Bats Are a Gardener’s Best Friend

Bats may look scary, but they help the gardener in many ways. Here’s how to attract them to your yard.

Bats can thank Dracula for their risky report as infernal , lineage - sucking , disease - ridden sponger , but nothing could be further from the truth . These nocturnal mammalian are in reality timid , gentle creatures that void human tangency ( and hairsbreadth ) , and they have a downcast relative incidence of rabies contagion than do common wild animals like skunks and raccoons . Really , we should be give thanks them . Most North American bats feed solely on insects , devouring more mosquitoes and other dirt ball than birds and hemipteron zappers combined .

Bats devour moths, mosquitoes, and more

While most insect - feeding bird are diurnal , feed on insects that are active in daytime , bats have perfected a feeding strategy that is targeted at night - flying insects . Moths and mosquitoes may be their anchor , but they also feast on insects range from gnats to large flying mallet . bat will have from a quarter to half their body weight in louse each Nox . This think of that an average colony of any rough-cut specie of squash racquet may eliminate more than 100 tons of insects in one season .

Studies conducted in Kansas and Canada over the last few years have read that squash racket populations can efficaciously control clavus rootworm moths , thus reducing and even eliminating the need for agricultural insecticide applications in some expanse . If bats can effectively control insects on such a large scale , just imagine what they can do in your garden .

Bats do more than help with insect controller . Their excretory product is a prized organic fertiliser . Bat guano typically contains 10 percent nitrogen , 3 percent Lucifer , and 1 pct K , and it has no fillers , as other types of fertilizer often do . This natural plant foil benefit flowers , ornamentals , vegetables , and herb . It is also exceedingly long - lasting in most type of stain .

Make your yard bat-friendly

To take reward of a bat ’s contribution to the surround , consider making your yard and garden chiropteran - friendly . Bats , like all creature , need intellectual nourishment , water , and protection . Since there are plenty of insects in most garden to offer their preferred entrée , all we need to append is water and tax shelter .

Bats need a clean and approachable water generator . In the state of nature , most bats swoop down over the surface of open bodies of water such as lake , pool , or slow - moving streams to take a crapulence . A garden pond with unforesightful plants on opposite sides is an excellent water imagination for bats . They may also use raised birdbath that are located in an loose quad .

squash racquet normally survive in dark , protect berth like hollow trees , under loose bark , in caves , and in cracks of rocky ledges . In urbanized areas , they may frequent attics , the back side of business firm shutters , downspouts , and even storm sewers . To draw at-bat , regard adding a bat menage to your garden decor . chiropteran houses can be purchased or easily built . you could obtain designs from Bat Conservation International ( www.batcon.org ) . Fasten the bat business firm securely to the south side of a pole , tree , or building to draw the warmth of the sun . spot it 12 to 18 feet above the ground in a location that will be difficult for predators to shake up .

And remember , the next prison term you encounter a at-bat , do n’t give in to the fear that folklore and myths have ingrain in us . regard bat for their bionomical importance , and save those wooden stake for patronize your garden plants . You wo n’t find any vampire bat in North America .

Fine Gardening Recommended Products

A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo

Fine horticulture receives a commission for token purchased through links on this website , including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs .

Get our former tips , how - to article , and instructional videos sent to your inbox .

Signing you up …

Meet the Garden Good Guys

Friendly Ways to Battle Garden Pests

Introduction to IPM and the Gardener’s Guide to Common-Sense Pest Control

Keep Beneficial Insects, Birds and Mammals Around By Creating a Host Environment

Join Fine horticulture for a free engage live webinar boast Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned plant life diagnostician as well as prof emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical manager …

When I spotted a special grit dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I fuck I was in difficulty . With a delightful people of color formula …

When we only prioritize plant we want over plants our landscape motivation , each season is filled with a never - ending list of chore : pruning , pinching , watering , treating , amending , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be careful when you enter the backyard of garden designer Jeff Epping — not because you ’re probable to actuate on something , but because you might be dive - flunk by a pair …