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A gardener’s helper, a bat, can be attracted to a nest box installed in a tree. Where to put it? How to make this small shelter yourself? Here are all our tips.
By installing a birdhouse bat or a bat nest, you offer shelter to these flying mammals while promoting balance in your garden’s ecosystem. Especially since bats are formidable allies in the fight against harmful insects and can eat up to half their weight in a single night. Find out how to welcome these guardians of the night into your garden and contribute to the preservation of biodiversity.
Why install bat houses in the garden?
If you want to contribute to nature conservation and ecological regulation of insects in your garden, installing bat nest boxes is a simple and effective solution.
Why is it important to provide a home for bats?
- French bats feed on insects, making them valuable allies in controlling populations of pests such as mosquitoes and moths that can damage young permaculture plants in a vegetable garden.
- Bats suffer from the loss of their natural habitat, which prevents them from resting, breeding and surviving. The installation of nesting boxes offers them a refuge and thus helps to maintain their population in our ecosystems.
- Attracting bats to your garden is an ecological gesture, as they actively participate in insect control without the use of pesticides, thus maintaining the natural balance of ecosystems.
- Bats are on the decline in Europe due to habitat destruction and declining populations of insects, which are a major source of food. Installing artificial hutches helps reverse this trend and allows them to safely survive the winter.
- Bat shelters are simple habitats that you can build in your garden. Bats do not need materials to build nests, so they are easily installed and used by these flying mammals.
Where to install a bat house?
Choose a sunny and safe place to install the bat house. Bats prefer quiet, so set up a south-facing shelter in full sun against an outside wall or tree, sheltered from the elements.
Hang the small cabin at a height of 3 to 5 meters in a place protected from wind and rain. Nest boxes are recommended to be placed before spring so that bats coming out of hibernation can quickly find a new shelter.
Choose quiet places protected from light and noise, such as under a roof or at the top of a tree trunk.
How to build a birdhouse?
Before building a bat house, first find out about the species of bats found in your region (common bat, big bat, long-eared bat, common bat or little horned bat) because the size of the bat The entrance to the nest box must be suitable for these specific species. Please note that in France, bats generally measure between 4 and 10 cm and weigh between 4 and 45 grams. So make sure the entrance hole of the nest box is at least 40cm long and 15cm high to accommodate the bats.
As with birdhouses, opt for untreated wood such as chestnut. Avoid sanding surfaces to make bats easy to catch. It is ideal to opt for grooved wood. Two boards a few centimeters apart will be enough. You can also build a roof to create a perch and a landing and takeoff area. As for equipment, equip yourself with a saw, hammer, screwdriver, nails, and string or wire.
Secure the nest box in late winter in a sunny and safe location such as a warm wall or tree. Never disturb the occupants of the kennel and ensure that no predators get to it by hanging the kennel over the void.
Read alsoThese 6 dangerous animals that are better to approach in the garden
How to get bats into the house?
To attract bats to your garden, follow these simple steps:
- Encourage biodiversity in your vegetable garden with several types of flowers, native plants, trees and shrubs with fragrant flowers as well as deciduous hedges.
- Provide a water source, such as a small pond, to attract insects and allow the bats to drink.
- There is no need to install a bird feeder: bats are insectivores and, unlike various types of birds, especially songbirds (sparrows, robins, blue tit or great tit), they do not eat seeds or fat balls.
- Avoid using pesticides so as not to destroy the bats’ food and prevent the poison from accumulating in their bodies.
- Promote tranquility in your garden to help bats find their way around with your echolocation.
- At night, turn off the lights in your garden so as not to disturb the rhythm of life of the bats.
- Respect the peace of the bats by not disturbing them in their resting place, especially in the winter during the hibernation period (and by the way, to avoid being bitten).
- Finally, if you have a cat, limit its nighttime walks: it is one of the predators that pose a real threat to bats.
As you can see, installing bat boxes in your home is a simple and useful action. Not only are you providing a haven for these flying mammals, but you are also protecting the health of your garden.