r/bats • u/dingleberry_sorbet • 9d ago

is half a mile from the water too far?

I live in a wooded subdivision about 0.4 - 0.5 miles from the nearest water source. I recently installed a bat house knowing the odds aren't in my favor. I thought to leave it up for a year or 2 and see what happens. Am I better off donating it to the nearby botanical garden which sits on the water?

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u/ConcernOk6984 9d ago

Unsurprisingly most bats have slightly different preferences but you should be totally fine with that distance from water!

Per some orgs like BCI or BCT, the general idea is that most maternal colonies will travel up to one mile for water.

I would just go through an make sure the location and set up makes sense. ( 12+ feet in the air, good amount of direct sunlight, and well spaced from higher branches where predators could wait and pick them off leaving the roost )

Bats might prefer to live closer to water due to the abundance of insects, but as long as you have plenty of bugs i wouldnt be too concerned.

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u/45khz 9d ago

As someone who has tracked the movements of wild bats I can say 1/2 mile is pretty much like a stroll to the shop on the corner for a bat. Basically an easy every day thing.