The City of Irving has five bat houses installed through a Boy Scout Eagle project and with the support and guidance of the Green Advisory Board, a City Council-appointed board comprised of 15 Irving citizens. The goals of the bat houses are to help reduce mosquito population and help improve pollination of local plants.
The single chamber bat houses, located along a trail in the city's Mountain Creek Preserve, are designed to attract the Eastern Pipistrelle bat, also known as the Tri-Colored bat. This small but efficient bat is located in the North Central Texas area. It’s reddish, yellowish and brownish in color and is one of the smallest bats in eastern North America. The forearms are orange to red, and the wing membrane is black. Adults weigh between 4 and 10 grams and reach a forearm length of 30 to 35 millimeters. They are easily distinguished from other similar species by their tri-colored fur.
The Eastern Pipistrelle eats small insects and hunts at the edges of forests, near streams or over open water. It can achieve a speed of about 18 kilometers per hour. When the pipistrelles capture food, they use the tail or wing membranes to restrain their prey.