Gardening for bats

Many people enjoy spending long summer evenings sitting in their gardens, watching as daylight turns to dusk and bats begin to fill the night sky.

These small and fascinating creatures often live in close proximity to us, using our gardens as an important source of food, water and shelter. As their natural habitats become more scarce, our gardens are playing a more important role in securing a future for bats.

Bats are a sign of a green and healthy environment, so creating a garden that's good for bats will also be good for people.

Turn your garden into a bat haven

For further details do read our Encouraging Bats or Stars of the Night leaflets.

What next?

Once you have successfully attracted bats to your garden, there are many ways you can enjoy your new visitors and get more involved.

Find out about different types of bat detectors,which can help you identify the species you have attracted to your garden.

You may wish to count bats for BCT as part of our National Bat Monitoring Programme, which keeps track of UK bat populations and helps to inform our conservation work.

Why not join the Bat Conservation Trust and become part of a national community of bat enthusiasts?

You could also get involved with your local bat group - there are more than 100 local groups across the UK that are made up of volunteers who are passionate about bats.