PLANTS Plant a variety of native plants! Night-blooming plants that attract nighttime pollinators like moths are a bonus! Ask your local plant nursery to help you pick out specific plants. Oaks and hickory trees attract a lot of good insects for bats to eat and may serve as good roosting spots. Keep any dead trees that are not a hazard to humans. Many bats will use the dead trees as roosts!

LEAF LITTER Though you may be tempted in the fall to rake up all the fallen leaves, these are often roosts for bats like the eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis). Consider leaving areas of dead leaves in your yard.

WATER SOURCES Farm ponds, streams, and other water sources make great areas for bats to drink out of. Planting or keeping vegetation around streams, lakes, ponds and other water sources helps promote healthy insect populations. Bats eat many emerging aquatic insects such as mosquitoes, mayflies, stoneflies, and flies. 

PESTICIDES Limit, reduce, or eliminate the use of pesticides in gardens. The pesticides can reduce insect prey availability and diversity. Moreover, many pesticides can bioaccumulate in bats.

ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING Light pollution is a big concern for migratory bird species and it can be for bats as well! Limit the amount of light pollution in your yard.

SHELTER Having trees is a great way to provide shelter for bats. Bat houses can also be used if installed properly to reduce the chance of predation or other harm.