Scott’s Bat House Page -- Bat House Plans
This site is designed mainly
to provide bat house plans. The latest research data from BCI suggests that
2 or 3 or more large bat houses in one location with different characteristics
(color, sun exposure, size etc.) could be most attractive to bats, although one
well built bat house should have good success rates as well. Building a bat house can be a big job, so I
also have BCI approved bat houses
for sale.
My Latest Bat House Plans
Follow the red links below to see the two newest (Updated for 2010) bat house plans I have.
A 5-chamber bat house from one sheet of plywood and a
2x6x8 with very little waste. This is my
new and improved big bat house. If you
only build one bat house this is the one I suggest. Improvements in this bat house plan over the
original ‘big bat house’ include taller chambers, much simpler plywood cuts,
slightly less overall weight, and slightly easier assembly.
Chamber dimensions: 22.5” wide x 27” tall
Two 3-chamber bat houses
from one sheet of plywood and two 2x4x8’s with very little
waste. Choose this plan if you
want multiple bat houses, but don’t want to spend too much on supplies. Each bat house is much lighter than the big
bat house, which is an advantage when mounting. Perfect for
lower cost experimentation. Try
venting one and not the other or painting them different colors. Improvements
in this plan over the original ‘medium bat house’ include taller chambers, much
simpler plywood cuts, and slightly easier assembly.
Chamber dimensions: 14” wide x 30.5”
tall each
Experiments
are still needed to see which factors affect bat house success. For experiments to be most helpful build
several bat houses and keep all factors, except one, the same to test the
effect of that single factor.
If you are interested in buying a bat house that is already
constructed click here:
Info
on purchasing a BCI approved Bat House
To inquire
about commercial use of my plans, send payment by check (US$ only), or to ask any other
questions email me: bathabitat@gmail.com
Bat conservation
international (BCI) has a very helpful Bat
House Specifications page that everyone who puts up a
bat house should read. BCI has the latest research and
is where I got most of my information. BCI’s The Bat House Researcher
free online magazine also has great research results
from 2001 (latest available online) showing which factors contribute to bat
house success. Bats
Magazine also has helpful articles (volume 11 NO 1
)
that have much the same information you get if you buy The Bat
House Builder's Handbook.
Bat and Bat House Books from Amazon.com:
The
Bat House Builder's Handbook – new second
edition by BCI -Very helpful!
Bats
in Question: The Smithsonian Answer...
The
Bats of Europe and North America:...
Bathouse
and Bat Box Plans from other sites
Here are a few free bat house plans. I strongly recommend my plans, but these different styles of bat houses might be fun to try in addition to mine.
Rocket boxes must be
installed on a pole. This design has
worked well in some places and might be worth a try especially in combination
with my other bat house plans (see Bat house researcher v.9
and ):
Two
chamber Rocket box from BCI
BCI's
Small Economy Bat House - I don’t recommend these plans because
research has found that bigger bat houses, like my bat
house plans, work better. The bat
house is small and easy to build however so it may be better than no bat house
at all.
General Interest Bat House Web Sites:
Bats in
your state or province – bat photos and information from BCI – Great!
Bat
house Tenants – info on bats that might use bat houses- from BCI
BCI
Bat house FAQ – Bat links from Bat Conservation International
The Bat House Researcher
– from BCI – lots of bat house research results and info
Evicting unwanted bats – Bats in
Buildings, Evict
bats, These links should help you if you want to
remove bats from a building. You shouldn’t evict bats when babies are
young. This can vary by species, but to
be safe wait until at least August or before the babies are born in early
spring. Put up alternate housing (i.e.
bat houses) a few weeks before you begin bat exclusion. I am not really a bat
removal expert so please see those webpages for more
info.
Wooden bat houses not big enough for ya? Try building a Bat
Cave! Also see this 
follow
-up story
Experiments
to Try:
Research about bats’ bat house preferences is
still ongoing so experiments are needed.
Make two or more bat houses of the same starting bat house design and alter only
one factor about each bat house. This
allows you to conclude that the single factor that you changed on the one bat house is what caused
the difference in bat house occupancy at your location and is part of a good scientific experimental
design. If you make only one bat house go
with the standard bat house model first (with the correct bat house color and venting
for your region). Some bat house factors to
experiment with on your second or third bat house are (in the order of my
interest in trying):
Heat Sinks –(e.g. concrete, bricks, soil, bottled water, etc) should
help prevent bat house overheating during the day by absorbing the suns heat and
over-cooling at night by releasing the heat stored in the bat house from the day. Try filling the bat house attic and/or possibly all or
part of the center chamber of my bat house models with concrete or whatever you have that
might work. Keep in mind that it will
make the bat house considerably heavier and that you will need to take measures
to keep the material in the center chamber of the bat house(if you decide to put it there) from
falling out and hitting you in the head.
Also in colder regions or in bat houses that don’t get enough sun the
heat sink might prevent the bat house from warming enough, which would be a
problem.
Insulation - (e.g. spray foam or Styrofoam) Unlike
heat sinks, which store heat in the bat house, insulation limits the amount of heat (or cold)
entering and leaving a bat house. There
is a subtle difference in the mechanics but the end result is similar: moderating bat house temperature. Try insulating the bat house attic and maybe also the
top 10” or so of a few (non adjacent) bat house chambers.
Just as with a bat hosue heat sink too much of it can keep your bat house too cool,
which is bad.
Venting – Vary the amount of venting on your
second bat house. Either add more vents to the bat house
or take them away as you see fit depending on your climate. NOTE: Bat houses in warmer climates should include
venting on most bat house models.
Color – paint
one bat house darker or lighter than what is recommended. NOTE: Make sure the majority of your bat
houses are the recommended color for your region.
Canadian Provinces and Territories: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Québec, Saskatchewan, Yukon, North America
Any
questions/comments/suggestions? Send me an email: bathabitat@gmail.com
Don’t worry I won’t add you to any
mailing lists
Advertisers: If you are interested in placing a tasteful
relevant add on this page please contact me.
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Last update 4/19/2010, SMH