Bats are extremely important. Yet due to years of unwarranted human fear and persecution, bats are in alarming decline. By putting up a bat house you are helping by giving them a home. You will also benefit from having fewer yard and garden pests, and will enjoy learning about bats and sharing your knowledge with friends and family.

As the primary predators of night-flying insects, bats play a vital role in maintaining the balance of nature. And, as consumers of vast numbers of pests, they rank among humanity’s most valuable allies. A single little brown bat can catch hundreds of mosquito-sized insects an hour, and a typical colony of big brown bats can protect local farmers from the costly attacks of 18 million root-worms each summer.

Bats are not blind, and are actually very clean animals. They do not get caught in peoples’ hair or chew through the attic of your house. Bats will not interfere with feeding backyard birds, and they will not be disrupted by pets or children.

Not all bat houses are built properly. Short and stout houses tend to have little chance of attracting bats, where longer, wider houses are working quite well. Older designs only have about a 10% occupancy rate, OBC's design is enjoying an 80% occupancy rate. Pretty impressive!

Order an OBC bat house
Design to make your own bat house
How to put up your bat house
See an OBC bat house working
Photographs of bat houses

After years of collaborative research, the Organization for Bat Conservation has documented the key requirements for successful bat houses.

Some of the main considerations to success include 3/4-inch roosting spaces, 4 to 6-inch landing area, and tall (at least 16 inches) and wide (at least 12 inches) roosting compartments. Research also shows that as the number of chambers increase, the occupancy rate rises. Houses placed on poles and structures tend to become occupied quicker than houses placed on trees. Bat houses should face south or east to take advantage of the morning sun. When painting the bat house, use non-toxic (water-based), latex paint to paint and only paint the outside. Your bat house should be mounted at least 15 feet above the ground.

Bats return from migration and awaken from hibernation as early as March in most of the U.S., but stay active year-round in the extreme southern U.S. Bats will be abundant through out the summer and into late fall. Most houses used by bats are occupied in the first 1 to 6 months (during the first summer the bat house was erected). If bats do not roost in your house by the end of the second summer, move the house to another location.

The following is information about successful bat houses reported to OBC:

Mounting location:

64% on sides of buildings (house, garage, barn)
30% on poles
6% on trees (dead or mature)

Amount of sun:

14% received 2 to 5 hours of direct sun
34% received 6 to 8 hours of direct sun
52% received 10 or more hours of direct sun

Height above the ground:

5% mounted 10 to 12 feet above the ground
75% mounted 15 to 18 feet above the ground
20% mounted 20 to 25 feet above the ground

Color:

50% painted brown or black
50% left natural (most were cedar, which grays over time)

Multiple bat houses:

25% of the bat houses occupied were mounted with other bat house in the immediate area

Number of Bats:

10% had 1 bat
33% had 2 to 6 bats
35% had 12 to 24 bats
22% had 50 or more bats

Testimonial of OBC Bat House owner:

Love the OBC Triple-chamber Bat House

My husband and I bought 11 acres of rural / wooded land last spring in Venango County, Western PA and are "developing" it as a personal wildlife refuge. Birds, bears, deer, turkey, fox, nocturnal mammals, etc. wander through the property. This summer we replaced the roof, and in doing so, discovered that at least two bats were living behind the vinyl siding / chimney / possibly in attic. Small brown bats, most likely, i.e. nothing out of the ordinary.
The siding is light green, and faces to the east, approximately 10-11 feet off the ground. We researched bat houses, and we liked the OBC Triple - celled the best. It had the long landing pad, and a small opening throughout which they could determine the box was hollow. We ripped out the vinyl siding, painted the box black, mounted it where the bats were heard, and within 5 days or less, one moved it! The other took up residence under the drip edge behind the soffit / facia. Your houses really work!!

We had considered mounting it on a nearby light pole, or mature tree further away, but both seemed too dangerous for my husband to be up on a ladder. The ground is rock so installing a pole seemed remote. Besides, we figured if the bats living behind the siding didn't mind facing east, and being only 11 feet up, then so be it. That's where we mounted the house. Now, we'd like to figure out how to encourage a hoard of bats to move in.

We see plenty of un-occupied bat houses in our hikes, and it's really a shame that well - meaning persons don't use well-designed bat house such as yours.

Vaughan Boleky
Utica, PA