DATE:     10/12/00
WRITERS:  Candace Cummings, Clemson Extension wildlife associate 
          (864) 656-7146
          Karen Russ, Clemson Extension Home and Garden Information
          specialist, (864) 656-9999
EDITOR:   Giles Singleton, (864) 656-3876

Bats and Gothic Gardening
for Halloween

     CLEMSON -- This Halloween, decorate your garden with 
gothic accents and attract bats to add the finishing touch.
     Since Halloween is fast approaching, you can instantly 
transform your existing garden with accessories. Gargoyles, 
originally created to ward off evil spirits, are perfect 
accessories for any Halloween garden. You can even find 
gargoyle feet to place at the foot of a pot you have. Another 
excellent accessory is a moondial. In addition, you can add 
an iron fence panel or gate, concrete urns, and any decorative 
concrete or metalware that makes you feel spooky.
     Metal candleholders, like a frog that glows through 
its spots, shed creepy shadows. Set some jack-o'-lanterns 
and some white pumpkins like  "Casper" and "Boo" -- in 
strategic places. Wire baskets can become witches' 
cauldrons.
     You cannot have a true Halloween garden without some 
creepy creatures. The first creature to come to mind, of 
course, is the bat. Bats are important in nature, and are 
the crowning touch for a Halloween garden.
     Always remember never to touch a bat with bare hands. 
No matter how cute they are, bats are very susceptible to 
rabies.
     To increase the bat population around your house, there 
are two basic things you can do: First, provide roosting 
areas for bats. Second, grow plants that attract night-flying 
insects. You can build your own bat roost, or there are 
several sorts available at garden centers.
     The most commonly found bat house holds about a dozen 
bats. Male bats, due to the cooler temperature, prefer its 
single, narrow, bottomless chamber.
     The bat condo has four chambers, and appeals more to 
female bats and their young, who prefer a higher temperature
environment. The condo will house between 30 and 50 bats. 
It also is bottomless.
     The bat mansion has five chambers and an attic, which 
will house up to 150 bats. Bats can move up and down inside 
the house to the most comfortable temperature.
     If you prefer to make your own bat roost, plans are 
available from Clemson Extension at: 
ttp://www.clemson.edu/psapublishing/Pages/AFW/IL45.pdf . Other
plans for making bat houses are also available. 
     Whatever plans you choose, it is important to use rough-
cut lumber and turn the rough sides inward. The grooves on 
the inside help bats to climb and roost. Place the bat house 
near a water source, or provide one that is protected from 
cats.
     Hang the house 12-15 feet above ground on a pole in an 
area that gets seven hours of sun.
     Don't be discouraged if you don't attract bats right 
away. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of time before a bat 
population will establish itself in an area, but once the 
bats come, they usually return. Having bats already roosting 
nearby and hanging the house by early April increase the 
chances of a bat house being occupied. 
     Plants that should be in a bat garden include: salvia, 
campion, phlox, stock, cornflower, and spearmint. These 
plants attract the night flying insects the bats feed 
upon.
     Other creepy creatures you might want to encourage 
are the praying mantis, ladybugs, dragonflies, toads and 
spiders. 
     If you like the idea of a Halloween garden, you could 
plan for a night garden next year.  At night, plants all 
look black, so starting is easy. Since white glows in 
moonlight, you could choose plants that have white 
blooms.
     Moonflowers, four o'clocks and vesper iris, which 
become spirally twisted after flowering, are possibilities.
     Many plants will have flowers open during the day, 
but they don't release their scent until evening. Some 
examples are perfumed fairy lily, night gladiolus, and 
tuberose. 
     Dictamnus, also known as the gas plant, is of interest. 
At night, if you hold a match to the plant, either the 
plant glows with a blue flame--that doesn't harm it--or 
the flowers burn with an orange flame and release the smell 
of lemon into the air. 
               *********************************
     If you have gardening questions or comments, write to 
PSA Media Relations, A-101 Poole Agricultural Center, 
Clemson University, Clemson, S.C. 29634-0129. Find other 
Buds and Blooms columns at: http://www.clemson.edu/psamedia .  
                      END