Bat Houses

Sucessful attraction of bats is affected by the location you choose for your bat house, the availability of natural nesting cavities and the relative abundance of bats in your area. 

We recommend that you position your bat house on the side of a building or mount it on a pole, at least 12 feet off the ground where it will receive a minimum of 8 hours of direct sunlight daily.  Facing south-east is ideal as it will recieve the full benefit of the morning sun.  Bat houses that are placed in trees are seldom used.

Most nursery colonies of bats choose bat houses within a 1/4 mile of open water, preferably a stream, river or lake.  Baby bats need a very warm bat house when they are born.  Painting your bat house black, dark brown or navy blue will increase the heat absorption and therefore increase your chances of occupancy.  Use water-based paint or stain.

Bats usually hibernate underground in the winter, often in caves or abandoned mines, where the temperatures are stable and above freezing and the humidity is very high.

We only sell bat houses that meet or exceed the mininum size requirements as determined by Bat Conservation International or the Organization for Bat Conservation.  Smaller bat houses or bat houses that are of rustic construction (commonly found in gift shops) are very rarely used by a bat colony.