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CHobby
Member
| Joined: | Wed Jun 15th, 2005 |
| Location: | Orlando, FLorida |
| Posts: | 4 |
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Posted: Wed Jun 15th, 2005 03:39 pm |
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Hello my name is Chad Hobby I am a Boy Scout in the Central Florida area and I am working on getting my Eagle Scout. I want to build Bathouses but I've never done that before. I have a few designs that I got from other people that have built single chamber houses before, but I was hoping to put up a few multi chamber ones also. If you could please give me directions on how to build those or where to go to find out how to that would be most welcome.
For the Project I have what I'm hoping is a good location. There is a ranch in florida called the Deseret Ranch and they are opening a youth camp there are large fields and large forested areas. The area I chose is next to a small lake and on the edge of the field. Is this ok. How close do the bathouses need to be to the lake? Is there a restriction on how close to put the bat houses together?
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I am a 17 year old boy scout trying desperately to get my Eagle Project done before I am 18 and I wish to make and put up bathouses for my Eagle Project. Any help or ideas that you can offer on this will be greatly appreciated.
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LarryH
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Posted: Wed Jun 15th, 2005 04:03 pm |
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First of all I want to congratulate you on your Eagle project, and want to encourage you in completing it. Our son is an Eagle Scout, and he can't believe how well it has served him. When he joined the military, he received a extra stripe upon enlistment just for being an Eagle Scout.
Have you checked out the Bat Conservation International web page (http://www.batcon.org) for info? There is a tremendous amount of information there, including bat house plans, FAQs, etc. It takes some time clicking on links on their page to find the info you want, but there is a lot there. When I was researching bat houses, I found this page to be one of the most useful. Also, check out http://www.batmanagement.com/Batcentral/batcentral.html on building and placing bat houses.
The bat houses should be within 1/4 mile of the water source. I don't know that there are any guidelines as to how close houses should be to each other, but remember that bats are communal and love being near other bats. If you have two bat houses mounted on the same pole, put them back to back with a cover over them so that bats can roost between the houses as well as inside them. Height of the bat houses is very important, as is distance from trees, buildings, etc. They need to be about 20' high, and far enough from trees, buildings, etc., that they can soar in and out of the houses without interruption.
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Joe Spencer
Administrator
| Joined: | Mon Feb 11th, 2002 |
| Location: | Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 530 |
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Posted: Thu Jun 16th, 2005 02:08 am |
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Welcome and yes typically you have a couple options: bat houses which can be mounted on buildings and those on poles/posts. Trees are not favored though some people have attracted bats to bat houses mounted on trees and this approach is used sometimes in England as well. Rocket designs mounted on posts and poles with single or multiple chambers can be considered as well. Multiple bat house occupancy rates are higher than bat houses mounted singularly. If you don't already have BCI's Bat House Builder's Handbook, I highly recommend it for it is as valuable in this endeavor as the Handbook is to the Scout. Additionally it is an easy read and amazingly informative as well. Good luck Chad and we'll assist in any way we can. 
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CHobby
Member
| Joined: | Wed Jun 15th, 2005 |
| Location: | Orlando, FLorida |
| Posts: | 4 |
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Posted: Sun Jun 19th, 2005 09:35 pm |
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Thank You all very much this information will definitely help. I've selected a new location for the houses that is much better as far as water and bugs to eat goes. Kelly Park is home to a natural spring which turns into a long river and has also given me permission to put up bathouses in the park. Now I just need to begin building and put them up. Thanks again for the websites, advice, and I'll check into that handbook also. 
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I am a 17 year old boy scout trying desperately to get my Eagle Project done before I am 18 and I wish to make and put up bathouses for my Eagle Project. Any help or ideas that you can offer on this will be greatly appreciated.
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