Boost your bats: here’s how
There are five simple ways to make your garden more attractive to bats; they’ll reward you by dining on some of your insect pests
● This provides a source of night-time flying insects for bats, and a watering hole for a quick drink. However, for the latter they need a clear flight path in and a good area of open water – they won’t dip down if the pond surface is covered with lily pads.
● Many gardens seem like a clearing in a woodland, with a central area of grass and flowers surrounded by trees and bushes. This can make a perfect hunting area for bats – a sheltered place where lots of insects are able to breed and fly.
● When chemical insecticides are used to kill insects, it removes a critical layer in the food chain for so many creatures, including bats.
● Or, ideally, several! They’ll roost in here and hibernate if it’s safe and cosy.
●
Make a pond Create a glade Garden organically Put up a bat box Don’t leave outside lights on overnight
Yes, they can attract moths that some bats then feed on, but many bats shun bright lights.
Entrance hole
l
Typically on the underside of the box, the entrance hole is just a long thin slit.
l Boxes must be made of untreated timber and should be cosy and draughtproof.
l Site your boxes at least 4m (13ft) off the ground to be safe from cats, ideally right under the house eaves or up in a tree. Orientate them so they face between southeast and southwest.
Location
THE BAT CONSERVATION TRUST is the excellent national group dedicated to saving bats. Their website www.bats.org.uk has lots of information and useful advice. They also run a National Bat Helpline (Monday-Friday) that can help answer your questions and concerns about bats and give you advice on bat care, building works and reporting bat crime.
Call 0345 130 0228.
LISTEN IN
Bats are difficult to identify visually – one species can look much like another, even if you saw them in daylight. However, their sounds are different and each type of bat has its own particular call. These sounds are usually far too high pitched for us to hear, which is where a bat detector device comes in handy. These units from NHBS (01803 865913; www.nhbs.com) pick up bat sounds and show them visually on a screen, or convert them into sounds that we can hear, or both.
MAGENTA BAT 4 £59.95
l
Turn the dial to listen for bats that call at particular sound frequencies.
ECHO METER TOUCH 2 £195
l
Plug this module into your iPhone or Android device and it displays all frequencies of bat calls, then suggests which species you’re listening to.