People all over the world have discovered the benefits and wonders of bats. Bats have been around since the time of the dinosaurs and are the only mammals that fly. Bats vary in size from the Cuban Bat which is slightly over 2 grams to the large Indian Fox Bat, found in India and Australia, that has a 6 foot wingspan.

Bats have been falsely labeled as evil or mysterious creatures for hundreds of years. There are many reasons for this do to their appearance and behaviors. We must remember that bats are wild animals that will bite if approached. However they make good neighbors and are good to have around. Besides being an excellent insect deterrent and maintaining a balanced environment they are also helpful in fertilizing our crops.

We can learn more about our bat neighbors and at the same time help restore the bat populations by building bat houses.Buildiing a bat house is quite easy. There are many construction plans available, or they can be bought through garden centers or online web sites. Bat houses resemble bird houses with slightly different dimensions. They are slightly longer but are narrower and their openings are on the bottom. The best location for a thriving bat house is either on a pole in an open area or attached to a building. Houses placed in trees will have a less chance of attracting bats.

They don't necessarily need to be large to be beneficial, but houses with multiple chambers are generally more successful at attracting bats than single-chamber houses. Multi-chambered houses provide a living space with a variety of temperatures that allow the bats to select the conditions most comfortable for them. Bats like it dark inside their houses so it's important to stain all inside parts a dark color. Interior surfaces should be notched every half inch to provide the clinging surface bat's require.

A well constructed and placed bat house can be occupied within 6 months. Long houses will be favored over short ones. There are a number of reasons why bat houses fail. But the three most common reasons are poor design and construction or poor placement.

Bat houses have been used throughout the world but are fairly new to America. Having a bat house near a home can help control an annoying insect population. They are a simple and economical solution for bat conservation. By building a bat house we can help protect our environment.

The first thing is to make sure that the house is weather proof.  If the structure cannot keep the weather out bats will not occupy it.  All wood joining surfaces should be properly caulked and its roof should properly treated to withstand the weather conditions for your particular area.  In order for the bat house to retain heat the outer surfaces should be painted a dark color.  The shade of color would depend on the average outside temperature and how exposed the bat house is to sunlight.  Bat houses should have at least a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day.

The type of wood used is also important.  Cedar is the most common wood used in bat house construction but any rough surfaced exterior wood will do.  The bats must be able to cling to the interior surfaces. These surfaces should have groves spaced about a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch apart.  Some manufacturers line the interior surfaces with some type of wire mesh.  The structure should be held together with galvanized screws for it to hold up.

The average sized bat house is about 2 feet tall by 1 foot wide.  The depth can vary depending on  the number of chambers it contains.  The reason for having chambers is that bats like cramped spaces and it also helps contain their body heat within the structure.  The chambers should be at least 20 inches tall and as wide as the interior space will allow And they should be no more than an inch apart.

A good bat house should have vents for proper air circulation.  The size and placement of these vents would depend on the size of the house or the plans being used to build the house.  To prevent predoators from entering, the bottom opening should only be no more than an inch wide.  Most designs feature landing areas.  Just like the interior surfaces, landing areas should be roughened or covered with wire mesh.

Whether you decide to buy or build a bat house, they need little maintenance. They should be checked on a yearly basis  for cracks or any gaps caused by weathering.  Bats like to be warm and cozy.   Caulk and  repaint the bat houses as needed during the off season when bats are not present.

Throughout the northern two-thirds of the United States and southern Canada, the little brown myotis (insect eating bat), and big brown bat are the most likely species to be encountered in bat houses. In the southern United States, Mexican freetailed and evening bats are most common. Almost any bat that will roost in buildings or under bridges is a candidate for a bat house. These species have been documented as bat house users:

Big Brown Bat, Eptesicus Fuscus
Most of the United States and Canada, except for extreme southern Florida and south and central Texas. Rears young in tree hollows, buildings and bat houses. Hibernates in caves, abandoned mines and buildings. Frequent bat house users, they have overwintered in bat houses from Texas to New York.

Cave Myotis, Myotis Velifer
Southern California and Arizona into central Texas, Oklahoma and south-central Kansas. Forms large nursery colonies in caves and rears young in smaller groups in buildings. The eastern subspecies hibernates in caves, but the winter habitat of the western subspecies is unknown.   Shares bat houses with Mexican free-tailed bats in Texas.

Eastern Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus Subflavus
Eastern North America into Canada, except northern Maine, and south to Texas and central Florida. Little is known about summer roosts; sometimes rears young in tree foliage or in buildings. Several pipistrelles twice reported in bat houses. Hibernates in caves.

Evening Bat, Nycticeius Humeralis
East of the Appalachians, ranges from southern Pennsylvania to Florida; west of the mountains, from southern Michigan and Wisconsin into Nebraska and south into Texas. Rears young in buildings, tree cavities and bat houses. Nursery colonies often share roosts with Mexican freetailed bats. Winter habitat unknown.

Indiana Myotis, Myotis Sodalis
Endangered species associated mainly with forests and limestone caves in the eastern United States. Maternity colonies mainly roost beneath loose bark. Most hibernate in about eight caves and mines in three states. Occasionally uses buildings, bridges and bat houses;  reported in bat houses in Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

Little Brown Myotis, Myotis Lucifugus
Wooded areas throughout most of Canada and the northern half of the United States, except desert and arid areas. A few isolated populations farther south. Rears young in tree hollows, buildings, rock crevices and bat houses. Travels to nearest suitable cave or abandoned mine for hibernation. This is the species that most commonly occupies bat houses.

