Bat House Forum

[po boy]

I built these 6 bat houses for someone using BCI Specs.



I had enough material left to build two more and installed one at my home On Saturday. These are built with only 4 screws holding the roof on for easY mainenance. Photo of Installed bat house:

Note that the bat houses faces south and is two toned. The North Side, EAst Side and lower part of the South Side are the darker color...

A little about how I installed the house. I had a scrap 4x4 about 11 ft long and purchased a 2x6x12 Pt to attach to the 4x4 with lag screws and large washers. I cut off about 1 ft of the 2x6 and attached it to the 4x4 and also attached a gate hinge in order to raise and lower the house. IT IS 16 FEET HIGH. Note, I installed two small blocks as a safe guard..


I attached a piece of 10 ft conduit to the 2x6 using Conduit straps, (4) 5/16 t-nuts and 5/16 bolts

Overkill, but i put a piece of channel iron under the bottom of the conduit using a lag screws and some decking screws.

Did I mention overkill???? The bat hosue is attached to the conduit using 2" EMT straps, 1/4 inch t-nuts and 1/4 inch bolts... In addition the top strap is supported by an s-hook and a 1/4 self drilling bolt to keep the house from turning....

I was able to install the 4x4, with the 2x12 and conduit attached by myself. My son and i installed and raised the bathouse in less than 10 minutes..All we had to do is raise it and screw in the lag bolts...

Additional photos::







FRANK, PLEASE SEND BATS NORTHEAST!

[BrackishBatter]

very nice work!

[cloudman75]

Great looking installation. First class hardware hinge, etc. and beautiful photos. My houses are built out of junk mostly. I just hope the weather holds warm for us and you should be getting some bats this year. Maybe they will spot your house on the way to my place,LOL.
I watched the newly arrived bats exit tonight and spotted a couple of freetails leaving. They have long narrow wings and fly out really fast like a jet.
I am looking for the number to increase tonight although we expect rain.

Frank

[Terry Lobdell]

Great looking boxes and nice system of mounting!

[po boy]

Thanks for the nice comments.

What time of day should I watch for them leaving (If I get some)? Just before dark?

My daughter in law's brother works for an exterminating company in their critter control department. They do some bat evictions and hoping to get some urine or guano to attract some renters?? They don't harm, just relocate...

[IowaNate]

Great looking bat houses! Although I am not 100% convinced that guano or urine treatment attracts bats at all. If you observe bats flying in your yard and hang the house appropriately then I don't think you need an "attractant".

[cloudman75]

Poboy,
Did you put an extra ventilation slot on the house you installed? It appears somewhat different to me from the others. I have one tiny bat in my largest house. I do mean tiny, the smallest I have ever seen. The largest house has the most ventilation I have ever provided. Two slots in front and back, plus a top which has a slot over the chambers from front to back. I do have two chambers with ceilings so the open type roof has no effect on them and they will be warmer.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us You can see daylight from front to back under the roof in this photo. Also I used no calking and made the boards loose consruction where they meet on the front and also on the back. The roof is painted white as well as the sides. This is the summer house for bats, and already has one bat using it in a chamber which has a roof.

Frank

[po boy]

Frank,

It has a 1/2 inch slot across the front and a 5" x 1/2 slot on each side. These are per BCI specs. Being down south, I am concerned with heat build up and thinking about designing a slot high in the box I can open in the heat of the summer. Kinda like a draft on a wood stove....

Where it is positioned it will get sun most of the day in the summer, but it is below my two story workshop that may help to cool it late in the day..

[Terry Lobdell]

To answer your question about what time they will emerge, mine here in PA come out at about the same time as my security light comes on......right about dusk........

Over the years, my bats seem to consistently come out about 5 minutes before to 5 minutes after a security light comes on......

In the spring if the temperature is going to drop later in the night, they sometimes come out a little earlier so they can feed while insects are still flying......

[po boy]

That white building has a security light on the front. I turned it off when i put the bathouse up. How 'bout street lights, can I shoot them out?

[Terry Lobdell]

Haha! Actually, I don't think street lights or security lights bother bats........I have pictures posted on here of a box I have mounted on a light pole..........it gets used every year by some of a little brown maternity colony I have at that site......they seem to like to eat the moths that are attracted by the light.........