How to make a bat house by reading these simple instructions outlined in this article.
Bats have been given a bad rap over the years, ranging from stories that they get in your hair to the myth that they bite your neck. The truth is, though, that bats do not attack human beings or mammals, for that matter, as their favorite meal is insetcs, especially mosquitoes.
Bats are nocturnal creatures. They usually live in hollow trees, in barn roofs, or in dark attics. They spend their nights finding and eating literally thousands of insects. Actually, they are probably more efficient than a bug zapper! It is said that a small brown bat can eat six hundred insects in just one hour!
You can take advantage of this natural bug zapper by attracting bats to your property. To do this, you will need to build a simple bat house for your furry friends to live in. The house should measure about two feet high and about a foot wide. You will need to use rough, untreated wood. Cut out the back piece, the front piece, and both side pieces. You will also need to cut out four or five partitions that will be nailed inside. Each partition will need to be just a bit shorter than the total length of the house, and a bit less in width than the twelve inch front and back. Gather together some wood screws, black paint and a paint brush, and latex caulking too.
The next step in building your bat house is to use the wood screws to assemble the back and side pieces. Then, measure and mark off on the sides where the partitions will be placed. Each partition should be about a half of an inch apart from the next one, or from the front or back of the house. Attach the partitions by using the wood screws. Then, screw the front of the bat house on to the rest of it securely.
The next step is to paint the entire outside of the structure with at least a couple of coats of the black paint. This will help protect the surface of the wood from the weather, but most importantly, the black paint will absorb the warmth of the sun so your little friends can stay warm. After the paint is thoroughly dry, use the latex caulking to seal all of the cracks.
You are now finished with the construction of your bat house. But, you will still need to find a good place to hang it up. It can be mounted on a pole, tree, or on the side of an outbuilding. Just remember two important factors in finding a suitable place. One,it needs to be at least fifteen feet up from the ground, but not more than twenty feet up. And two, the bat house needs to be mounted on the south side so that it will receive the most sunlight.
After you have your bat house in place, it will take some time for the bats to find it. But, once they do, you are in business with your natural insect eaters doing their job all night. Keep in mind, also,that bats do not like to be disturbed. So, do not bother their bat house. If you are curious whether bats have inhabited the house, just look for droppings on the ground below it.
