EP. 41 HOW TO BUILD A BAT HOUSE

Bats are a great animal to have around the house. They kill insects like mosquitos, pollinate plants, and help spread seeds. Today on Modern Builds, I'm going to show you how to build a simple single chamber bat house made from supplies available from your local home center.

MORE INFO ABOUT BATS:

http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/bathouses/BatHouseCriteria.pdf

https://batconservation.org/help/bat-houses/#section-Bat House

http://www.nwf.org/Garden-For-Wildlife/Cover/Build-a-Bat-House.aspx

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES:

1 - Cedar 1x2"

2 - 5.5" Wide Cedar Fence Slats

1 - Piece of 4/4" Plywood for Back

GutterGuard Wire Mesh: http://amzn.to/2abQLGt

Staple Gun: http://amzn.to/2aRWwKZ

Silicone Caulk: http://amzn.to/2ak5Rj4 (Cheaper In Store)

Clear Deck/Siding Wood Finish: http://amzn.to/2akMdxe

Exterior Grade Screws

I started by cutting my plywood for my back. I had a spare piece I was able to use. The home center will also sell partial sheets along with full 4'x8' sheets.

I'm using cedar fence panels for my slats on the face of the bat house as well as the roof. They're much cheaper that the rest of cedar boards. I ran them through the planer to surface one face. You could also just sand them.

Next I cut 6 pieces to length.

I cut my 1x2" side pieces at a 10 degree angle at one end so that the roof would sit at an angle. I matched that angle on one edge of the roof and the top slat.

If you don't have a table saw, you could do this cut with a handheld circular saw and straight edge.

I lined the inside of my pieces with this plastic mesh so that the bats have something to climb/cling to.

I used silicone caulk anywhere I joined 2 boards to keep the weather out. This keeps the bats warm and dry.

Be sure to use screws that are exterior grade and won't rust.

The gap between the bottom slat is so that the bat house has a bit of air circulation to stay fresh.

After trimming my sides flush, I attached the back.

Be sure to use plenty of caulk on the roof to make it weatherproof.

This 3/4" piece of wood in the entry of the bat house is called a predator guard. It leaves a 3/4" opening that's just big enough for bats to get in but larger predators out.

Now that everything was assembled, I sanded everything to 220 grit and put on a protective exterior grade wood finish.

That's all there is to it! I hope you enjoyed it and go out and make your own. If you do, don't forget to tag me in a picture of it!

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