Build your own Bat Box

An often overlooked animal that might visit our gardens is the bat. In the UK we have 18 species of bat. Sadly, many of these species are in decline.

One thing you can do to help is to build a bat box.

There are several different types of bat box. Some are designed for different species of bat and some are specific maternity boxes.

I decided to follow the instructions at the bottom of this Bat Conservation Trust information pack to build a couple of Kent bat boxes. This is a popular and successful design. Why don't you give it a try?

The most common and most likely to use these boxes in my garden will be the Common (45kHz) Pipistrelle and the Soprano (55kHz) Pipistrelle.

Here are some photos of me making my bat boxes. I am no DIY expert and I was able to manage it, so anyone can!

It is very important that the wood you use is 'untreated'. You can find this easily in a hardware/DIY shop.

 It is important to etch grooves into the wood for the bats to cling on to. I just used the blade of a power saw very lightly.

 Each entrance hole should be no more than 15-20mm wide. Bats like to be cosy! Just as in a bird box, the size of the entrance determines which species will decide to utilise it.

Make sure you put a lid securely on top!

To increase the lifespan of the box and to make it a little cosier for the bats, I added an outer coating of leftover pond-liner from our pond. This makes the box more waterproof!

Ideally the bat box should be placed facing South, but this was not possible on our house. It is important to make sure that they are not placed near artificial lights that might be on at night (e.g. street lights) as this confuses/disturbs them. We have placed it facing East. We will see whether it gets used!