Bat House Forum

[cloudman75]

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This bat house is ready for paint which will be brown or dark blue designed for bats arriving in mid or late March to have pups. It is three chambers
with an attic, two ceilings in two chambers and fully calked in the upper 11 inches. Total height is 37 inches on the back including a 6 inch landing board.
It is 14 inches wide. Two chambers with ceilings are 3/4 inches wide and the front chamber is 1 inch wide that leads up to the attic. There are 1 inch holes in the baffles for the bats to travel from one chamber to another without going down to the bottom.
It is constructed of 9/16 thick rough cedar. It is not too heavy for one person to mount. I still have bats so cannot take down the old houses that this one and another new house will replace for next season. This makes three good size bat houses that I have built recently which will give me a total of six houses for next year. Three existing houses will be repaired as I think necessary, then put back up in different locations.

Frank

[Terry Lobdell]

Looks good Frank!

[cloudman75]

Terry,
I made this one taller than usual for one just 14 inches wide. My thoughts were to give the bats arriving in cool weather more temperature choices by
trapping the heat at the top. I will also paint the roof either dark blue or black. I'll just use surplus latex paint if possible. I only have latex enamel in dark blue. It finishes out too shiny I think. I am going to look for flat black. Also the roof is about an angle of 44 degrees. Solar heating design in winter calls for your lat. plus 20 degrees. Our lat is 34 degrees north, so I should get some good solar gain in the attic for the pups to play in April if they like this house.
It will look better I hope after it is painted. We had 75 degrees yesterday and today. Low tonight is 47 degrees. Some freetails came back when I checked at dusk. Also have plenty of little browns that are staying here I suppose due to the insects flying during warm temps. The two big browns have gone again. I am heading out of town for a few days so maybe they will leave while I am gone and I can put up the hollow pole with three bat houses.

Frank

[po boy]

Frank,

Nice house.

Where do you get the cedar?
Do you scar or rough it up?

Thanks

[cloudman75]

I found the rough cedar fence boards at a Home Depot in Villa Rica, GA. It is about 20 miles from me but I go there once a week. I have 3 other stores close by but they do not have cedar, just treated. I bought 6 boards at 2.67 each. I think the price is very reasonable. I bought a dozen some time ago.
The cedar is very rough and I did nothing to scratch or make it rougher, and that is so nice and time saving. I should say work saving. I don't plan to do any more scratching or screening if these work out OK. Terry Lobdell has had success with rough boards for baffles.
The boards are 62 inches long and I get 5 bat house baffles boards at 14 inches wide and 5 1/2 inches tall. I use sheet rock screws which are not galvanized, but after 3 coats of latex, they will most likely last as long as the house does on the exterior. I have been using deck screws but they are expensive. Terry has also used some sheetrock screws on his houses .The sides are 1x4 whitewood as cedar splits too easy. I drill each screw hole in the cedar or else it will split. I hope to find some suitable latex paint today and get this last house painted. I look for paint at Big lots, and dollar stores,
and buy it for these little projects to keep the costs down. The bats don't seem to mind so far. Thanks for comment on the house.
Here is a close up photo so maybe you can see the roughness of the cedar. I am preparing to add the first baffles in this shot.

Frank

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[po boy]

Frank,

Thanks for the info... Just noticed that is cedar fencing even though you said it in the reply.. Wonder if my local store has some..

I am building 6 bat houses and using 11/32 exterior grade plywood for the partitions. To grove them, I mounted two saw blades 1/2" apart on my radial arm saw and ran them through and just moved the blade out 1" after each pass........ i did both sides..



Sherwin Williams has a 40% off sale starting 11-14-10. You might try there for paint and stain.

[po boy]

OOPS!

Sherwin Williams 40% off runs 11-12 to 11-14

[Terry Lobdell]

Frank, that picture is good to show the roughness of the cedar........looks like the perfect texture for bats to hang onto........

[cloudman75]

Thanks for the paint source,but I was out of town a few days. Also the two saw blades appears to be a good idea, but I don't have wood working tool skills or much knowledge. I am just a saw and drill person myself. I decided that since the freetails liked dark blue and lighter blue that I would go ahead and use the same paint I had on hand. I had hoped that the bats would be gone when I got back yesterday but I took a photo in the light rain tonight and it appears I have gained a few freetails, and also the little browns are still here. I am anxious to see your 11/32 plywood house as it will have considerable mass thus will be heavy I think. Thanks for comments Terry, I still have had no bats in my big cedar house that I put up a few weeks ago.
I was hoping I might get one or two trying it but none so far as I check it most every day. If it quits raining I hope to attach the two new bat houses
to my hollow pole. I will leave a space for the little three chamber that right now is being used by mostly little browns and a few freetails.
Be sure and post some photos of your bat houses po boy as soon as you can as we would like to see them.


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Frank

[Joe Spencer]

Thanks for photos Frank. Love cedar for its smell longevity and especially the rought stuff that is perfect for slats/dividers backs and fronts. Very nice...