How To Build A Bat House | Modern Builds | EP. 40

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. Be sure to check out the written article linked below for plans, materials, and more information about bats and bat houses.

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Thanks for watching! -Mike Montgomery
MODERN BUILDS

[ImBaBaloo]

Just got a paper from Bat Conservation International and they are recommending to 'just roughen interior and landing surfaces by cutting horizontal grooves with a sharp object or saw. "we no longer recommend the use of mesh type materials. Over time, the material degrades and can trap bats or damage their wings." '

[cindywitter-h]

My bats were able to hang with just the wood. I also used cedar which is a softer wood, those toenails are sharp! They just dug right in. Microbats love bat houses so they can go in during inclement weather. One thing! Never hang your bat box over anything you don’t want destroyed. Bat poop is very acidic and will kill the grass, plants etc. Also, don’t paint, use finisher on the inside of the box. It’s harmful to them and you probably won’t have any move in. The day after I hung my 1st bat box up 6 moved in 😊 I made it a condo for 8 😁

[bonniecohen]

Thanks for sharing your bat house construct. I make bird nesting boxes and focusing on ways to keep chemicals out of the process. For instance, instead of using wood preservative treatments, consider using a mixture of organic bees wax and olive oil. Just melt the two together, cool, and you have a paste wax that's completely natural and really brings out the beauty of the wood. The bees wax is also a natural antimicrobial.

[PdawgNizzle]

My son is a boy scout and is presenting his Eagle Scout Service Project as installing bat boxes near a local wet land. He plans on building 8-10 of these boxes. So far from what he has looked at this design is the simplest yet most functional so all the boys can take part in building these.

[lilolmecj]

My husband and son are going to be making corn hole boards today. This is something I could work on while they do their larger project.

[KomarProject]

Mike with a Bat a house. Who knew. I’m doing research for a bat house I’ll be building with a Girl Scout group and this was awesome to come across. Thanks bud

[kevinoday]

This bat box was easier to build than I ever imagined. I use building bird house building, and I have found these bat boxes are really cool and very popular, to help with pain control, after breaking four vertebrae in my neck. These are very helpful and have a lot of good information. Thank you so much for the videos you have done a great job and keep it up. 👍

[Steve-O_]

Great video, and certainly easier than I thought it would be. Thanks!!✌️
Pro Tip (to consider?) Before staining or whatever finish you prefer, may I suggest Scorching (i.e lightly 'Burning') the wood before manufacturing. Doing so Will Seal the fingers of the Wood -which preserves it from bug infestation, as well as weather decay. As we know that stain alone, if not redone over and over through the years, will diminish and become of no effect.

[Gigachadly]

A barn on my farm that recently stafted to collapse has housed a large number of bats since my father was a kid. I'm going to build a few large bay houses for them to move into and remind happy in and hopefully stay in when I build the new barn lol

[BearWoodz]

That’s different then how we build them. A little tip for you don’t use the stains or oil based paint! The bats can’t stand the smell or chemicals. Only used water based paints. Also fiberglass screens work better and is cheaper instead of the gutter guard stuff. One last thing to draw the bats to your house collect some bat guano or poop 💩 and smear it onto the screens up inside. lol no joke we got the experience and build them at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement in Blountstown Florida. The ones we build can hold 150 bats!

[AndrewRuffolo]

This is how I should combat Zika here in South Florida!

[curtiskauffman]

This is great. Never thought about bats until this morning. Having kids and mosquitos is no fun so this will work great for our house in San Diego.

[kentinnell]

We made these bat houses for a Boy Scout, Eagle project - turned out GREAT! Thank you for taking the time to make this video - well done! Troop 333

[barthoebink]

Plz make a progress update about how the bats are doing haha!

[jamesnelson]

Our family just bought a beach house, many bats come out at night. I'm going to build this for them!

Btw: I liked the old background music better, the new one is ok, but old seemed wayyyy better.

[MarkLindsayCNC]

Nice, Mike! I'm really glad to see you making a bat house. It's something not a lot of folks think about, and it's a really worthwhile project. You're absolutely right; some species can eat their weight in insects over the course of a night - every night. It sure beats spraying insecticide.

Another fantastic resource for info on building and installing bat houses is your local university agricultural extension service. Look them up and give them a call. They have all kinds of info on what species of bat that live in your area, any special concerns that need to be addressed for a particular species, and a lot more. Some of them have complete instructions ready for you online, and they'll happily give you a link if you ask them.

About the only question I have for you is your decision to use silicone caulk and applying a finish to the outside. When I built some bat houses down in Nevada, the ag extension service told me that using anything smelly would probably repel bats instead of attracting them. I was building them for migratory Mexican bats, though, as that's the species that was most common in the area we lived in. I'm eager to see what your experience is - hopefully it'll be successful.

Keep it up, and I can't wait to get my MB t-shirt!

[cder]

You should cut grooves into the wood instead of using mesh. Over time those staples you used to fasten the mesh will wear away and the bats could get stuck in the mesh.

It's an easier solution too which is a plus. Just take a small saw or something and scar up the surface of the wood. Bats don't need much to be able to hold on comfortably.

[starkaran]

I am so sure that you will find good way to make it on woodprix.

[Team]

Very cool, going to build one today. We all need to help our nature creatures. No part is too small to help!

[clydebalcom]

Natural pest control, and cute as well. Win win.