Skeeter Eaters

[BackCast]

It wasn't long after my second born moved into his new place on Lake Iamonia that he called and asked if I would be willing to make him a bat house to attract the little skeeter eaters. As an old carpenter, that's the sort of thing I find relaxing so I googled up some plans and headed for the wood shop. My daughter (Brian's sister) is a teacher in an environmental charter school so I knew I'd be making more than one. Here's the plan I used (and modified)...
http://www.floridabats.org/imagesbhs/ba ... _plans.pdf

To get rid of some scrap wood and save a few $s I used an old warped 1x12 instead of T111 siding for the partitions. The scored surface is necessary to provide a better grip for the bats...


After nailing the cedar strips to the side panels, I installed the partitions and spacers...


I installed 2 partitions to create 3 chambers...


One down and one to go. Notice the landing pad at the bottom and the vent in the side. I also put the rough surface of the cedar on the inside in order to provide a better grip for the little winged mammals...


And here's what they look like when they're finished (except that I haven't drilled and countersunk the anchor holes yet)...


Maybe someday, when you don't get bit by a mosquito, you can attribute it to those bats working hard at what they do best! The bat house at Lake I gets installed next week.

BTW, I cut the 7/8" cedar 1x4s down to 3/8" thick which cut the cost of the boxes nearly in half. I think I only ended up with about $15 - and 90 minutes - in making both boxes.

[WannaDoDat]

What a wonderful contribution to the lake house and to those incredible, amazing bats!

[salty gator]

Super cool. I really like the idea of creating more good habitat for wildlife. There is a bad bat problem at the condos by the marina on ap. the homeowners assn had some nice bat houses built. And they hold bats. UF has some really nice new ones ones, check out this short vid.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gaJElsZcrTo

[WannaDoDat]

Nice, Salty Gator!

Love fishing at dusk on the lake with bats swooping and diving all around me.

[fishinbug]

I have been meaning to build a bat house for some time. Your tutorial is a good motivator. We have quite a few that entertain us in the evenings. There are a couple of bat houses on the east end of Tallahassee Mall.

[BackCast]

Those bat houses at UF are impressive. I've only been to The Swamp once but can understand why bats would be beneficial there.

I work at a small private college with many buildings that were constructed in the 1800s. Most of them have slate roofs and the bats can always manage to find a way into the attics by worming their way under slate flutes or through spaces in the decorative trim work. Faculty don't generally enjoy having bats in their offices and classrooms so I sometimes get a phone call about them. It can be a challenge to keep them out of the occupied spaces without having to kill them but, with a bit of creativity, it can usually happen.