On May 30, 2015, in the evening, my husband put our bat house up. My sister and her family gave it to me for my birthday.
I have long loved bats and mourned when the Seattle zoo closed the Night House and sent the bats to other zoos and refuges. Having bats in your yard and neighborhood offers much for developing a sustainable yard. Bats eat vast numbers of insects, including mosquitos and as well as plant-damaging pests, every night. But they do far more than just eat pests: they pollinate certain plants, and the fruit-eating species spread seeds.
Since our bat house is newly up, no bats are yet living in it. I have heard that it's tricky to lure bats to take up residence before bees or wasps move in. I've spread bat guano fertilizer under the bat house and plan to go get a night flower plant or two to place underneath to encourage them to come hither!