Long-eared myotis, Myotis evotis
Primarily in forests of southwestern Canada and the western United States. Often lives alone or in small groups; females form small maternity colonies in summer. Roosts in hollow trees, under bark, in cliff crevices, caves, mines and abandoned buildings. Confirmed bat house user in Washington. Winter habitat unknown.

Northern Myotis, Myotis Septentrionalis
Upper Midwest, eastern, and some southern states and into Canada. Summer roosts vary.  Northern myotis have been found beneath tree bark, in buildings and in caves. Little is known about nursery colonies, but small numbers have been found rearing young beneath tree bark, in buildings and in bat houses. Hibernates in rock crevices, caves and mines.

Mexican Free-tailed Bat, Tadarida Brasiliensis
Common in southern and southwestern United States and north to Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Oregon. Rears young in caves, in buildings, under bridges and in bat houses.  Frequent bat house user. Migrates to overwinter in caves of Mexico and Central America, but nonmigratory in the southeastern United States and West Coast. Active year-round.

Pallas’s Mastiff Bat, Molossus Molossus
In the United States, found in buildings in the Florida Keys only. Throughout the Caribbean, northern Mexico, Central America and northern South America, its roosts include hollow trees, palm fronds, rock crevices, caves, bridges, culverts and buildings. Uses bat houses year-round in Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico.

Pallid Bat, Antrozous Pallidus
Western and southwestern United States and extreme south-central British Columbia, mostly in arid areas. Found in rock crevices, buildings, under bridges and in bat houses. Winter habitat unknown, presumed to hibernate locally in deep rock crevices.

Myotis Austroriparius
Mostly restricted to Gulf Coast states. Rears young in caves, tree hollows and buildings.  Often nonmigratory, hibernates in caves in its northern range and sometimes in tree hollows or buildings farther south. Confirmed bat house user in Florida and Georgia; believed to use bat houses in other Gulf states.

Wagner’s Bonneted Bat, Eumops glaucinus
Southern Florida only. Extremely rare, seen only a handful of times since the 1960s. Uses buildings with Spanish tile roofs, as well as palm fronds and woodpecker holes. A maternity colony with 11 individuals was confirmed using a bat house with a 11/2-inch chamber in southwest Florida.

Yuma Myotis, Myotis Yumanensis
Southern British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California, Arizona, extreme western Nevada, eastern Utah, southern Wyoming to western New Mexico. Restricted to areas near water. Rears young in caves, in buildings, under bridges and in bat houses. Winter habitat unknown. Lives in bat houses from Arizona to British Columbia.

Building mounted bat houses have a higher probability of getting occupied over the pole mounted ones.  Either way both these mountings should be away from tree limbs and power lines.  Their ideal height should be between 15 to 20 feet to safeguard the bat house from possible predators.  The chances of attracting more bats are better in locations within a quarter mile near bodies of water such as rivers, lakes and streams.  Also, results from studies in the US have shown that bat houses facing in a Southwesterly direction will get occupied more quickly.

If you are wondering if there are bats in your area?  Well don't worry.  Bats can be found in every continent except Antarctica.  There may be bats in your backyard right now.  So mount your bat house and see.  They can be mounted any time during the year.  Some bats migrate in the winter to warmer climates while others hibernate.  Bat houses that are mounted in the spring stand a better chance of getting occupied faster when the bat colony is in a growth spurt.  Bats are always looking for suitable housing.  But in some instances bats will not abandon an existing house for a new one.  In this situation it just may take a while. Patience is suggested.  Don't think that your area has no bats.  They are out there.  Give them a chance.

Environmentalists have found that bats play an  important role in our planet's ecological life cycle.   By destroying their habitat, we are destroying a natural resource.  Bats help to keep the insect world in check.  We have all heard what the excessive use of pesticides is doing to our environment.  Bats are a natural insect eliminator.

Bat Houses help the bats, the environment and us.  Depending on the size of the Bat House, small and large bat colonies can find comfort during the day when they sleep and the colonies can grow by having a safe place to raise offspring.  By helping the bat colonies thrive, the insect population will stay at a balanced level.  Control over the insect population, especially that of mosquitoes,  reduces the chances of desease for us.  And by having Bat Houses  we can rid our attics of bats.

One can find Bat Houses for sale in specialty garden centers or through the internet.  If you are handy with your hands they are very simple to construct and put together.  Bat Houses come in many shapes and sizes.  They can be decorative or just a plain box.  What is important is the interior of the house.  The interior is made up of chambers.  The bigger the house, the more chambers it will contain. Chambers are made from slats or partitions made of wood.  An average sized three chambered Bat House can hold some two hundred bats.

It is also important that the Bat House interior is sealed properly to prevent moisture from seeping in.  The interior wood should also be of rough wood so the bats can have something to hang onto.  Many improvisations have been made in this regard.  Items from wire mesh to nlyon stockings have been used to line the interior chambers.

Whether buying one or building one, a Bat House is a great way to help an endangered creature and the environment.  Once placed properly Bat houses and its occupants will make great neighbors.  And you can bet that those Bat Houses won't be for sale.