Bat house construction

[SwampDonkey]

Here is the bat house I'm making. I got the idea from Radar67 and Ron S. by downloading the plans from their links on this thread.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=24259.0



Applying the face to the bat house, after the caulking as been applied for a tight seal.



All fastened down. Front air vents in view.



Scoring inside surfaces with a utility knife, roosting baffles (not in view) are also scored on both surfaces.



Installing roosting baffles and baffle spacers, 3/4" between baffles.



Some spaces look wider, but it's because there are shorter baffles in between and you maintain a 1" spacing with the ceiling of the bat house. Optical illusion. The roof is on a  15° pitch. ;)



Air vent on the side in view.



Roof molding with 15° pitch installed and caulked all the way round to sealing the roof from loosing warm air.



All sealed up, screwed and ready for paint.



First coat of black paint. Waiting to slap on another coat. That will be followed by the fiberglass screen for the landing platform and the roofing sheath (with caulking applied) to keep dry. ;)

The little critters should find a nice home here. I got my 16' - 4x4". Need to borrow a post hole digger from uncle, get 4 bags of concrete and send brother up to the pond on the wheeler with the 'crete. Need a couple boards for braces and leveling to erect the post with box mounded. I have a 2x4" pressure treated for mounting to the back of the box and affixing to the post. Oh, and can't forget the wheel barrel for mixing the cement, and a water bucket to draw water from the pond.  Be a few more days before complete. ;D


Cheers.  8)

[Left Coast Chris]

Good insect control.  Another one I have wanted to do are owl boxes to keep the gophers and mice down.  Good work.

[Radar67]

That's looking good SD. 8) Makes me want to get mine going....I just have a few other projects on the priority list right now.

Stew

[Don K]

Is there a way to get them to decide this is a better place to live than where they are already at? I would like to have a bathouse up if they would use it.

[SwampDonkey]

Speaking for myself here Don. You know as much about it as I do.  ;D :D :D

From what I've read, the box has to be sealed tight, no moister in and no air escape other than the vents and the landing platform. And black pretty much absorbs all visible light so it's the warmest. The little brown bat likes it 100 F in there for rearing. I saw one photo from either a website linked to on that thread Radar67 started or in one of the PDF plans from one of the sites. The box was full of the little fellers, and they say up to 250 can stay in this design.  Oh, and the higher up you can get the box and away from shade is best. Being within 1/4 mile of open water (river, lake, pond) is desirable as well. Just reiterating stuff I read. No expert here.


It's kind of like sticking up a purple martin house and hoping they find it and stay I think.  :

[OneWithWood]

DonK, the bats will go to a preferred natural habitat first if it exists.  I built some cool bat houses a while back.  All the houses were not populated as I had hoped so I asked our local wildlife biologists what else I could do to get bats to live in my houses.  He said that as long as I had so many nice white oaks and shagbark hickories the bats probably would not use my manufactured housing.  :

[Don K]

I am starting to notice a resurgence of bats around my place as well as lightning bugs. I remember as a small boy the large number of bats in the sky at dusk during the summer. We used to shoot at them with our Red Riders. This was in the mid 70's. As I grew older I noticed a decline in both species. I guess with all the DDT and other pesticides from the 70's it took its toll. Now they are off the market and most folks don't bother with gardens so maybe that has helped.

[SwampDonkey]

Well I finished the bat house construction today by applying some caulking and the rolled roofing (looks like an asphalt shingle) and the fibre glass screen for the landing platform.


I installed the mounting 2 x 4" framing to the 4 x 4" post as instructed.

Then I loaded the 16 foot post into the Rav4 and off to the woodlot I rolled. I carried it to the back of the woodlot on my trail, which is a km or better. A 40 pound post feels about like 200 by the time you carry it any distance on rough terrain. The deer flies didn't make it any easier, when they were swarming like hornets. Then I came back and loaded the bat house and trekked it back the same route. It must be handy to 40 lbs also. Well that's done. Now I need my wheel barrel, pale, a couple boards, couple stakes, couple spikes, post auger, and 4 bags of cement........oh and don't forget the mounting screws and the cordless drill.  ;D

Anyone want to hire a mule?    

