Microbats in the garden, and why you want them

March 16, 2025

You're out the back at dusk with a cup of tea, having a look at how everything's gone in the heat, and something small flicks past you in the half light and it isn't a bird. It's a bat, and the first thing worth saying is that it's almost certainly a microbat, which is the kind we get around here, and the second thing worth saying is that it's on your side.

What a microbat actually does for you

Microbats eat insects and not much else. They work the air over a garden at dusk and through the night, taking moths, beetles, mosquitoes and whatever else is flying, and the moths are the part that matters to a vegetable grower, because a moth laying eggs tonight is a caterpillar chewing through your brassicas next week.

So a garden that microbats are working over is a garden with a bit less pressure on it, and that means fewer reasons to reach for a spray. That's the whole benefit, and it's a real one.

Two things that get said about bats that are not true here

The first is that bats pollinate your garden. Some bats do, and they're the big fruit and nectar feeders, the flying foxes, and they are not the ones flying over a backyard in Strathalbyn at night looking for a feed. The bat you're watching has no interest in your flowers at all. Your pollinators are the bees, and the native ones are worth knowing about.

The second is that you can collect the droppings and use them as a fertiliser. Guano is genuinely a fertiliser where it builds up in a cave over centuries. What lands under a microbat roost in a suburban roof is not that, there is hardly any of it, and it isn't something you want to be handling anyway. Feed your soil with compost and a decent fertiliser instead, which you were going to do regardless.

Never handle a bat. This bit matters

Australian bats can carry Australian bat lyssavirus, which is closely related to rabies and is passed on through a bite or a scratch. It is rare and it is also extremely serious, so the rule is simple and it has no exceptions in it: do not touch a bat, alive or dead, however sorry you feel for it. A bat on the ground in daylight, or one caught up in netting, is exactly the one most likely to be sick.

If you find one that's injured or grounded, leave it where it is and ring a wildlife rescue group so somebody vaccinated and trained can come and deal with it. If you are bitten or scratched, wash the wound with soap and running water for several minutes and see a doctor the same day. Tell your kids the rule too, because a bat on the lawn is exactly the sort of thing a curious kid picks up.

How to make a garden they will use

Grow flowers, for the insects. You're not feeding the bats directly, you're feeding the moths and beetles they eat. A patch of mixed flowering annuals through the garden does it.
Go easy on the sprays. Knock the insect population flat and there's nothing for a bat to come for. This is the one that actually decides whether they bother with your place.
Leave a water source. A bird bath or a shallow dish topped up in the hot months gets used by a lot more than birds.
Leave the old trees alone where you can. Hollows and loose bark are where microbats roost, and a dead limb that isn't over anything is worth more standing than it is in the green bin.
Put up a bat box if you feel like a project. They want it high, warm and facing away from the worst of the afternoon sun, and the plans are easy enough to find.

If you want to have a go at the box, we're not going to sell you one because we don't carry them, but we can cut the timber to length on the saw bench and sort you out the screws and the outdoor-grade glue while you're in.

I like having them about. There's something quite good about standing there in the dark knowing that something is out working the night shift on the moths so I don't have to.

Shop related products

D.T Brown Cottage Garden Mixture Seed Pack. A mixed flowering patch is what brings the insects in.
D.T Brown Sunflower Seed Pack. Easy, tall and full of insect life all summer.
Brunnings Garden Compost with Seaweed 25L. Feed the soil properly rather than chasing guano.
Martins Organic Sugar Cane Bale 11kg. Mulch keeps the soil life going, and soil life feeds everything above it.

Did you know we also carry treated pine, outdoor screws and exterior glue in store for a project like a bat box, and the saw bench will cut your timber to length while you wait. Give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 or come in and we'll work out what you need.

The rest of the garden range is on the website, and the garden centre is worth a wander when you're in.