Replies

1. 
   sinsin | Mar 06, 2009 01:21am | #1

   Be careful on placement - - they can be dirtier than a flock of seaguls.

2. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Mar 06, 2009 03:17am | #2

   door,

   We have had one mounted near the peak on the gable end of our horsebarn for nearly 10 years now.  It's made of white oak and we never painted it.  Don't paint the inside or it will be vacant, bats don't like paint or so I'm told.  For this reason, and that it's made of white oak I decided not to paint any of it.

   It has held up well with no visible signs of rot.  It is protected by the eaves so that may have something to do with it.  I copied the one we have from one a farmer has up the road a piece so not sure how particular the dimensions have to be.  Can't remember but Alby (the farmer) said the opening in the bottome had to be just the right size so I copied his.  Don't remember what it was but will measure for you if you like.

   Their most feared predator is an owl I'm told.  No I don't talk to them.  :-)

   Let me know if I can help,

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

3. 
   Eef | Mar 06, 2009 04:06am | #3

   door,
   the little i know about bat houses is sad. i have a friend who is way into bats. he tells me that the specs for construction are species specific and must be precise. this would lead one to believe that one must be in the know about what types of bats are in one's area. this is easily gleaned info and probably a good place to start.
   bats are wonderful and important. i camp in the low desert of southern california during summer and there are several lovely species there. i enjoy when they fly right up to my face in pursuit of insects. very thrilling!
   best of luck with you endeavor, i applaud your desire to accomadate bats.
   eef

4. 
   rhagenstein | Mar 06, 2009 04:10am | #4

   I made some several years ago to give as gifts.  I don't remember much about the design.  I think most were installed on trees up 15-20 feet.

   the key design element which really made the whole thing work was making a stencil of the Batman logo and painting it on the front.  Not sure if it helped or hindered the accomodation of bats, but it looked great.

   Randy

5. 
   bones | Mar 06, 2009 04:21am | #5

   We made them for a boy scouts and they were cool.  They eat a ton of bugs quite handy fellows.  There is a preferred design. I cant remember off the top of my head but the entrance was very small.  It has the similar design to a bluebird house as far as width .vs. height but the entrance is on the bottom.  The inside of the rear wall is grooved for them to grasp onto. I think it was 1/4".  I remember as a kid going out in the yard where there was one of those dusk to dawn lights.  Bats love those because of bugs.  We would take a pop can a put a few pebbles in toss the can strait up and watch the bats follow the can down.  I'll go back and look through my old scout stuff and see If I still have it.  My son's in college now, so it would be in a box somewhere.  I went to the cubscout site and did a quick search and could not find anything. 

   Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
   If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
   And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
   
6. 
   forestgirl | Mar 06, 2009 05:27am | #6

   Have you perused Bat Conservation International?  I would think they'd have definitive info.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
7. 
   bill5335 | Mar 06, 2009 05:32am | #7

   I found bat house plans (and many others) from the book "Woodworking for Wildlife"

    

   http://www.amazon.com/Woodworking-Wildlife-Homes-Birds-Mammals/dp/078812319X

   I'm not sure if the bats use it or not.

    

   Bill

8. 
   MikeHennessy | Mar 06, 2009 03:00pm | #8

   I love bats, and once considered building a bat house. I learned they need to be in a spot where they can be warmed by the sun (some bat houses are painted black on the outside to improve solar heat gain) and, oddly enough, located within some particular distance (I forget the exact distance) of running water. That last requirement foiled my own plans. (A neighbor tried anyway and, sadly, acquired no tenants.)

   So, prior to building a house for 'em, you may want to investigate whether your planned location is within their preferred habitat.

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

9. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Mar 07, 2009 04:45am | #9

   I built several from sketches provided by http://www.batconservation.org/ .   I made them from T111 plywood.  The bats seem to like them just fine.

10. 
    HoustonsProblem | Mar 07, 2009 06:19pm | #10

    http://www.batmanagement.com has some good info, plans, kits, etc.

    They are very practical people.

    
    

    ---

    Edited 3/7/2009 10:22 am ET by HoustonsProblem

11. 
    Rehabhog | Mar 09, 2009 03:14am | #11

    For some time now, I've had the impression of living in a bat house. I found squeeze bats while renovating  my old house. It was a lot of fun walking on timbers while having two furious bats flying around me.

    What I've observed while discovering them in the walls is that they squeeze into very narrow areas to stay warm. They were in between planks of about no more than 3/4''. Hope this will help you in your design.

     

    Rehab.

     

    Knowledge: So hard to acquire but often given away freely... Beautiful.

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Mar 09, 2009 04:29am | #12

   Rehab,

   For some time now, I've had the impression of living in a bat house.

   Man, does that ring a bell.  When we moved into our current home, there was an abandoned church right acroos the street that was full of bats.  Every night during good weather they would come out for dinner.  There's also a brook that runs on two sides of the property so is a good environment for bats.

   We also had bats up over the ceiling on the second floor in part of the house.  We could hear them when they went out and came back.  Since then the church was taken down and we have only seen bats around the bathouse on the horse barn.

   Aint seen many mosquitoes either.

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   GordoP | Mar 09, 2009 07:04am | #13

   Interesting thread! I'm a "BatFan". We live on 20 acres of Woodland Resource - quite heavily populated with Madrone, Doug Fir, Pine ...and bats every evening at dusk. We are a mile from running water (Nov thru June) and we normally go through Jul Aug and Sep without rainfall. During those summer months I'm not aware of any "running water" unless it is a water sprinkler, miles away. Someone mentioned that bat houses be located near running water :-). I mounted a commercially produced natural (unfinished) wood house on a pine, about 20' up, about 12 years ago - so far, no customers! I did notice one asleep on a joist of my shop roof overhang (about nine feet off the ground). I was air-nailing (including compressor noise) soffit boards on those joists at a distance of six feet, when I noticed it. Sound Sleeper!!! Nervous carpenter!!!Considered finishing that spot after dark; when my "neighbor" was out for dinner.Gordo Noted "bat-management.com Is that as effective as ocean-wave-management.com?