Bat Houses

Bat House Basics

Bat House Design.

You should consider design when selecting your bat house. According to research, larger bat houses (often called nursery houses) have higher occupancy rates than the smaller houses. All landing areas and partition surfaces should be rough. Vents are often best where average July temperatures exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Habitat

Your bat house should be placed within 1/4 mile of a natural water source such as a stream, river, or lake. Bats tend to fly along forest or water edges, and bat houses located here tend to be found more quickly than other locations.

Mounting

You may place your bat house on a tree, pole, or a building; however, boxes mounted on poles or buildings tend to have a higher occupancy than those mounted on trees. For mounting on buildings, wood or stone buildings are best, and your bat house should be mounted under the eaves with some sun exposure. You should mount your house 15-20 feet above the ground. It should not be in a place lit by bright lights.

Sun Exposure

You should place your bat house where it will receive at least six hours of sun if you live in a region where average July temperatures range from 80-100 degrees Fahrenheit. If you live in a region where average July temperature are less than 80 degrees Fahrenheit, you should mount your bat house where it will receive at least 10 hours of sun.

Timing

You may mount your box at any time of the year, but those put up in the spring are often occupied more quickly. If you are evicting a colony of bats from a building, a box should be mounted several weeks prior to the eviction.

The Registry of Nature Habitats is dedicated to the preservation of land that, over time, has been a site and home for complex ecosystems. The Registry advocates preservation of these lands and its inhabitants, environmental education for community individuals and groups, and nurturing of these lands through restoration in order to conserve its natural resources for future generations.

Preserve

The Registry of Nature Habitats manages critical habitat, consisting of wetland, lowland, upland, forest and stream habitat, providing a home to wildlife species and plant species. As part of the mission to preserve these lands and its inhabitants, the Registry will continue to contract with owners of ecologically sensitive land as it becomes available.

Educate

The Registry of Nature Habitats is a "teaching ground," able to provide hands-on, interpretive learning experiences in areas such as ecology, botany, wildlife science, and geology, as well as the arts and humanities. The educational mission of The Registry of Nature Habitats is to teach an understanding and appreciaton of the environment, the invaluable lesson of land stewardship of our natural resources, and to expand the general knowledge of this habitat through scientific research. This will be accomplished through a year-round experiential, interactive approach, along with onsite and outreach activities including providing educational material both on this website, on media and through educational seminars. An on-site facility is in the design phase, which will house classrooms and an administrative space.

Nurture

Through several restoration projects, including the rebuilding of stream corridors, reintroducing native flora, and permitting only low-impact activities, the Registry is nurturing much land back to its natural state, undoing the damage of hundreds of years. The Registry of Nature Habitats restoration plan, developed with public and private partnerships and with local community support, will increase the land's value, enhance wildlife habitat, improve water quality, and preserve the integrity of the land's bio-diversity.

Renewable Energy

Promote the use of renewable and efficient energy technologies through education, training, workforce development, research, and project facilitation. The Registry supports clean energy development and energy conservation as the means to protect the environment, enhance public health, and save our nature habitats.

Conservation

We seek to educate people and provide innovative solutions that will help build a clean, more efficient world, by reducing energy consumption in a prudent way that does not threaten the natural balance that supports all life.

Bat House Basics

Support