara Posts: 712 ✭✭✭✭

    @tilathehunn The bats here love eating mosquitoes, If you were to put out a large container like a kiddie pool and fill it with water and let it sit, I am certain that you could breed quite an abundant "crop" of mosquitoes!!! Then put up your bat houses and see if the bats that came for the feast would decide to live close to the food source. LOL

    Seriously, however, your question made me remember my parents trying to attract bats to live in their area and putting up several bat houses around their 2.5 acre yard. There was a wetlands on the property behind their property so there were plenty of mosquitoes and we would see bats flying at dusk. They never got bats to move into the houses they put up for them. :-( However they did have bates move into their attic an several occasions through the years. Darn! Those bats just couldn't be convinced the homes made for them were better than the ones that weren't!! Haha.