Best Wood to Use for a Bat House
At first glance, bat house building might seem like an ultra-simple proposition. Afterwards, all, bat houses look quite basic from the exterior! The good news is that it'south very easy to put together a DIY bat house, so long as you lot include some crucial elements to assistance keep your winged guests comfortable and rubber. Let's get started! In just a few moments, yous'll know exactly how to build a bat firm.
DIY Bat House Plans vs. Bat House Kit Setups
Co-ordinate to Bat Conservation International, about commercial bat house kits are unsuitable for habitation. While these kits often look dainty, many are poorly synthetic or come with inadequate instructions. There are a few good kits on the market though, mostly from conservation groups and others with years of expertise in building bat houses.
Some of the nigh common problems with bat house kits include:
- Chambers are too small
- Smooth interior crevices rather than rough ones
- Screening that can rust and autumn off with use
- Bereft or missing landing plates
- Unprotected roofs that leak and/or preclude heat retention
- Unprotected exteriors (even cedar warps somewhen). Bats tend to dislike roosts finished with Kilz brand paint and primer; choose a unlike brand
- Completely closed bottom that encourages parasite buildup
- The use of salvaged lumber with potential contaminants
- If you have basic tools, access to uncomplicated building supplies such as plywood, and a little bit of time on your hands, you'll discover that information technology's cheaper to build your own bat house – and it's near as easy as putting a kit together.
Essential Tools
If you don't have the essential power tools on hand, you may be able to hire them from your local hardware shop.
- Table saw or handsaw
- Circular saw
- Drill
- Paintbrushes
- Record measure
- Caulking gun
- Hammer
- Tinsnips if using galvanized covering
Essential Materials
We plant this materials list and instructions for a single-sleeping room bat firm at BCI.
- ane/four sheet (2'x 4′) i/two″ AC, BC, or T1-11 (outdoor grade) plywood. Do not use pressure treated wood when edifice a bat house.
- One piece 3/4″ 10 1 1/ii″ 10 eight′ pine for utilize as a furring strip
- I 1" x iv" x28" board for roof
- twenty-30 1 i/4″ coated deck or exterior-course Phillips screws
- I pint dark, h2o-based stain, exterior-grade
- One pint h2o-based primer, exterior-grade
- One quart flat water-based paint or stain, exterior-class
- Ane tube paintable latex caulk
- 1″ ten 3″ 10 28″ board for roof (optional, but highly recommended)
- Black asphalt shingles or galvanized metal
- six-10 7/8″ roofing nails (optional)
Building the Bat House
i. Measure the plywood, and and so cut it to the following dimensions using the tabular array saw, round saw, or handsaw: 26 ½" x 24" (back), 16 ½" x 24" (upper front end) and v" x 24" (lower front).
2. With the round saw set at 1/32" to 1/xvi", cutting grooves into one side of each of the three plywood pieces. These grooves should be 1/4" apart, and they should cover the unabridged surface of the plywood. This step is very important, as the bats will use these grooves to state on the base of operations, climb upward the interior, and cling to their roosting spots.
3. Apply 2 coats of the night-colored h2o-based stain to the grooved inner surfaces y'all just finished cutting. Exist certain not to skip this step. Bats prefer dark interiors!
4. Cut the furring strip into iii pieces: cut 2 20-ane/2" pieces and one 24" piece
five. Lay the largest piece of plywood flat, with the grooved, dark-stained surface facing up. The furring strips will be sandwiched between this piece and the two other pieces of plywood. This creates a ¾" deep bedroom for the bats to snuggle into.
half-dozen. Utilise caulk to the 24" furring strip and lay information technology flat on the upper (24") finish of the plywood.
7. Apply caulk to the 20-1/2" furring strip pieces. Position them on the sides of the plywood, leaving a ½" gap between them and the upper furring strip department. These gaps provide ventilation.
8. Let the caulk on the furring strips dry for about 20 minutes before proceeding with the side by side step.
nine. Employ caulk to the furring strip faces.
10. Lay the 16 ½" 10 24" (front end) piece of plywood on top of the furring strips with the grooves facing the within of the bat house. Friction match ane 24" border with the upper edges of the upper furring strip and the bat house dorsum.
