Colorado bats: How to attract them to your yard

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — Bats are not something to be scared of – they help keep Colorado’s nights insect-free.

That is just one reason conservation groups like Colorado Bat Watch hope people will help report bat roosts and create habitats that attract bats.

Here’s how to make your yard more attractive to bats, courtesy of Colorado Bat Watch and Bat Conservation International:

Plant native plants. These kinds of plants attract insects that bats love to eat. Moths love plants, and bats love moths. Plant light-colored flowers. Moths and other nighttime pollinators love those, too. Insects also love flowers and plants that have a strong smell.

Here are some recommendations for trees and shrubs to help you attract bats and their favorite meal: insects. There are many other plant, trees and shrubs that will attract bats and insects. These are just a few.

• Wild Plum
• Rocky Mountain Maple
• White clover
• Choke Cherry
• Butterfly Weed
• Fleabane

Build or install a bat house. These give bats shelter, and you can watch them doing their thing in your yard, too. Here are some tips for building a bat house.

Keep that dead tree. Bats love to chill in tree hollows and spaces between branches. As long as the tree is not a danger to property, let it stand.

Don’t use pesticides. Bats eat bugs, so do not try to kill their food. Bats are a natural pesticide. Some estimates say they provide $23 billion a year in pest control in the United States – for free!

Only indoor cats, please. Cats eat bats, among other wildlife. It is also safer to have your cat indoors.

Provide water when you can. Bats need a source of drinking water that’s about 7 to 10 feet in length. That’s because they drink while flying (how cool). If you have a pond or water trough, that will work. Make sure you have an exit strategy for animals that might find themselves in the water.

Keep lights off. Extra artificial lights impact how bats hunt. Keep your yard as dark as possible. 

Tips from Colorado Bat Watch:

1. Look up at sunset or sunrise. Between May and September, watch for bats at sunrise or sunset. Your yard, parks and open spaces are great places to watch for the animal. You can even find bats darting around the night sky in the city. 
2. Look for flying bats. Places near any body of water in Colorado will work.
3. Bats flying around could mean a roost area. Roosts are where bats live. Homes include attics, barns, bat houses, bridges, culverts, trees, caves and mines. Colorado Bat Watch would love to know about bats roosting in structures, trees, and talus.
4. Look for where bats come out at dusk. This means it might be a roost site. 
5. Look for bats swarming at dawn. Swarming happens when bats circle around a building or tree before returning to their roost. 
6. Don’t be loud or shine a light on the roost site. How rude! This will disturb the bats.
7. If you find a roost, contact Colorado Bat Watch. They want to know these areas because it helps them protect bats that live there.
   

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