DIY: How to Build Your Own Bat House

Forget the Hollywood movies about bats sucking people’s necks. They don’t actually do that. The Vampire Bat in South America bites the uncovered big toe- yikes. (There’s something uncomfortable about that.)

Other bats eat fruit exclusively, and still others prefer grubs or other insects. In Bexar County, Texas, we have the Mexican Brown Bat, or the “Mosquito Terminator.” That’s my own term.

Millions of these creatures inhabit the bridge under Commerce Street in Austin, Texas. The city tried to eradicate them until local businesses begged them to stop. You see, tourists flocked to see the bats emerge from under the bridge at sunset. This provided income for boat operators and local restaurants. The city was also informed by biologists that they were wasting millions of dollars on chemical mosquito control when they had a solution for free- and it was making money for the city.

The city responded by fencing the area around the bridge and making it illegal to bother the bats. Visitors from all over the world come to see the underside of the bridge “come to life” – I’ve seen it, it really does look like that. The stream of bats stretches for miles, and the cost of the boat ticket is worth it.

Build your own bat house and kiss the mosquitoes goodbye. It’s easy, and can be made from scrap lumber on hand. Bats aren’t picky.

Before building your bat house, ensure that all the little nooks and crannies in your attic are well sealed. They’ll roost there, too.

The bat house is amazingly thin, but bats like it cozy. This bat house measures approximately ¾” thick, but that’s enough room for dozens of bats.

You will need:

• · Plywood, ½” thick, 2′-by-4′ piece
• · Outdoor rated caulk
• · Deck screws, 1″ long, 1 box and 4 each 3 ½” long deck screws
• ·:

  Cut one piece of ½” plywood 24″ by 26.” (A) Cut a second piece of ½” plywood 24″ by 22.”(B) Cut four inches off the 22″ board. This can be a straight cut, “V” cut, or in the shape of a bat or something else. Download a copyright free image, enlarge it to 4″ x 22,” trace it on the board and cut with the jigsaw. Do not discard this piece.

  Step Two:

  From the 1-by-2 board, cut three pieces: one 24″ long, and two each 19″ long.

  Step Three:

  Align the 24″ long board with the short side of the longer board (A). Apply caulk to the face of the 1-by-2, then clamp it along the side and insert deck screws every 6.”

  Attach the shorter 1-by-2 pieces along the sides of the 26″ board, butting them against the first 1-by-2. It will look like a “U” shape on the board. Caulk, clamp and drill as you did for the first board.

  Step Four:

  Stretch the deer netting tight across the space in between the1-by-2’s, and attach with the staples. Make certain it will sag. That will cause the netting to entangle the bats. Hardware cloth won’t sag. Make sure you buy the largest holes (some hardware cloth is sold by the size of the holes) you can find. They will hang on to the cloth.

  Bird wire, ½” by 1″ will also work. Chicken wire holes are too large. That won’t accommodate enough bats.

  The netting or cloth should go all the bottom of the bat house. It will be exposed to the outside. The bats will climb this into the house.

  Step Five:

  Attach the large piece of ½” plywood that you cut earlier. Line the square edge up with the top of the 1-by-2’s, caulk, clamp and insert deck screws every six inches as you did before. Be careful not to drill through a screw already in place.

  Step Six:

  Measure and mark ½” from the end of the top piece of plywood and attach the cut off section to the 1-by-2’s. This allows air circulation in the bat house.

  Step Seven:

  Paint, seal or stain the exterior of the bat house only. Keep the paint off the netting or hardware cloth- the point is to have a healthy bat house.

  Step Eight:

  The bat house should be mounted on a south facing surface to ensure they get enough sun to stay warm in the day. Mount the house with the 3 ½” deck screws to the side of a building or pole at least 15 feet in the air.

  If mounting to a pole, the house should not move in the breeze. Bats won’t live in that.

  Step Nine:

  Give the bats time to move into their new digs. When you notice activity at dusk, let the kids watch them emerge. It’s quite a sight.

  Notes:

  • ·.
  • · During the winter when the bats are hibernating, try not to disturb them. Their metabolism is so high they could starve to death.
  • ·. Do not bury it where pets could dig it up.
  • · If you or a family member see an injured bat on the ground, DO NOT TRY TO PICK IT UP. Bats are notorious carriers of rabies, and this is one of the main ways it’s transmitted to pets and people in the South. Keep the pets and children inside and call animal control.
  • · Always drill pilot holes first before inserting screws to prevent wood from splitting.

  Source: Chrystle Fieldler, “Family Fun Project: How to Build a Bat House,” This Old House Website, no date given

  Source: The author of this article has over 40 years of experience in diverse forms of DIY, home improvement and repair, crafting, designing, and building furniture, outdoor projects and more.

  See also The Top 5 Facts About Bats