What do bats need?
Food
All British bats feed on insects, particularly those types that are active at dusk and during the night. In addition to moths, bats eat other insects, such as mosquitoes, midges and other flies, mayflies, some beetles, caddis flies, lacewings and other nocturnal insects. Bats mostly catch insects on the wing, using echo location to home in on their prey. They can sometimes be seen hunting around a light source where there is often a higher density of moths but the long term impacts of artificial lighting on wildlife (prey and predator) are not usually positive. Some bats will pick off insects that are resting on foliage.
Shelter
During the day, bats shelter in dark places (roosts), such as in hollow trees, roof spaces, under tiles and soffits, loose bark on trees, or in splits in the trunks and branches of trees. At different times of the year, bats will move between several resting places that are used as daytime roosts, maternity roosts where females give birth and nurse their young, and hibernation sites for the winter months.
Water
Some bats, such as Daubenton's bat, specialise in swooping low over ponds and other water bodies where they feed on insects such as adult caddis flies, mayflies and other insects with aquatic larvae.
Linear features
Linear features in the landscape, such as hedges and streams, are important for bats, both as feeding areas and navigation pathways that are used by bats as they travel between roosting sites and feeding areas.