11 Interesting Things to Know About Bat Houses

If mosquitoes are an issue, then you may have heard about the wonders of bat houses. These little boxes offer living quarters to mosquito-eating bats - sure to solve your pest problem in one quick swoop.

Curious to learn more about bat houses before investing in a Big Bat Box? We get that. So we wanted to detail a few interesting things to know about these unique living quarters for our friendly flying mammal pals.

11 Interesting Things to Know About Bat Houses

Enough with the small talk. Let’s dive in and learn a little more about bat houses:

• Like a Dead Tree

Bats actually prefer to live in a dead tree more than anywhere else. A dead tree is nearly predator free, and the space between the bark offers great protection and allows a bat to squeeze in tightly

Why do our favorite flying mammals enjoy bat houses so much? Because a high-quality bat house offers a similar sleeping environment to a dead tree.

• More Art than Science

There’s a variety of factors that determine whether a bat house gets filled up with mosquito-eating bats or not. It’s certainly not an exact science, and anyone who tells you it is - they’re lying.

You’ll need to take a few specific steps when setting up your bat house to ensure you get flying mammals clearing up your mosquito issue for good. Just know there’s no guaranteed, as we’re dealing with wild animals here. It’s more art than science.

• Color Matters

Often you see bat houses that aren’t even painted on the outside. That’s how you know they won’t attract any bats. Bat houses must be painted properly on the outside to maximize their attractiveness to bats.

In colder climates, a bat house should be darker to attract sun rays. In hot weather, a light color bat house will ensure cooler temperatures ideal for nursing.

• The DIY Scam

Many companies and conservation organizations claim DIY bat houses are ideal. Sure, you can build a bat house for cheap out of old wood and a few nails. Will it actually attract a colony of bats to your property? That’s highly unlikely.

Why? Because bats are fairly particular in where they set up camp. If your bat house doesn’t meet their specific requirements, then you won’t find much success attracting these flying mammals.

• 200-400 Bats Maximum

We’ve seen bat houses rated for 600 or 700 bats. That’s just not going to happen for 99.9% of customers. In fact, most bat colonies are under 200 bats in total. For this reason, we designed the Big Bat Box to hold up to 200 bats. 99.9% of homeowners will find this size of bat house absolutely ideal.

Don’t be fooled into thinking big is better. A perfectly constructed bat house that can hold 200 bats can completely eliminate your mosquito issues. A DIY bat house designed to hold 600 bats may not attract any.

• Mounting Matters

Any bat house worth its salt will come with detailed mounting instructions. See, mounting is paramount to the success of a bat house. If you properly mount your Big Bat Box, you’ll exponentially increase the likelihood that bats build a colony in it.

If you don’t mount and locate your bat house in the right place, there’s little chance the box will ever actually have bats living in it. Luckily, a solid bat house company will provide instructions on how and where to place a Big Bat Box.

• Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservation -Certified

If you truly want to solve your mosquito issues with a bat house, then it’s paramount to invest in a model that’s Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservation -Certified. Merlin Tuttle tests bat houses and certifies the products that pass their rigorous testing procedures.

If a bat house company is Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservation -Certified, then you can expect any product you buy from them to offer a great chance at attracting bats. These products will be built properly and come with careful mounting instructions.

• Always Be Testing

Installing a bat house doesn’t need to be permanent. Instead, try testing out locations around your property. Move the house every three months. Test out 3-4 locations. See which area of your property attracts more bats.

• Keep Cats Away

If you have cats roaming your property, then bats may be skeptical of your bat house. Cats don’t like bats, and bats don’t like cats. Cats are predators. They will eat bats. Even if your bat house is 20 feet in the air, a cat can easily scale the post and scarf down a snack.

If you have cats, try keeping them indoor when installing a bat house. This will drastically increase your chances of populating your bat house.

• Always Look Online

While we may be biased at Big Bat Box, you should always start your bat house search online. Most bat houses found at nature or pet stores will be of horrible quality. These products tend to be cheaply made and created for mass production. Not things that attract bats!

Your Best Bet

Make no mistake about it. A bat house is your best chance to attract bats to your property. Whether you want to solve a mosquito issue or just enjoy watching these flying mammals move around, a Big Bat Box will bring them to your property.

If you’re looking for the best bat house on the market, just click here. We’ve designed the Big Bat Box to ensure you get more bats on your property than ever before. Just listen to one of our happy customers:

“I took the survey below and also wanted to keep you apprised of the progress on my bat house. We finally have bats! My husband saw the bat guano underneath the house when he was up on the roof a few weeks ago cleaning the gutters. I’m not exactly sure what we have, but based on the size of flying bats we’ve seen, I’m guessing they’re little brown bats.We live on the south side of the Big Thompson River, just west of Estes Park, at the foot of Giant Track Mountain close to the Beaver Meadows entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. I’d say we’re about 200 yards from the river. We’re on the north slope of the mountain, so it’s cooler here and gets less sun. The bat house is mounted on the east side of our house. Our elevation here is about 7,800 ft.

The Big Bat Box bat house is the best-constructed bat house I’ve ever seen, and I know a little about bat houses since we sold them for years at a retail store we used to have. I was also impressed with the map showing what exterior color one should request based on where one lives. As the new owner, I think you have a great company. We tried for years, beginning nearly 30 years ago, to get bats in various locations in Colorado. This is the first time we’ve ever had success. It may be the location, but I also think it’s the Big Bat Box!” - Lisa in Colorado