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7 Ways To Be Bat Friendly In Your Garden!
According to the Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources, one little brown bat can easily catch 1000 mosquito sized insects in an hour. Plus, their guano (poop) is an excellent natural fertilizer for your plants.
- Have a few trees or large shrubs in the yard, even small trees such as dogwoods, serviceberry, buttonbush, spicebush, honeysuckle shrubs.
- Turn off night lights. Urban areas can be confusing for bats as there is constant light throughout the night. Turning off backyard lights can help bats locate the night flying insects.
- Plant stinky or fragrant blooming perennial plants with light flowers. Bats are attracted to insects that adore fragrant and stinky bloomers.
- Avoid harmful herbicide and pesticides. They can be toxic to insects as well as bats.
- Add bat houses. Trees and large shrubs provide housing for bats. If your yard is lacking in sizable plants, add a couple bat houses to welcome their stay.
- Add a water source. Small bird baths won't work here. Bats drink on-the-go. An old child's pool with water will provide a good open area for them to swoop down and drink as they fly.
- If possible, leave any dead trees or branches that don't interfere with your open garden. As they decay, the dead wood attracts lots of insects that bats enjoy.
Here is a list of bat garden plants (trees, shrubs and perennials) that attract the insects that bats eat in the late evening and night.