A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the different bats that call the Northwoods home. These flying pest controllers not only consume close to 1200 insects in an hour, but they also play a huge role in our ecosystem. Since 2014 Wisconsin bat population has been declining mostly for two reasons. One, the loss of habitat and the second is white nose syndrome (WNS).

As far as I know, there really isn’t much we can do about the fungal disease (WNS), but we could help by providing artificial habitat. I was asked, what kind of habitat do they need and how will I get bats to come to my area? The answer to both is, putting up habitat bat houses.

By providing roosting sites truly benefit us and the future of bats. Bat houses not only gives them a place to recover from hunting all night but provides them a safe place from predators (mostly owls). I thought, how hard could this be. I assumed you buy a bat box and hang it on a tree, and they will come. Obviously, there’s a little more to this than I thought, so I did a little research and found out what I’m about to tell you. First, and the most important is, never use pesticides in the area you are thinking about placing the bat box.

The location is crucial for the bats to remain in their home you put up. The height of a bat house should be 15 to 20 feet off the ground and while placing one in a tree would be easy, it is not recommended. The reason for this is bat houses need at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day and unless there are no leaves shading the house a pole works much better. While the boxes can be attached to houses or sheds, by positioning a bat house on a pole, it will be easier for bats to locate and should face east or south. Also, darker colors (brown or gray) work much better.

While a bat house can be hung any time, there are several reasons why they should be installed by mid-April. 1) is hibernation and 2) is smell. When the weather starts to warm, bats will emerge from hibernation and installing a bat house early will definitely increase your chances of them finding their new home. Also, by hanging a bat house in April, it gives the box a chance to air out and lose the new wood smell.

A water source will further enhance your chances of attracting bats as will vegetation. Bats need water to survive, and vegetation supports insects that are food for bats, so if you are near a lake or pond, you have a perfect location. Otherwise, It could take up to 2 years for bats to locate their new bat house, so don’t get discourage if bats are not occupying the house that first year. But, once bats find its new summer home, they will return to that dwelling each year.

Hopefully next year you will have a built-in pest control in your area, and you are helping the ecosystem at the same time. It’s a WIN, WIN.