Ever since our Barbastelle bat first came to visit us in 2014 we have been thinking of ways to provide shelter for bats in the garden. See “A furry visitor”
A bat box seemed the obvious choice, as did a web search for information and help because we do not know a lot about these fascinating creatures.
One of the good sites we came across was the Bat Conservation Trust
This site provides not only loads of information but also plans for building your own bat box. Many more plans can be found by searching the web.
Kourosh tackled his bat box on a cold, wet day last February. He had bought his untreated wood and cut it up to the required dimensions in the workshop.
I popped in from time to time to provide the much needed encouragement and I was pleased to see he had managed to assemble it.
The roof of the box was added and the holes to attach the box were drilled inside the house, where it was warmer to work.
The finished product looked the perfect new home for a bat! (Well, we thought so.)
Kourosh was insistant that it should be painted to blend in with the house and decorated to be pleasing to humans after all the work he had put in. For bats that appear to have a penchant for white painted shutters this may be a good ploy.
We felt that having the box ready in February would give the bats plenty of time to settle in this year.
However, so far we have had no takers. We look regularly of tell-tale signs of occupation, but so far it is unoccupied.
However, this September the same white shutter, so favoured by the Barbastelle bat, was adopted by a Pipestrelle bat.
There is no accounting for taste!
We are still waiting to see if the bat box will eventually tempt any bats. In the meantime I wonder if I have tempted anyone to have a go at building their own bat box?
a french garden 
I love bats they are my favorite mammal. I’ve traveled to bat locations in Mexico just to see them emerge, what a sight. You can feel them fly past you. I have bat houses here in Provence, but don’t know if bats are using them. Its too hard to tell, as they are high up. There are bats flying around here, I hope they’ve found their houses. I’ve had bats living behind the shutters in my house in the Herault, which I confirmed by their poop on the windowsill. If you don’t already know how to tell bat poop from rodent poop, let me know, its very easy. I applaud you for your efforts on behalf of these wonderful animals. There is also an organization called Bat Conservation International, based in the US, which has been advocating for bats since the 1980s.
bonnie in provence
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They are incredibly appealing creatures. I hope some bats take shelter in your houses and they will enjoy the creatures you attract to your garden in the summer. What happens at night time in the garden is so different from the daytime and I am largely unaware of the night time creatures. Amelia
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Yes, the night garden fascinates me. I mean to get a wildlife cam that will be triggered by our nightly visitors. I know there will not be lions or tigers, but a herisson would be just dandy.
bonnie
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We often have bats living on the louvered vents in our attic. On the outside, which is good, because they can be disruptive inside the house, where they never really want to be. And in summer and fall we see them flying, missing the windows, swooping and gliding. Everything stops to watch them. But despite having bought Ian, (husband) a—- How To Build a Bat House book 20 years ago, no bat house has appeared. I am always so happy to see them, they really do a number on the mosquitos. And their aerial display is amazing!
Annie in the Cascade Foothills north east of Seattle.
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We enjoy watching the bats over here is France. I suppose they will be different species but equally fascinating. I am surprised at Ian, as you said he was a crack hand at the bee houses :). Amelia
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