Why build bat houses? Because bats are essential. They protect our crops, reduce use of pesticides that can cause cancer and dementia, and even help protect us from mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile. However, they are in alarming decline, often due to loss of natural roosts. ​Armed with this handy guide from Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation (MTBC), you can have fun helping both bats and your neighborhood. We summarize decades of discoveries by more than a dozen leading experts to provide step-by-step instructions and diagrams for their favorite designs. Some of their conclusions will surprise you. Whether you buy or build bat houses, your success will improve when using this guide. Follow our building advice or look for vendors who meet the high standards required to gain MTBC's Seal of Approval. And if you achieve exceptional success, or even unexplained failure, let us hear from you at MerlinTuttle.org. Most of all, enjoy your bats and share your experiences with friends and neighbors!

"Tuttle's account forever changes the way we see these poorly understood yet fascinating cratures." -- page 4 of cover.

Since 1994, this handbook has been the definitive source for bat house information. This new edition updates the original bat house plans and includes a new "rocket box" design, along with mounting suggestions, tips for experimentation, and more.

A pocket-size, brilliantly colorful, simple-to-use guide to bats, containing dozens of full-color photographs that enable readers of all ages to identify the most common species; range maps; tips on attracting and observing creatures in the wild; information on habitat needs, life cycle, food preferences; and much more.

This extravagantly illustrated handbook features the work of famed nature photographer Merlin D. Tuttle and in-depth profiles of megabats and microbats.

Texas has thirty-two bat species, more than any other state. Bats rank among the state's most beneficial and fascinating allies. The majority eat insects, with just one colony consuming billions in a single night. Others are essential pollinators of desert plants. No other group of Texas mammals is more diverse or important to the balance of nature. This guide, produced by Bat Conservation International and the Texas Parks and Wildlife department, includes descriptions of Texas's bats, photographs, and range maps. It will convince readers that the bats' fearsome reputation is greatly undeserved.

A fun book written by environmentalist and jack-of-all-trades, Brad Spacone. A how-to book that's interesting for any reader. Not only does he reveal easy to follow instructions on how to build a bat house, the author shares story vignettes of his life in Florida. Follow him as he tells about buying his dream home on a finger canal of the Cypress Creek.