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This box is a large stacked box built with
the hopes of attracting a larger colony. It requires three
quarters of a sheet of half inch plywood.
I greatly encourage the use of scrap plywood.
If you see some roofers re-decking a house roof, ask
them for some scraps, what they give to you they don’t have to
haul away.
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The Back. Cut one piece 16"
wide by 24" long
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Centers. Cut 3 pieces 16" wide by 18"
long
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Set the depth of your circle saw no
more then 1/4" and cut a series shallow cuts(kerfts) across and
diagonally on the plywood. The back and one center
need only be kerfted on one side. The other two
pieces need both sides cut. These kerfts are
important because they provide a gripping points for the bats.
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Cut the sides. Two pieces of
plywood 4" wide each having an angled top having a length
of 18" on one side 20" on the
other.
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Cut your spacers out of 3/4" stock
3/4" x 15". These will go between each layer of the center
boards.
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Stain or paint all the parts a dark
color. This will help protect the pieces from the weather,
and the bats prefer dark colors.
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Time to start putting it together.
First attach the sides to the back. Then alternate
spacers and center panels. Finish with the top.
Bats
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Bats can eat up to 3000
mosquitoes a night as well as other insects.
Attracting bats to your area is a good way to cut down
on the insect population.
o
In our area we have
small brown bats and large brown bats.
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Are Bats dangerous? The
truth is, there are only six species of bats known to
have transmitted the rabies virus to humans. The most
common bat house bat throughout most of the U.S., the
little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), has never been
implicated in a human rabies case, and the next most
common, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), has been
implicated in only one case. Most other cases stem
from non-colonial, tree roosting species unlikely to
ever use bat houses.
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Bat houses should be
placed in an area that gets at least 7 hours of direct
sun light a day.
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The bat house should be
mounted at least 15’ off the ground on a pole or the
side of a building.
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Paint the house a dark
color to absorb heat.
Baby bats like it very worm.
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Finished
bat box
