For best results in gaining occupants for your bat house, choose an area that is 60 feet or more from trees and within ¼ mile of a body of water such as creek, pond or lake.

When choosing a direction to face the house (in the continental U.S.) results show that southwest facing houses do better than those facing other directions.

The higher you place your house the better. Preferably 15 to 25 feet.

Putting up a bat house is the first step toward attracting bats. Many people inquire about purchasing bats for their bat house. Bats are a protected species and are considered public domain, which means that it is illegal to own, sell, or purchase bats.

Attracting a colony can take some time, and can be affected by many thing. The first consideration is the location of the house. Is it up high enough? Is it close enough to water? Are there adequate food sources nearby? The second consideration is temperature inside the house. If the average temperature is too hot or too cold or is inconsistent, bat colonies may not stay. By limiting or increasing the amount of sunlight a house receives in order to maintain a consistent warm temperature. Other factors that affect bat house occupation include the use of pesticides nearby, human activity, and lack of vegetation.