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What bats can bring to a garden
In the UK, bats eat insects, so a garden with a varied supply of prey can offer useful foraging habitat. Their feeding is part of wider food webs, but it is not a reliable pest-control service: there is no guarantee that bats will noticeably reduce mosquitoes or other garden pests in a particular garden.
Gardens also form part of a larger landscape. Hedges, rivers and tree-lined routes can connect feeding areas with roosting places, while gardens and other green spaces can serve as stepping stones. The Bat Conservation Trust estimates that UK gardens cover around 5,000 km², making the way householders manage them relevant at a landscape scale.
Bat-friendly gardening can benefit other wildlife, too. The Bat Conservation Trust describes gardens as part of green infrastructure and says: “When we garden for bats, we create spaces where wildlife and people can thrive together.”
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How to make your garden more useful to bats
Encourage insects with varied planting
Choose a range of locally appropriate plants, including flowers likely to attract moths and other insects active at night. A garden that offers different kinds of vegetation and food across the seasons is more likely to support a varied insect supply than one dominated by a narrow planting scheme. The Royal Horticultural Society’s guidance on bats in your garden recommends planting for night-flying insects.
The Bat Conservation Trust also identifies ponds, compost heaps, varied vegetation and less-tidy corners as features that can increase insect abundance and diversity. You do not need to make the whole garden untidy: a small, managed area can provide a different habitat from a closely cut lawn.
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- True Ecosystem Idols: Bats are vital as pollinators & seed dispensers which makes them crucial for our ecosystems and functional economic agricultures, Set up a bats house to support these versatile creatures
- Eco-Friendly: Introducing a bat habitat provides many benefits - one of them, having a approach against mosquitoes & other insects, that are not only pesky but also damage crops & plants
- Superb Bat Boxes For Outside: Bats are important and with the premium bat house, made of long-lasting waterproof cedar, you create an appealing home for them for many years to come - just like bats love it
- Easy To Mount & Maintain: Simply follow the recommendations to install the assembled bat house with the screws, in just the right place for our beautifully flying friends to settle, as well as to maintain it for a functional bat home every year
Use water thoughtfully
A pond or other garden water feature can contribute to habitat and may support insects. Choose one that suits the space and can be maintained safely; water alone cannot guarantee bat visits. The Bat Conservation Trust’s gardening for bats guidance treats water as one part of a combination of food, water and shelter.
Reduce pesticide use
Routine insecticide use can reduce the insects bats feed on. If you need to manage a pest, consider non-chemical options first, as the RHS advises. This approach can support a broader range of garden wildlife as well as insect-feeding bats.
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- Great Bat House Makes Bats Feel At Home: 16"x9.2"x4.4" bat box features an efficient three-room design capable of housing up to 100 bats, providing an ideal habitat for bats, bats can find good living conditions thanks to the black one used outdoors
- True Ecosystem Idols: Bats are vital as pollinators & seed dispensers which makes them crucial for our ecosystems and functional economic agricultures, Set up a bats house to support these versatile creatures
- Eco-Friendly: Introducing a bat habitat provides many benefits - one of them, having a approach against mosquitoes & other insects, that are not only pesky but also damage crops & plants
- Superb Bat Boxes For Outside: Bats are important and with the premium bat house, made of long-lasting waterproof cedar, you create an appealing home for them for many years to come - just like bats love it
- Easy To Mount & Maintain: Simply follow the recommendations to install the assembled bat house with the screws, in just the right place for our beautifully flying friends to settle, as well as to maintain it for a functional bat home every year
Keep routes and feeding areas dark
Artificial light can delay bats’ emergence from roosts, reduce feeding time and disrupt movement. Where outdoor lighting is necessary, the Bat Conservation Trust advises keeping it low-level and directional, and avoiding illumination of trees, ponds, bat boxes and roof spaces. Preserving dark routes along hedges and trees can help make a garden more usable as part of the wider landscape.
Consider a bat box as one optional feature
A suitable bat box can offer potential shelter, but its usefulness depends on local bat species and site conditions. It is not a substitute for food, water, dark passage or connected habitat, and installing one does not guarantee occupancy. The BCT and RHS both discuss bat boxes as one possible garden feature; the RHS offers guidance on bat-box placement.
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Which changes should you make first?
There is no universal ranking that works for every garden. Start with the features your site can support and consider what each change contributes.
| Garden action | Main contribution | Useful considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Varied planting and a less-tidy corner | Can support a greater abundance and diversity of insects | Choose plants suited to the local area; seasonal variety matters. |
| Pond or water feature | Adds water and may support insect habitat | Needs space and upkeep; it is one habitat feature, not a guarantee of visits. |
| Reduced pesticide use | Helps avoid removing potential insect prey | Use non-chemical controls when pest management is needed. |
| Less artificial light | Helps retain dark feeding areas and movement routes | Where lighting is needed, make it low-level and directional. |
| Bat box | Adds a possible shelter feature | Suitability depends on species and site; occupancy is not assured. |
Consider how these measures connect with existing hedges, trees, ponds and nearby green spaces. The Bat Conservation Trust’s account of why gardens matter for bats highlights the role of connected habitat. It also summarizes a study estimating that gardens make up 36% of Paris’s total green areas and up to 47.9% of bat habitat availability. Those figures refer specifically to Paris, not to gardens everywhere.
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What to expect—and what not to assume
Habitat changes make a garden more suitable; they cannot summon bats on demand. Whether bats use a garden depends on local species, available food and shelter, surrounding routes and conditions beyond your property. A box may remain unoccupied, and a garden may be used for feeding without bats roosting there.
Bat species and their needs vary by region. UK advice from the Bat Conservation Trust and RHS is useful for UK gardeners, but readers elsewhere should look to a local conservation organization for species-specific recommendations. Some bat species in other regions pollinate plants or disperse seeds; those are not typical benefits to claim for UK garden bats.
Bat protection and what to do if you find a roost
In England, bats and their breeding or resting places receive legal protection. Government guidance says it is unlawful to deliberately capture, injure or kill bats; damage or destroy a breeding or resting place; obstruct access to a resting or sheltering place; or intentionally or recklessly disturb a bat in a protected place. Do not handle bats or alter a place that may be an occupied roost.
If you are concerned about bats or a possible roost in a building in England, contact the National Bat Helpline, run by the Bat Conservation Trust, or consult the government guidance on bat protection and licences. Outside England, check the rules and expert advice that apply in your location.
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