Plant native herbaceous and woody plants to support diverse populations of arthropods. Adding native plants to your garden will support not only night-flying bats, but also birds, and of course the pollinators themselves. Insectivorous bats largely consume moths, beetles, and flies. When planting trees, choose oaks and other native species, which have higher insect diversity than non-native trees. Check out the book Gardening for Moths and the Illinois Pollinators website for ideas.

An old oak tree will support a diverse insect population.

Look for ways to enhance habitat for bats in continuous tracts of forest. In many cities, these forests will be concentrated along waterways, which are important foraging and drinking sites for bats. Unfortunately, many forest patches are choked with invasive bushy shrubs like autumn olive, bush honeysuckle, and privet, or vines like honeysuckle, kudzu, and wintercreeper. Organize a team and commit to freeing up the understory and midstory in these forest patches, then plant native species. This will be a significant amount of work, no doubt, but bats and many other wildlife species will reap the rewards. Removing invasives allows bats to comfortably maneuver below the subcanopy space and is the first step towards restoring plant and insect diversity in the forest. This should also allow native trees to take root, creating future roosting and foraging habitat for bats.

Invasive bush honeysuckle in an urban setting.

Adventurous people with access to large tracts of forest could experiment with creating bat habitat, though a diverse forest will already have plenty of nooks and crannies for bats. Intentionally carving hollows in large live and dead trees is effective for creating suitable roosting habitat, offering bats more stable temperatures than bat boxes. If your forest hosts dead trees, keep them around. You can create more dead trees by girdling a few live trees by chainsaw, a method best applied in areas where dead trees won’t pose a safety hazard.

Two trees intentionally girdled by chainsaw, which will kill the trees and create potential roosting habitat for bats and other wildlife.

Simple methods to help bats that anyone can implement include turning off outdoor lights when not in use, reducing or eliminating pesticides and herbicides in the garden, and conserving energy to reduce reliance on energy sources that cause direct or indirect harm to bats.

Ideally, bats will be able to forage under dark skies like this one.