11. Lay the 5" ten 24" (lower front) piece of plywood on top of the furring strips with the grooves facing the inside of the bat house. Leave a ½ inch gap between the elevation of this piece and the lesser of the 16 ½" x 24" (forepart) piece. This creates a vent.
12. The lower grooved section of the bat house back should still be exposed. This is the landing area.
13. Give the caulk a piffling time to dry (most 20 minutes).
xiv. With the drill and an appropriate driver, use the deck screws to firmly attach the front pieces to the back pieces, going all the way through the furring strips.
xv. Now that your bat house is mostly assembled, it's time to employ caulking to the exterior seams. Give the caulking plenty of time to dry (at to the lowest degree 30 minutes) before moving on to the side by side step.
16. Attach the board to the superlative of the bat house with nails or screws. Caulk all around the edges and let the caulk dry for nearly 30 minutes.
17. Utilize covering nails to attach your chosen roofing material to the top board.
18. Prime and finish the front, dorsum, and sides of the bat house. Allow the finishes to dry completely.
19. Mount the bat business firm on the southward or east side of a edifice, at to the lowest degree 12 anxiety off the footing.
How Much Time Does It Take to Build a Bat Business firm?
Await to spend six to eight hours edifice a bat house, plus time for your chosen finishes to dry. Mounting a bat house takes an boilerplate of xx minutes.
What is the Average Cost of Building a Bat House?
With these simple supplies, you lot can build a bat nest for less than $l.
How to Attract Bats to a Bat Business firm
Bat firm blueprint and placement play major roles in determining whether bats will exist attracted to the structures we provide them with. As you're determining which bat house design is all-time for you, go on the following factors in mind.
one. The type of mount to employ depends largely on your climate. In moderate to hot areas where there is little variation between daytime and nighttime temperatures, bats tend to take houses mounted on poles. Where night and day temperatures vary by more than a few degrees, virtually bat species adopt to roost in houses mounted on buildings or other large structures.
ii. Try to position your bat business firm and so that the base is between 12 and 20 feet from the basis, or the tallest vegetation underneath the bat house.
3. Bats need open up areas to wing into. They are attracted to houses positioned about 20 to xxx feet from the nearest trees.
4. Many photos show bat nests mounted to trees. This looks breathtaking and comfortable to us, but information technology isn't the best bat house location. Unfortunately, bats don't like to use these houses because they don't get enough lord's day. When determining bat house placement, try to choose an surface area that receives at least six hours of full sun daily. Positions facing southward or east are best.
5. A unmarried Little Brown Bat eats an boilerplate of 1,000 mosquitos per dark, and larger species swallow even more bugs. Considering these insects thrive effectually water, information technology's important to place your bat house adequately close to a water source. Colonies thrive when they are within at least ¼ mile from a h2o source.
6. Bats adopt unlike colored houses depending on location. You can use this map to determine which color is about likely to attract bats to the house you build.
Don't exist discouraged if your bat business firm stays empty for a while! It can accept a few years for bats to find a new business firm and move in. They typically look for new roosts in springtime, so it'south a good idea to build bat houses by the stop of winter and get them put up before bats emerge from hibernation.
Protecting Bats from Predators and Disease
Like other pollinators, bats demand protection. You're already helping by building your own bat firm, only there are a few more than things you can do to help ensure that your bat colony thrives.
- Go on cats indoors if possible. Cat attacks are a leading cause of death in bats, particularly during the summertime months when female bats are caring for youngsters. Bats are virtually active from the one-half hour before the dominicus sets to about an hour after sundown. If you tin can't keep your true cat indoors 24/7, at least attempt to keep him bars during the early evening.
- If you mountain your bat house on a pole, be sure to use a predator guard.
- Get out expressionless and dying trees intact if you can. These are bats' natural roosts and they go a long fashion toward promoting good for you bat populations.
- Reduce pesticide use in your lawn and garden.
- Try not to disturb hibernating bats, every bit increased activity uses upwardly fat stores quickly and tin can lead to starvation.
- Learn about white nose syndrome, how information technology spreads, and how to foreclose it. A warm, dry bat house goes a long way toward preventing this fungal affliction as it thrives in cold, moist weather.
With just a little effort on your part, you can help protect bats past giving them a safe, comfortable place to live. They'll pay you back past eating the bugs that like to seize with teeth you, and by providing yous with an amazing aerial brandish each evening!
Source: http://theplywood.com/bat-house
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