The Best Bat House Poles & How To Mount Them

Buying the perfect bat box or bat house is only the first step towards attracting bats to your property.

The next step is to find yourself the best bat house pole that fits your needs.

You’re probably wondering, “why do I need a bat house pole? Can’t I just mount it on a tree or building?”

While you could definitely do that, it’s not ideal. Keep reading to find out why you need a bat house pole, what the best bat house poles all have in common, and how to mount your newly bought bat box pole. We’ll also show you how to build a DIY bat house pole for all you crafty folks out there.

Why do you need a bat house pole

As we’ve discussed in our guide on ideal bat house placement, there are a few elements you have to keep in mind when mounting your bat boxes:

• Near a water source, but at least 20 feet from the shoreline.
• At least 20 feet away from the nearest tree line or large freestanding tree
• Facing southeast or southwest where it’ll get 6-8 hours of direct sunlight
• 15-20 feet off the ground
• On a pole, post, or building

Why not mount it on a tree? Two reasons: (1) trees usually provide too much shade for the bat box and (2) trees attract predators.

So, given these ideal mounting guidelines, if you happen to own a building that fits these criteria – that’s perfect. However, most people won’t be that lucky. Me included.

Most of us need to buy a bat pole or post to be able to mount their bat box somewhere that’ll actually attract bats.

What to look for in a bat house pole

There are a few things that make a bat house pole exceptional.

First, it needs to be tall enough to allow your bat box to be mounted 15-20 feet off the ground.

Secondly, it needs to allow you to easily take down the bat house for annual maintenance or to scare away pests that have made your bat box their home. Some bat poles are oscillating which make it easy to adjust the height and take off the mounted bat box. Other bat posts are on a hinge that allow you to tip it over for quick and easy access.

And lastly, it needs to be made of a material that’ll last. Metal or wood is going to be your best bet. Plastic poles are usually too light or easily damaged to last long enough.

The best bat house poles on the market

After hours of extensive research, we’ve found the best bat house poles on the market.

Telescoping Bat House Pole

This is our number one choice when it comes to high-quality, easy to use bat house poles. Here’s the feature list that makes this the ideal product:

• A telescoping pole means you can easily adjust the height of the pole, making maintenance easy.
• Built out of aluminum which makes it lightweight enough to easily mount but durable enough to stand up to mother nature and last quite a long time.
• Comes with a ground socket that provides even more stability when you install it and also allows you to remove the main pole whenever you’d like.

The instructions on how to mount this bat pole are straightforward and they recommend setting the pole in concrete to provide the best stability.

Check out this bat pole on Amazon.

Easy-Up “Swivel Pole Bracket”

If a telescoping pole isn’t your thing, check out these bat house pole brackets.

While you’ll still need to buy a post or a pipe from a store like Home Depot or Lowes, these brackets allow for easy access to the bat house. This store carries many different type of brackets, but our favorite is the Easy-Up swivel pole bracket. It’s easy to install and easy to use.

Checkout their guide on how to use this bracket to see just how easy it is.

Royal Wing Telescoping Pole

Another telescoping pole.

This one is specifically designed for purple martin houses but can definitely be retrofitted to mount a bat house box. This is the perfect pole to buy for those of you who don’t like ordering things online as you can get this from one of their brick-and-mortar stores.

It’s built with aircraft-grade aluminum to provide lightweightness and durability.

A DIY bat house pole

If you want to save a little bit of money or if you built your own bat house and want to continue that trend, consider building a DIY bat house post.

To build your own bat house pole you’ll need a 15-20ft 4×4 or 6×6 post that you can buy from most big box hardware stores, a post protector to increase the longevity of your post, and some mixing cement.

Dig a hole big enough and deep enough to secure your post. Make sure the post is straight up and down with a level. Pour the cement into the hole and wait for it to cure.

The only downside to building this kind of post is that you’ll need a ladder to reach your bat box for yearly maintenance.

For more in-depth instructions on building a DIY bat house, check out these instructions.

How to mount a bat house on a pole

Most commercial bat house poles or posts will come with mounting brackets and instructions on how to attach a bat house to the pole.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is to make sure that no screw tips go into the roosting area of the bat box, this would be a hazard to any roosting bats.