Maja Hampson's Zoo Keeping Adventures

You can support wildlife by encouraging them to live in your backyard. Here's a rough overview on how to build a bat box. There are a ton of great websites that go into more detail if you're interested in building a box for your own backyard.

Bat boxes

Dimensions:

• At least 2' (60.1cm) tall, and at least 14” (35.6cm) wide.
  
• There can be multiple roosting chambers. Roosting chambers should be 1.9-2.5 cm apart.
  
• Partitions and landing areas need to be roughened or covered in a durable plastic mesh (do not use metal, it will rush and break off).
  
• Vents should be included if July temperatures surpass 30 C. Vents on the front should be 1.3cm wide and side vents should be 15cm tall and 1.3cm wide.
  

Materials:

• Plywood and cedar (do not use pressure treated wood).
  
• Exterior paint: colour will depend on July temperatures. (27-30°C (80-85°F) black, 30-35°C (85-95°F) dark brown or gray, 35-38°C (95-100°F) medium or light colors, over 38°C (100°F) white).
  

Placement:

• Place the bat box in a location where the box will receive at least 6 hours of direct sun.
  
• If possible, place box within one kilometre of water.
  
• Mount on a pole or a building at least 10' off the ground.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Sources:
  
• http://cwf-fcf.org/en/do-something/challenges-projects/take-action-factsheets/outside/putting-up-a-bat-house.html
  
• http://www.bcbats.ca/index.php/bat-houses/where-to-install-a-bat-house