Why This Matters
If you want bats around your home you should start with food, not a bat house.
Most bats in the United States eat flying insects like moths and mosquitoes. Some bats can eat thousands of mosquitoes per night. This means bats come to your yard if it has insects like moths, midges, beetles and caddisflies after sunset.
Bat Conservation International says you can help bats by planting flowers that attract the insects they eat. You can also build a habitat with plants.
This guide is about increasing insect life especially night insects. This way bats have a reason to hunt in your yard. It does not matter if you live in a suburban lot in the U.S. Or a backyard in Canada.
You can help bats by making your yard a place with lots of insects for them to eat. Bats need food to survive. Your yard can provide that.
Increase insect life and bats will come.
Bats eat insects so more insects mean bats.
Your yard can be a home, for bats if it has food.
The “I would do this first” bat garden plan is a way to start.
If I’m starting from scratch with a normal lawn-and-shrubs yard, here’s the order I follow:
- Stop killing the food (reduce pesticides and “perfect lawn” chemicals).
- Add native plant structure (trees/shrubs + layered plants).
- Add night-specific food sources (plants that bloom/open/scent at dusk).
- Add water (even small water helps drive insect emergence).
- Fix the lighting (light pollution suppresses insects and changes bat behavior).
- Then consider a bat box (because now your yard can “pay rent” in insects).
That sequence is how you build a bat-friendly yard that actually works—without relying on luck.
1) Use pesticides to help insect numbers grow
If you want more insects the easiest thing to do is stop killing them with pesticides.
The Xerces Society, which knows a lot about saving insects says using pesticides can help. They explain how pesticides hurt ecosystems and good insects.
In Canada the Canadian Wildlife Federation says bats are hurt when they lose insect food and get pesticide leftovers.
Here are some easy tips for beginners:
- spray pesticides on the problem spot, not the whole yard.
- Wait until you see damage before spraying don’t just see one bug and panic.
- Try -chemical ways first like pulling weeds by hand making soil better composting and mulching.
A simple rule: the less you spray pesticides the insects you’ll have at night. That’s what bats need.
2) Plant native plants to grow insects
This step makes a big difference between a garden for pollinators and a garden that feeds bats.
Bat Conservation International says to plant plants and trees because they attract native insects, which bats eat.
The National Wildlife Federation also says to make a bat- garden with the right plants and habitat.
A good yard structure for insects has three layers:
Layer 1: Trees ( layer)
- Oaks, willows, maples (depends on your area)
Trees help insects grow because they host caterpillars and other larvae that become moths and flying insects.
Layer 2: Shrubs ( layer)
- Serviceberry, viburnum, elderberry (depends on your area)
Shrubs give shelter, nectar and a place for insects to live.
Layer 3: Flowers + grasses (ground layer)
- wildflowers + bunch grasses
These give nectar, pollen and shelter for larvae and pupae.
Beginners often make a mistake by planting flowers. Flowers help,. A good structure makes a yard a real habitat.
3) Focus on night insects: moths are food for bats
Most beginner blogs talk about bees (daytime). Bats hunt at night so you want moths.
Bat Conservation International says many bats eat night-flying insects and suggests planting flowers that bloom at night or in the evening.
Some plants (USA/Canada-friendly, easy to find) :
- Evening primrose ( native species in North America)
- Phlox (choose native species for your area)
- Bee balm (Monarda) (good, for pollinators and insects)
*. Asters (late-season nectar that keeps insects in your yard longer)
The point is to choose plants and include ones that bloom at dusk or night which attract the insects bats eat.
4) Add water because water helps insects come out.
I have seen a lot of insects near a pond at dusk and that is why bats like to be near water.
Bat-friendly gardening tips say water is very important for bats because insects are born in water and bats hunt in water.
Some people say “but I do not want mosquitoes”.
That is a point.
Here is what I think you should do:
- Use a pond with moving water like a simple solar bubbler.
- Add plants that’re native to your area to help animals that eat mosquitoes like dragonfly babies.
- Do not leave buckets of water sitting because they can become stagnant.
If you have a pond you will have many different kinds of insects not just mosquitoes.That is what bats like to eat.
5) Keep your garden dark at night.
Most people who write about bat gardens talk about plants. They do not talk about lighting.
That is a mistake.
The National Wildlife Federation says that light pollution is bad for animals, including bats.
They also say that reducing light can help.
The Bat Conservation Trust has done research on bats and lighting. They say that lighting can keep bats away from their homes and make it hard for them to find food.
Here is what I do in my garden:
- I use warmer lighting instead of bright white LEDs.
- I use motion sensors of lights that are always on.
- I point my lights down so they do not shine into the trees.
- I leave one side of my garden dark so bats can fly through.
This is not just good for bats it is also good for insects.
Insects need a place to be active so bats can eat them.
6) Build a home for insects.
If you want to have insects in your garden you need to give them a place to live.
Here are some things I would add to my garden:
- A corner with leaves on the ground.
- A small pile of logs for beetles and babies to live in.
- A patch of soil that I do not disturb so insects can make their homes there.
- Native grasses for insects to hide in and sleep through the winter.
These things are not fancy. They help insects survive.
7) Make your garden good for bats all year round.
Bats do not just eat in June they eat all year round.
The best bat gardens have food for insects from spring to fall.
Here is what I think you should do:
- In the spring plant things that bloom early to wake up the insects.
- In the summer plant things that have nectar and add water.
- In the summer and fall plant things like goldenrod and asters to keep the insects coming.
If you do this you will have insects in your garden all year round. That will help the bats.
8) People often ask “how long will it take for bats to come to my garden?”
My answer is that insects come first and then bats come.
If you already have bats flying around your garden you might see them within a weeks of making your garden more bat-friendly.
If you do not have many bats in your area it might take a whole season or longer for them to start coming to your garden.
The Parks Canada guidance for bat conservation says that avoiding pesticides and minimizing pollution can help make your garden a good home, for bats.
9) Beginner mistakes I see all the time-How I’d fix them
Mistake 1: “I planted flowers but no bats are coming”
The fix is simple. You need to add some shrubs and trees to give them a place to hide. Also add a water source. Stop using pesticides.
Mistake 2: “My yard is super bright at night”
The solution is to create a path. You can also shield your lights. Switch to motion-sensitive lighting.
Mistake 3: “I want no insects except the ones”
Well bats need insects to eat. So you should build a garden and let nature balance itself. The goal of bat- gardening is to have insects for bats to feed on.
Mistake 4: “I sprayed insecticide because of mosquitoes”
Instead manage your water properly and let predators take care of the mosquitoes. Don’t kill all the insects.
10) A simple 30-day plan to make your garden bat-friendly
If you’re new to this and want to take action here’s what I’d do:
Week 1: Stop harming
- Stop using insecticides. Just use them where you really need to.
- Identify the outdoor lights and change them to motion mode.
Week 2: Add some structure
- Add 2-3 shrubs or one shrub and a small native tree.
- Leave one corner of your yard unmowed. Add a small log pile.
Week 3: Add some night support
- Plant 3-5 flowers that bloom at night or in the evening.
- Plant some flowers that give nectar in the season.
Week 4: Add some water
- Add a pond or a water source with some movement.
- Create a path from your hedges to the water. No lights allowed.
This will make a difference in the number of insects at dusk, which’s step one for attracting bats.
Should I add a bat house too?
Once your yard has insects a bat house is a next step. Bat Conservation International and National Wildlife Federation can give you tips, on bat-friendly actions and habitat support including where to place a bat house.
