Let's be honest. Bats are often considered creepy and undesirable, even a menace. In truth, bats are an important player in the environment because they provide natural insect control; one little brown bat can consume up to 600 mosquitoes per hour. Imagine what 30 could do in your yard overnight! You can attract bats to your yard and reap their benefits by building a bat house. An economy size bat house fits about 30-50 bats, and you can make your own for about $20. But first, let's dispel a couple of common myths about bats:
Myth: Bats are a rabies threat.
Fact: You are more likely to contract rabies from a cow than from a bat.
Myth: Bats are aggressive.
Fact: True, they swoop toward us intentionally, but they're coming after the insects that are attracted to us. We are the insects' food source, and the insects are bats' food source.
When deciding where to locate your bat house, keep in mind that bats need to be warm and need to be within a quarter mile of a water source, which can provide additional food in the way of insects. Place the house in a sunny spot, 15 to 18 feet off the ground (do not put bat houses in trees--they won't get enough sunlight). Under a south-facing eave of your home is perfect (figure A). In this spot, predators can't get to the bats so easily.
Now let's get building with Rebecca Kolls of Rebecca's Garden and show guest Kathy Schwellenbach, a bat specialist.
Materials
- Two 20-inch 2x2s
- One 16-inch 2x2 (for ceiling)
- Five 1x8s cut 16 inches long (three for back side, two for front)
- One 1x4 cut to 16-1/2 inches (for roof)
- One 1x4 cut to 16 inches
- One 1x1 cut to 12-1/2 inches
- 1-1/2 inch nails
Steps:
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