Looking after the bats in your garden.

 

All bat species in the UK are protected as these mammals have been in decline over the last few years. We can really help them in the garden by growing insect attracting plants and especially those that flowers or are scented at night.

Night flowering plants encourage moths which make up a large part of the bat's diet. They eat lots of other small insects too so if you are able to make a pond this will be a real plus for your potential bat population. They love a tasty mosquito and a gnat as they swoop around in the evening. We spend hours watching them at the farm at Blakemere as they swoop over the terrace in the evening - Occasionally they get confused and join us in the dining room which is fine for us of course but not always appreciated by the dinner guests!

If you are going to encourage them a bat box is a good idea but it needs to be placed up high - south, southeast, southwest is best where the bats will appreciate the warm conditions - If they like your efforts up to 40 bats at a time can colonise your box!

 

Bats love to fidget and change their position when they are roosting in the day in much the same way as we move about in our sleep, so putting up two bat boxes next to one another on either side of a corner or around the trunk of a tree is ideal. It's worth knowing that it's an offence to disturb bat roosts and they are are much more likely to be colonised if not interfered with.

Mealworms are a brilliant supplement for bats - packed with protein and energy. We have thrown them up in the air on our terrace and they swop to catch them!

Order Live Mealworms from only £5.50 here https://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/collections/live-mealworms

 




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