How to Have a Successful Bat House

The where of installing your bat house is the single most important factor in successfully attracting bats. Like all animals, they need three things to survive: food, water, and housing. Bats are always looking for a good place to roost. A properly mounted house near food and water will give you the greatest odds for success.

Patience is a must. It may take up to two years before bats decide to occupy a bat house. They will find houses mounted on poles or buildings in half the time it takes to find a tree mounted roost. Statistically, 60 percent of all bat houses are occupied and 90 percent of all the occupied bat house is occupied within the first two years. If after two years, the roost is not occupied you may wat to relocate it.

The weather, where you live, is a huge factor in deciding where you should mount your bat house. If you live in an area where the weather is very cool or there is more than 28°F variation from day to night temperatures, then a building is a better choice. If putting the house on a building isn’t an acceptable option, then placing two bat houses back to back will offer a buffer against temperature fluctuations.

Following the options below will increase your odds of fostering a successful colony.

Hanging more than one, back-to-back seems to help attract and stabilize the colony

Choose a sunny location receiving at least 6 or more hours of direct sunlight with morning sun being preferable. Bats like to be warm, ideally 80º F to 100º F in summer
Along the forest or tree line being sure to stay 20 – 25 feet from trees or power lines to prevent predators from accessing the house.
Within a ¼ mile of freshwater
Near an existing bat house
On upper eaves of houses or outbuildings avoiding windows, doors, and lights. *

Ideally, the house will be 12-20 feet above the ground with a minimum height being 10 feet
The house's orientation should be south-southeast. 140°(SE) is usually ideal. 9
If you are planning on having an existing colony removed from an attic space, you will need to put up housing for them no less than 6 weeks before the exclusion will be done, if possible. Bats will need plenty of time to investigate the bat house before they decide to occupy it.
Planting night-blooming flowers will help attract bats (and give your yard another level of beauty). Some great night-bloomers include datura, moonflower, four-o'clock, yucca, evening primrose, night-blooming water lily, night-blooming jessamine, cleome, and nicotiana.
Research has shown that painted bat houses may be more successful than unpainted bat houses. We at SunnyTengs have left our bat houses unpainted because the average daily high temperatures in July will help you determine the color your bat house should be painted.
Any kind of exterior-grade paint is fine if it's not oil-based – only use water-based paints. For the inside, we recommend 2 coats of water-based stain (do not use paint since it will fill in the grooves).

1. Dark areas: less than 85˚ F. – Black or dark shade of paint.

2. Medium areas: 85˚-95˚ F. – Dark or medium shade of paint.

3. Light areas: 95˚-100˚ F. – Medium or light shade of paint.

4. Lightest areas: 100˚ F or greater. – A white or light shade of paint.

Choosing to leave your bat house in its beautiful unfinished state does not mean it will not be successful so if you like the wood in its natural state it is perfectly fine to leave it as is.

*When mounting a bat house to your home you will need to protect the wall. Keep a 2-4 inch space between the bat house and the wall or place a large backboard behind the bat house to protect the wall from guano.

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