FBN Bat Houses
Laura Finn, the founder of Fly By Night, Inc., conducted extensive research on the roosting preferences of colonial bats and their use of bat houses while working on her Masters degree at the University of Central Florida (1993- 1997). The project was supported by Bat Conservation International and involved the comparison of temperature in a variety of bat house designs and occupied roosts in buildings. The goal was to determine the best design for an effective bat house that could provide bats with safe, long-term roosting habitat.
The information on this site is based on experience that began in 1987. Our long-term research and direct observations continue to highlight the importance of what we do. Bats NEED bat houses and we NEED bats.
- Designed to provide optimal roost sites and maximize the potential for long-term occupancy
- Certified 'Bat Approved' by Bat Conservation International (BCI)
and by Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation (MTBC)
- Constructed of pine exterior and plywood interior
- Held together with
treated screws for added strength - All joints and seams are sealed with
high quality caulking to exclude moisture and light - All surfaces are
painted and / or stained and varnished (3 or more coats) - to seal and protect the wood from moisture, bats and weather
- to protect bats from and chemical timber treatment and
- to enhance solar warming *** BCI research shows that caulked and painted bat houses are more likely to be occupied than bare wood bat houses
- Interior roosting substrate is created rather than added
- Interior pine
surfaces are manually grooved and plywood partitions are roughened with a wire wheel - **Screen is NOT used — our research revealed significant problems caused by screen failure.
We caution against attaching any materials. - Equipped with
an attic to provide horizontal roosting surfaces preferred by some species (i.e. evening bats) - Equipped with
front and rear ventilation slots to prevent over heating and interior slots that allow easy access between chambers and into the attic - Larger than most generic ‘garden center’ bat houses commonly available, research shows bats prefer larger bat houses
- Composed of
three or more interior chambers and a6 inch landing pad **Additional chambers provide bats the needed variety of thermal conditions and landing pads make it easy for bats to enter
Our basic design consists of three interior chambers, an attic, ventilation and access slots and a grooved landing pad. Additional chambers and ventilation slots provide bats the needed variety of thermal conditions, landing pads make it easy for bats to enter, the attic provides additional horizontal roosting surfaces preferred by some species (i.e. evening bats). Modifications to the basic design are limited to increasing the number of roosting crevices for our large pole mounted houses and increasing the horizontal length for our custom structure mounted house.
P.O. Box 562
Osteen, FL 32764-0562
Phone: 407-414-2142
E-mail Us (laura*at*flybynightinc.org)