[Furby]

Guess I don't understand why you are using concrete on something like this?
I'd just drop it in a hole and be done!

[SwampDonkey]

Wind Furby. The wind against the bat house 13 feet up in the open will put a big lean on the structure, even 3 feet in a packed hole. It keeps rocking and rocking and getting loose. I've seen many signs not anchored and ......eventually.......over she goes.  I've not seen as much as a clothes line pole stay straight and firm for long if not anchored. Concrete mix isn't very expensive, maybe $25 for 4 bags. ;)

[Furby]

Something flat nailed/lagged to the post below grade, does a much better job!
Can be done in both directions if you play around a bit. ;)

4 bags of concrete here is like $10, maybe a buck or two more.

[SwampDonkey]

She ain't gonna move Furb with a 280 lb anchor plus weight of earth on top. I won't argue which is better though.  ;)


It's like the old gal who asked me what I had for a car. I said RAV4. She said me to, but mines bigger.  :D :D :D

[SwampDonkey]

I've got the post hole dug with the hand auger, did that Saturday. This morning went out with a couple stakes and boards to level up the post and give support while the cement cures. I attached the house to the post before erecting. Wasn't too difficult erecting it alone, just a little taxing when leveling it up.  ;D

All we need is 4 bags on concrete out there, wheel barrel, mixing shovel and bucket for water.

Pics to follow in a day or so.

Now all we need is bats. And I'm going to try and come up with a little sign to tack onto the post and along the main road.  You know, latin names to make it all look official and stuff. ;)   smiley_goofy_face

[WDH]

Now all we need is bats. And I'm going to try and come up with a little sign to tack onto the post and along the main road.  You know, latin names to make it all look official and stuff. ;)   smiley_goofy_face

You think that the bats can read latin ??? : ;D

[SwampDonkey]

I don't know. But, the moose in the beaver pond was wondering what the guy was doing erecting a black box on a pole as he snorted and waded to the opposite shore. He became an American moose with about 5 steps.  ;D :D :D

[SwampDonkey]

Here's my post hole digger I borrowed from uncle.

[OneWithWood]

Swamp, you don't need the mixing shovel or the water.  Just empty the bags into the hole and tamp it down well.  The concrete will draw all the loisture it needs from the soil and you will be good to go.

[SwampDonkey]

Well we got her done. I loaded the concrete bags onto my brother's 4-wheeler and he creeped along the trail ahead of me. I was pushing the wheel barrel, with shovel and pale. Pics later in the week if it stops raining. Started raining about now, after we got done.  :

I wanted to paint my shed door this morning, but I got held up waiting for my crew to tidy up a block and move them to another site. Didn't get at the bat house until about 2 pm. Wish I new, what I didn't know, now.  :D ;)

[SwampDonkey]

cemented and braced. I gave her a nudge and the only way to get that down is to break the post. ;D



This was before sunset actually, around 9:00 pm



A little view of the windmills in the background. ;D

[Dodgy Loner]

Don't you watch the movies?  They're gonna get all tangled up in your hair to lay their eggs! ;)

[SwampDonkey]

Oh, well...  I've had that hair thing conquered for some time.  ;)

[SwampDonkey]

The bats have been visiting the house, but haven't taken up residence yet. I see some bat dropping on the cement base.  8) smiley_blue_bounce

[Don_Papenburg]

OH my Gosh ,SD you is going to kill all them bats with that wind thing in the background . Well acording to the people against windgenerators around here .

[Reddog]

Don't you watch the movies?  They're gonna get all tangled up in your hair to lay their eggs! ;)

You need to see a pic SwampDonkey. The ones I have seen, he won't have that problem.   ;);D

[SwampDonkey]

OH my Gosh ,SD you is going to kill all them bats with that wind thing in the background . Well acording to the people against windgenerators around here .

I'm thinking.... if no water, no surplus of bugs, perhaps no bats to? More bugs down by the pond maybe. ;)


I know you were joking.  ;D