If there are many pests in your garden, you should learn how to build a bat house. In spite of their reputation, bats can help eliminate mosquitoes, bugs and other nuisances.
Required Tools and Materials
Step ladder
Tape measure
Wood saw
Hammer
20 galvanized nails
6 foot length of 1 by 12 inch rough cedar siding
Step 1
Design a bat house. Draw it on your computer and print it out. Use it as a guide when you start building.
Step 2
Saw a couple of 24 inch lengths. One should be 7 inches and the other 14 inches from the siding. Use the 14 inch for the front top. The seven inch will be the bat house bottom. Cut a couple of strips so it is 24 inches long and 2 ½ inches wide. These will make up the bat house sides.
Step 3
Saw a strip 14 inches long and 4 inches wide. Saw this from the 24 inch piece you just cut. When you build a bat house, this will be the top part.
Step 4
Saw the 2 ½ inch wide side boards. Cut them at angles of 30 degrees. This will make up the roof.
Step 5
Bevel the top edges of the front and back top parts at angles of 30 degrees.
Step 6
Create the bat house. Make sure the rough wood board parts are facing the inside. Nail the front tip piece and the back piece onto the sides.
Make sure the pieces are angled properly. Nail the front bottom part half an inch under the top piece. This half inch space is for ventilation purposes.
Step 7
The top piece should be nailed to the top’s back edge. It will be flushed to the back piece’s edge. This will produce an overhang for the bat house.
Step 8
Drill a couple of holes on the house’s back. Drill one 10 inches under the top hole. The first hole should be a couple of inches off the top. Get a stepladder and hammer 2 nails on a tree. It should be 15 feet of the ground. Make sure the holes are ten inches apart. Slide the bat house on the nails.
Tips and Warnings
Make some pilot holes before you hammer the nails. This will prevent the wood from getting split. You can also use screws instead of nails.
After you build a bat house, put a cement patio block below it. Check this for any black pellet droppings. If there are some, it means bats have settled in the house you built.
