How to Attract Bats to Your Yard—and Why You Want To

On a summer night, look up and you may see bats zipping across the sky. Having inspired tales of vampires, superheroes, and more, some people fear the winged creatures. But bats offer so much more to their surrounding environment than folklore gives them credit for. Like birds, bats play an important role as pollinators for plants and provide a great natural pest control solution in the garden. With this new perspective, you may be wondering how you can attract more bats to your yard. Luckily, there are many effective ways of doing so.

Benefits of Bats

There are a few reasons one would want to attract bats to their yard.

Insect Control

For starters, most of the bats in the United States eat insects that people typically don't want around. "Bats are this wonderful, natural form of pest control," says Erin Cord, community engagement manager at Bat Conservation International. "Having them in your yard makes a huge difference in terms of kind of the bugs that you may or may not have." In addition to mosquitoes, bats eat common garden pests, including caterpillars and grubs.

Pollination

In addition to eating insects, some bats (primarily in the Southwest) also work as pollinators. Nectar bats will visit flowers at night, using their long tongues to reach within the flowers to obtain nectar. Typically, these types of bats prefer plants like agave and cacti, which is why they're typically found in desert climates.

How to Attract Bats to Your Yard

Like any species, the best way to attract bats to your yard is to cater to their basic needs (food, water, and shelter), which can be done using a few tried-and-true methods.

Provide a Water Source

Water is essential for bats, especially for areas that are experiencing drought. Unlike some other winged species, bats don't sit and drink, so a birdbath won't be a suitable option for them. "You are going to need a longer stretch of water because they will swoop down and drink while they're flying—they call it 'drinking on the wing,'" says Cord. "They swoop down, open their mouth, and scoop up water as they're flying by." Bats need about 7 to 10 feet of unobstructed water, so a pond, trough, or a pool are all suitable options.

Leave Dead Trees

Providing shelter is another great way to attract bats to your yard. "You can provide shelter by leaving dead trees, as long as it is safe to do so," says Gregory A. Smith, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences at Kent State University. "Not all bats roost in large colonies. Many of them roost solitarily under tree bark and within the leaves of trees."

Make a Bat House

You can also build a bat house to provide shelter, but keep in mind that they require a bit of maintenance. "The idea behind a bat house is that you're providing a roosting habitat for bats," says Cord. This is ideal if you're in an area where there isn't much of a natural habitat for bats, or if you have a shed that you want to deter them from roosting in. But keep in mind that many bat species in the U.S. won't use bat houses; they prefer tree roosting.

If you want to try a bat house, though, there are a few things to keep in mind.

• It should have multiple chambers (at least four).
• It should be hung on the side of a building or post to help with temperature regulation.
• It should be 12 to 20 feet from the ground.
• It should face southeast or east to avoid the hot afternoon sun.
• It should be in an area where it can receive six to eight hours of sun.
• It should be about 25 to 30 feet from the nearest tree.

Because of all of these factors, experts generally recommend trying other ways to attract bats to your yard before implementing a bat house.

Plant Native Plants

Growing plants that are native to your region will support a larger, more robust insect population, in turn welcoming more bats to your yard. "As those insects leave your yard and fly, they then get eaten by bats," says Cord. While this may not have a direct correlation to attracting more bats to your yard (like water or shelter does), it will help create a more diverse insect population for the bats to enjoy. Additionally, plants with blooms that stay open at night can help attract nectar bats, giving them time to pollinate in the evening when they're awake.

Avoid Pesticides

In addition to food and shelter, it is important to reduce the use of pesticides around your home. "We really recommend that if people are trying to attract more bats to their yard that they stay as organic as possible," says Cord. "If you have more pesticides, you're putting more chemicals into your lawn and the insects are either going to absorb those chemicals or be killed and then there isn't food for bats." Instead, it's best to allow the bats be the pesticide.

Protect Your Home From Bats

Make sure your home is prepared before welcoming more bats to your yard. "Attracting bats to your yard does open up the possibility that they can get into your home, in particular the attic," says Smith. "Bats can squeeze through very small openings in your eaves, soffits, and gables. Before taking measures to attract bats, you should inspect these areas of your home for damage, such as cracks or holes, and repair them." Prevent entry into your home through attic vents by securing a mesh screen behind the vent. If these areas are protected, you generally shouldn't have an issue with bats trying to come inside your home.