Try to install the bat house as least 12 feet high so the bats can freely enter and exit their home. A colonial bat that is found throughout Michigan, however is frequently observed in the more northern parts of the state. Install a four chamber bat house to get as many bats to colonize as possible. This is one of the most common questions I’m asked. Flying insects are a good food source, water needs to be within about 1/4 of a mile. They are commonly observed to be using echolocation to capture insects that are flying over lakes and ponds. There are no baits or chemicals that will get rid of bats. Therefore their presence is an important and worthy indicator of a healthy environment. Avoid attaching bat houses to light poles, as bats will not live in a house with all-night lighting, despite the abundance of flying insects the light may attract. You cannot poison bats. Face the bat house opening South or South East, so it will attract the most sunlight. For bats to be present they need food, water and housing. Not only are bats great for repelling mosquitos and other pesky insects, but bat guano, or bat poop, is a great natural fertilizer. Bat boxes provide shelter, but an ample supply of food and water is also needed to attract bats. It is difficult to predict whether a bat box will attract bats to hunt and feed in a desired area. The odds of attracting bats are very good for well-designed, well-built bat houses mounted according to rec-ommendations developed by the Bat House Project during 12 years of bat house research by BCI and its volunteer Research Associates across the U.S., … They can be identified by a 10 inch wingspan with a reddish brown to dark brown coat. There are other reasons you’d want to attract bats by building a bat house though. Michigan bats and their characteristics. Once people learn of the beneficial role that bats play in controlling insects, they often want to attract bats to their yards and gardens. If you want to lure bats to your garden, consider installing a bat house near your garden, and plant plenty of fragrant flowers and herbs in order to attract the kinds of bugs that bats love to feast on. Knowing the type of bats you have in your attic is one of the important steps when determining how to evict them. As a company that has dealt with bat removal in Michigan for quite a while, we have encountered different types of bats that seek shelter in both residential and commercial premises. Large colonies consisting of hundreds or even thousands of members commonly take up … Bats are great for our environment and help control the mosquito population and the spread of west nile disease. In Michigan and most states bats are protected animals. How can I attract bats to my new house? Unfortunately there is no proven way to attract bats. Bats, as a general rule, are highly sensitive to pollution and pesticide. Bat houses come in all shapes and sizes.