It's summer, and you know what that means.......an abundance of nature's flying vermin--mosquitos!
Instead of buying a bug zapper, try building a GREEN, ENERGY EFFICIENT alternative: a bat house!
Bats are mother nature's insecticide, and a single brown bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitos an hour! (http://www.eparks.org/wildlife_protection/wildlife_facts/bats/bat_house.asp). Additionally, bats are an essential part of a healthy ecosystem, and their populations have diminished in recent times due to deforestation and loss of habitat. Lastly, bats are just cool.
Bat houses come in a myriad of shapes and sizes, but I decided to build the most simple version I could find. This is a Single Chamber bat house, and can hold up to 50 bats. This design was based off of the plans from eparks.org (link above), and I need to give credit to good friends of mine, the Warren clan for inspiring me to build one, and for tips and advice.
Instead of buying a bug zapper, try building a GREEN, ENERGY EFFICIENT alternative: a bat house!
Bats are mother nature's insecticide, and a single brown bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitos an hour! (http://www.eparks.org/wildlife_protection/wildlife_facts/bats/bat_house.asp). Additionally, bats are an essential part of a healthy ecosystem, and their populations have diminished in recent times due to deforestation and loss of habitat. Lastly, bats are just cool.
Bat houses come in a myriad of shapes and sizes, but I decided to build the most simple version I could find. This is a Single Chamber bat house, and can hold up to 50 bats. This design was based off of the plans from eparks.org (link above), and I need to give credit to good friends of mine, the Warren clan for inspiring me to build one, and for tips and advice.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Supplies and Materials
This is a fairly simple build, but you will need some hardware:
The size of your bat house can vary, depending on the amount of wood you have available. Use these measurements as an approximation if your supplies are lacking.
The size of your bat house can vary, depending on the amount of wood you have available. Use these measurements as an approximation if your supplies are lacking.
-
1/2'' or 3/4'' outdoor grade plywood (or whatever you have)
- 26.5'' x 24'' -- the backboard
- 16.5'' x 24''
- 5'' x 24''
- 1'' x 21.5'' (two)
- 1'' x 22''
- 1'' screws
- exterior (water based!) staining or sealant
- caulk
- black spray paint and tape (optional-for decaling)
- shingles, galvanized metal sheet, or left over wood for a roof (optional)
-
saw
- miter saw
- table saw
- hand saw (if don't have a miter saw or table saw)
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
I know bats can get into some tight spaces, but do you think 1/2 to 3/4" is wide enough for them to nest?
I've seen other designs that look like there is about 1-1/2" to 2-1/2" inside.
If I remember correctly for instance in the Memphis, TN area Mexican Free Tail and Small Brown Bats are common and he suggested 1/2 to 3/4 inch openings were best.
I designed a few years ago a multi-layered bat house that incorporated different size openings to give the best advantage for occupancy.
You can go with a latex house paint but leave the interior plain. Check with your local extension agent or someone in the area familiar with bats to determine if a color is needed.
I suggest if possible let the wood age naturally. Bats often nest in dead trees or areas under the flaps of bark.
The grooves are great and it has a good size and landing area. The depth is important since the bats need to be able to stay away from predators.
I would suggest adding another layer on the interior. It should be open below the roof allowing the bats to move across the top of the divider. This gives them the ability to move from front to back depending on the temperature. They don't need much space between the layers since they like tight places.
The open area at the top below the roof is also beneficial for raising young.
This location has some good information. http://www.maberrybat.com/index.php?module=Pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=5&pid=2
I'm referring to an open area below the existing roof.
The box is slightly thicker with center dividers or additional panels. The panels would not go all the way to the top allowing an open area below the existing roof. This allows an area just below the roof on the interior where the bats can raise young.
This also allows the bats to move across the top of the panels front to back or back to front depending on the temperature.
When the baby bats are there, is a great temperature inside the house and with this heat, the synthetic glues and polymers used to build up this "wood" generate gas who kill the bats. They are really sensitives to synthetic materials... The best what you can do with this house, is to burn it up, and build new one with natural, untreated wood. The unique material what you can use as a wood conservative is some vegetable (NOT MINERAL) oil. And also the same for the paint and sealants!
I continue loking for it. And If I find, I will inform... ;)
There is no real need for interior sealing.
Exterior sealant should also be water-based, same reason.
I built 3 two years ago, one I did not seal, the other 2 I sprayed.
Still waiting on bats to move into the 2 I sealed.
Good Instructable and good design. Thanks for a couple of good tips!
There are no street lights around to attract huge numbers of bugs, and I seldom see bats in the area, so that may be one reason.
Also, I would not attach it to the house wall anywhere else. the bats poop as they fly into the house, and there would be bat guano on the wall of the house for several square feet under the bat house.
It definitely should go on a pole away from the house.
Nice design. My husband built his several chambers deep, and it works well, even though it is on the northside of the house.
Another word of warning, if you build a bat house to attract bats to your area, they may also take up residence in your eaves, if there is any crack in them. Also they lived in our wood stove chimneys, so you would need to put a small mesh wire over the top of your chimney.
Just asking here, might it be better to leave the inside bare? The reason I ask is am worried that some chemicals used for finishing wood could hurt our lil skeeter eating friends.
If you live in the UK a criminal offence to damage or disturb a bat roost
cavehouse is good to place it at a minimum of 100feets of the nearest house. They prefeer a quiet life...