Bats can be a little scary for people – but we’re here to let you know that bats can be an incredibly beneficial addition to your property in the right conditions! Bats reduce common insect pests by consuming them in large quantities and the sound of bat calls can repel additional insects from areas where bats spend time. By attracting bats to your farm, forest, or backyard you may substantially reduce the number of nocturnal insects nearby!
In fact – we love bats so much we helped install a bat house and moon garden at Lyonia Environmental Center!
Thirteen species of bats live year-round in Florida. Of those, only four are likely to use a bat house: Brazilian Free-tailed Bat, Southeastern Bat, Big Brown Bat, and Evening Bat.
When thinking about installing a bat house, make sure that you are creating a great habitat for the bats. The four most important ingredients of habitat are food, water, shelter, and space. The University of Florida IFAS extension has a great resource on bats and houses including construction diagrams, but some quick tips for locating your bat house are as follows:
- Bat houses should be located at least 20 feet from potential perch sites for predators and at least 12 feet off the ground
- For this reason, houses mounted on poles or buildings do better than those on trees
- Bats select roost sites that are near the other resources they require, such as food and fresh water.
- The bats that would live in the Central Florida area are insect-eating bats. Most bats like moths, beetles, and flies best.
- Choose the location carefully, and ensure it isn’t a spot where bat droppings will be bothersome
To find their food, bats use a skill called echolocation. As a hungry bat flies through the dark sky, it calls into the night air. When an insect (or an obstacle) is in the path of the bat, echoes bounce back. These echoes allow the bat to “see” what is up ahead – including whether they have found food!
Once you have your bat house, you’re probably wondering how to make sure your bats have enough food. One attractive way to help ensure your bats have a consistent food source is a moon garden. A moon garden is filled with plants that have light reflective (and in some cases night-blooming) properties and fragrance to attract insects that your bats will eat.
Some Florida natives you can include in your moon garden include:
- Button Snakeroot, Eryngium yuccifolium
- Dotted Horsemint, Monarda punctata
- Fringe Tree, Chionanthus virginicus and C. pygmeus
- Simpson Stopper, Myrcianthes fragrans
- Spider lily, Swamp lily, Alligator lily, hyenocallis latifolia
- Wild Coffee, Psychotria nervosa
- Wild Petunia, Ruellia noctiflora
- Credits: The bat house, moon garden and educational signage provided with the generous support of The Friends of Deltona Regional Library, Friends of Lyonia Environmental Center, Florida Audubon, Florida Power and Light and the Duke Energy Foundation. Additional information from AskIFAS at the University of Florida IFAS Extension.