The farm needs to be as diverse as possible, both in cultivated and wild species. Bats are a crucial part of the local ecosystem and they provide numerous important services.

While bat boxes are easy to build and could be mounted on the side of the barn, I have a bigger idea.

The tall silo attached to the barn, also endearingly called a “bankruptcy tube” by some in the agricultural community, could be renovated into bat habitat. With a large enough population, I could even harvest the bat manure (guano) from the bottom of the silo to fertilize the pasture. From the linked article:

According to the NPK of bat guano, its concentration ingredients are 10-3-1

Turning pest bugs into usable, nutrient filled biomass sounds like a win-win-win to me.

I have no idea if this is viable, but I have contacted a few relevant organizations to see if anyone is willing to work with me. If you have any suggestions on how to tackle this, please let me know!