What is a bat house?

How many horror stories have you heard of where the humble bat is the main horror attraction? These small, flying creatures are often seen as nasty, scary and disease-ridden but in actual fact, they are actually very helpful to the ecosystem and you would certainly start to notice a few things if you start killing these petite creatures off. When you add that to the fact that it could be illegal for you to kill the bats, (therefore extreme removal methods are out of the window) you might want to look towards the idea of having a professional help you with you animal-control problem. 

Did you know that bats were actually responsible for the reforestation of the rainforest? How about banana plants and certain cactus breeds – some of these wouldn’t actually be possible if it weren’t for the night-swelling bats. When you add to the mix that they will often eat the insects and flying bugs that drive you the maddest, you might just realize that bats weren’t as bad as you first had them out to be.

When you look at the good that bats can do, it certainly doesn’t seem fair to harm them by trying to remove them from your home or property. It might be worth you thinking of investing in a good bat box. This simple yet clever device actually provides the bats somewhere to roost that doesn’t include your home. When you think about it this way, it just makes total sense.

Building a Bat House

In the warmer months, building a bat house, or bat box as it is also called, is a good idea, especially if you live near a source of water. The water will attract flying insects and bugs, and where the birds will eat these during the day, the bats will eat them at night. A bat box in the garden will prevent your bats from roosting in your home, leaving droppings all over your attic or basement, making a flapping noise and keeping you awake while they are out looking for food at night, and generally freaking you out when you realize that they are there. You are essentially providing the bats with somewhere new to live – somewhere that offers just as much protection as your house does, without you having to worry about them or the diseases that they can bring. 

When it comes to actually creating a bat box, you can either buy a box from local stores, build a box with various kits that are on the market or simply create your own made with templates that you can find on the internet. You just need to remember a few things and you will be off to a running start:

  • They need to be easily accessible so you don’t want to place them in the middle of close-together trees or near power lines. You want the bats to fly into the bat box, not the things around it. 
  • It needs to be roughly ten to fifteen feet off the ground to provide it with adequate shelter from oncoming predators. 
  • It needs to be made from untreated wood as the chemicals in treated varieties can harm the bats. 
  • There needs to be a rough surface inside the box so that the bats have somewhere to cling on to. 
  • It needs to have a narrow crevice in the bottom that the bats can crawl into. 

With cylindrical styles that are meant to be hung from branches of trees and other similar locations, to brick-shaped ones that can be hung on the sides of an old building or large, flat branches right at the bottom of your garden, you will find that this could be the perfect solution to your bat-infestation problem. You will need to be patient of course – it might take a little while for your bats to get used to the idea of a new home. If you have a well-built bat box however, and have it placed in the optimum position to give everything the bat that your home once offered, you might just find that it could be the end of your problems.