Bird House & Bat House

Finding a quiet spot in the yard that offers a bit of privacy is our recommendation for a nesting pair. Try to keep your Bird House away from high-traffic areas like the back porch or the driveway so the parents do not spend all day worrying about your coming and going. A little open space in front of the Bird House helps the birds fly straight in without dodging branches. It also helps to have some thick cover nearby so the fledglings have a place to hide once they decide to take that first big leap. Just remember to keep it a fair distance from your feeders, as birds generally prefer not to raise their kids in the middle of a crowded cafeteria.

A yard without many trees is actually a blessing for a Bird House. You can easily mount your Bird House on a dedicated metal pole or a sturdy wooden post driven into the ground. This setup makes it much easier to add a baffle, which keeps the local raccoons from treating the nest like a buffet. Another good option is to use a heavy-duty bracket to attach the Bird House to the side of an outbuilding or a sturdy fence line. Just make sure it is high enough to keep the neighborhood cats from getting ideas. It is a solid way to give the birds a home without waiting twenty years for an oak to grow.

Mounting your Bat House at least fifteen feet off the ground on a pole or a building side is our standard advice. Bats are picky about the temperature, so we recommend a spot that catches at least six hours of daily sun to keep the nursery warm. It is best to avoid trees, as branches give hawks and owls a perfect place to sit and wait for the night shift to emerge. Make sure there is plenty of open space in front of the Bat House so they have a clear flight path for their evening mosquito hunt. If you put it in the shade, you might as well be offering them a cold basement, and we have never met a bat that appreciated a drafty room.

We find that a pair of Bat Houses is the sweet spot for most folks starting out. One single unit is fine, but having two Bat Houses allows for plenty of variety in temperature and airflow. Sometimes a colony likes to move from one to the other depending on how the weather shifts throughout the season. If you have a serious bug problem or several acres to cover, installing a few more Bat Houses around the perimeter can make a world of difference. Just keep in mind that bats are like houseguests; they might take a season to settle in, but once they do, they usually bring a few dozen friends along. It is a much quieter way to handle pests compared to those buzzing electric zappers.