Everyone wants these fuzzy flying mammals in their garden. Bats swoop acrobatically through the night air scooping up mosquitoes. Many Missouri bats are endangered due to loss of habitat, environmental poisons, and exotic diseases. We can help attract bats to our gardens by providing safe spaces for them to live.
Missouri bats eat bugs, so avoid using pesticides. Try to grow even more bugs in the garden by planting native plants. A healthy insect population will attract bats and other insect predators which control the mosquitoes. Night blooming flowers like Missouri evening primrose will attract nocturnal bugs. Nighttime insects are also attracted to light-colored flowers and ones that are very fragrant.
Bats do not land to drink, they drink on the wing, swooping low over water. To provide water, it needs to be a long pond or trough with plenty of air space to swoop down.
Bats may live on your house, in the chimney, under the siding, and in the attic. Looking for bat droppings around the house is the easiest way to see where they are roosting. Leave dead trees in the yard to provide more natural bat homes.
The easiest way to attract bats is to build a bat friendly native garden. Bat gardens can be more beneficial than bat boxes for attracting bats quickly. Bat boxes are often overlooked by bats and can take several years before they are occupied. However, a fragrant garden can attract a bat overnight.
Guide to gardening for bats
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