Attract bats with a bat house

By installing a bat house on your property, you will encourage these mammals to reside nearby so they can do what they do best... eat thousands of insects! They are a definite asset to have around.

Plus we enjoy sitting out at during late dusk and watching the bats swoop across the night sky.

However, bats are largely misunderstood and under-appreciated! Generally speaking they won't bother you - they're gentle, nocturnal mammals. That said, most of us don't want to have a close up encounter one. If a bat gets into your cabin, it will most likely be focused on finding a way out.

Also, bats can get rabies so don't handle one that is lying on the ground, alive or dead.

According to expert Merlin Tuttle, "By far the worst hazard to public health associated with bats, is the misdirected efforts of humans to eradicate them with poisons." He says the only way to rid a house of bats is to wait until they leave at dusk and then seal their points of entry.

Bats are an environmentally safe way to help reduce disease carrying mosquitoes and insects in your area.

Put up a bat home

If you want to encourage bats to reside on your property, you can build a house using one of these books as your guide, or you might prefer the easier route and just order one.

Whether building or purchasing one, it is important to get the size of the opening and the spacing of the living quarters right, otherwise these critters will reject your hospitality!

If you want to learn more about these very important and fascinating little beasts, Bat Ecology, although written as an academic text, has just about everything you're likely to want to know about bats. And if you want more of these insect eaters around your property, Building Bat Houses will show you how!

See some other useful "bat" resources to the right.

	Heartwood Victorian, Grey Model: 010A This bat home features a landing pad at the base. It has divided living quarters, horizontal siding on the front panel, a steeply pitched, and a hand-shingled roof with copper trim. It comes ready to mount on a pole, building or tree. Measures 6" x 15" x 30"
	Heartwood Bat Haven, Smoke Grey, Model: 048A Made from solid cypress wood stained smoke gray, it has a bottom-landing pad and two mesh-covered living quarters that will hold up to 48 adult bats. The galvanized corrugated roof keeps the water out. Measures 5" x 14" x 22"