Bat houses should be made of exterior plywood or cedar (rough on the inside).

The inside should have grooves at least every one quarter inch or have polyethylene plastic mesh (to purchase mesh click here) attached all the way up the front and back.

The house should be at least 24 inches tall, 13 inches wide, and about 3 inches deep.

It can be made with multiple chambers, although this design just has one. The opening at the bottom of the house should be about three fourths to 1 inch. Any larger would allow predators to enter. OBC recommends using 2 inch width sides, then adding a 1 inch strip of wood attached to the lower front panel to create this small opening.

Caulking the house will keep the bats warm and dry, and putting the bat house together with galvanized screws will help prolong the life of the house. Adding a ceiling at the top of the house just below the roof, and leaving a one fourth inch space about 6 inches from the bottom opening, will create much-needed temperature variation.

Your house needs to be placed at least 15 feet up, the higher the better, and should face a south to southeasterly direction with at least 6 hours of sunlight daily. If your house is not getting at least 6 hours of sunlight you may want to paint it using a nontoxic black paint (never paint the inside of the house).

Houses can be mounted on poles, garages, barns, human houses, or trees, making sure there are no obstacles to prevent the bats from entering the bat house. Trees usually take longer to become occupied because bats find the houses by sight and if the leaves of the tree are covering the bat house, it is harder to find.

If you would like more detailed directions or other design bat houses please order "A Simple Guide to Bat House Designs" or if you would like to purchase your own bat house please see our page on ordering a bat house. Thank you!