Did you know that a single bat can kill a thousand insects in a night? They also help pollinate plants and spread seeds. Many people fear bats because of horror films and stories but they’re actually cute and gentle creatures. On the other hand, there are other people who keep bats as pets. And if you’re interested in how to keep them, then, here’s how to build a home for them.
I. Single-chamber bat house
A. Gather up tools and materials:
• 2 5.5”-6” cedar slats
• 1 cedar 1 by 2”
• 1 piece of 4 by 4” plywood
• silicon caulk
• plastic mesh
• sander/sand paper
• exterior grade wood finish
• staple gun
• screws
• saw
B. Instructions:
Step 1. Start cutting the plywood that you’re going to use for the back side of the bat house. You can use a surface planer to clean up one face of the cedar boards or a sander if you have one. If not, a sandpaper can do the job.
Step 2. After cutting the roof and the face or slats, cut the 1 by 2’s cedar for the sides and cut one end on each board to 10° to set the roof at an angle. Cut that same angle on one edge of the roof as well as one edge of the top slat. You can use a handheld circular saw and straight edge if you don’t have a table saw.
Step 3. Bats are not going to be able to climb and hang from the bare wood very easily, so you need a plastic mesh. Make sure you cover as much space with the plastic mesh as much as possible, but also leave room for all the pieces to go together.
Step 4. Once you get the inside of your pieces lined with mesh, you can now put everything together. You can use silicone caulk to join the boards to keep the water out. This helps the bats stay warm and dry. The eighth inch gap between the bottom slat is so that air can move throughout the chamber and keep all the bats comfortable. Trim the sides before you attach the plywood.
Step 5. Position the back so that there was about an inch of plywood above the roof and then a 6 to 9-inch landing pad below the house. That way the bats have somewhere to climb in. Make sure to use a lot of caulk around the roof. So that, there would be no water getting in.
Step 6. Cut a 3/4-inch-thick strip of wood. It is a predator guard. It keeps bigger animals out of the bat house and it’s just big enough so that the bats can get in.
Step 7. Use an exterior grade finish and splatter it all over the plywood.
Once the finish is cured, the bat house is done. All you have to do is hang this bat house on your house around 12 feet high to keep away from predators in a spot where it gets at least 6 hours of sunlight a day to keep the bats warm.
II. Adding additional chamber
If you want multiple chambers, just redo all the instructions above except the back-side part. You can use nail or glue to install the additional chamber.
III. Building a rocket box wooden bat house
A. Materials and tools:
• Four 36” boards
• 12-18 feet 4×4 post
• two boards for roof
• screws
• waterproof glue.
B. Instructions:
Step 1. Preparing the post
a. Carve out notches on all sides. Roughen it up for the bats gets a better grip. Chip the rooftop angles for the two roof boards. Keep in mind the 45° cutoffs on top.
b. Install the chipped pieces onto the flat parts of the post with glues and screws. Spread the chips. It’ll be use as mounting blocks.
Step 2. Preparing the side boards and the roof
a. Create a square around the post by trimming the side boards to proper width. Keep the mounting blocks in mind.
b. Screw all three sides together.
c. Add the fourth board after you insert the post and screw into the mounting blocks.
d. Install the roof boards to the top.
Step 3. Finishing and Installation of the post
a. Splatter a non-toxic finish.
b. Place the post 3 feet into the concrete floor to your desired location.
Note: Pre-drill all holes. This helps avoid cracking. Paint the interior black. Use a flat exterior latex paint. Do not use pressure treated wood.
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