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Better Wetlands

Photo of a landuser inspecting a bat house

Bat houses will attract natural predators of mosquitoes and other insects.

Songbird or Bat Houses

At least 44 species of birds have been reported to use nesting boxes. Bluebirds, chickadees, flycatchers, nuthatches, warblers, swallows, and wrens will use songbird houses. Competitors for their houses include cowbirds, kestrels, owls, bats, mice, squirrels, tree frogs, lizards, and snakes.

Dimensions of houses vary by the species you want to attract. The size of the entrance hole is the most critical dimension, however, to eliminate undesirable competitors.

Considerations include an entrance hole near the top of the front panel; a recessed floor; a pitched root to shed water; holes for drainage and ventilation; top or side openings for cleaning and inspection; and predator guards.

Generally, up to four small nest boxes can be used per acre.

Bat Houses

A single little brown bat, the species that most often occupies a bat house, can catch hundreds of mosquitoes in an hour. A colony of 150 big brown bats can eat 19 million root worms a year. Stink bugs, leafhoppers, and cutworms are among the other pests and insects bats consume.

The most successfully occupied bat houses meet these conditions:

  • a quarter mile or less from a stream, large lake or wetland

  • receives at least four hours of sun daily

  • house stained or painted dark

  • located in an area of mixed agriculture

A single bat house two feet by two feet by six inches can house a nursery bat colony of 300.

Important considerations include using rough wood, vertical partitions, placement on poles 15 to 20 feet high, and mounting houses back to back in pairs to face east and west.

Don't be discouraged if it takes several months to get inhabitants for the houses.

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Contact Information

State Biologist

Mike Townsend
Syracuse, New York
Telephone: 315-477-6537

If you encounter any problems with files provided on this page, have questions, suggestions, or find a broken link, please contact Gary Vandawalker at 315-477-6546.

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