Rocket Box Bat House Plans Woodworking Build a Bat House
Rocket Box Bat House Plans
A rocket box bat house is one of the easiest designs to build for a backyard habitat. They are simple yet make an effective structure for attracting bats. We selected to build the rocket box style bat house because after researching different designs we felt that it would allow bats mobility within the house during the day. Bats micro-climate within bat houses – if one area inside the house gets too hot or cold, bats will move to another area. The rocket box allows bats to daytime roost on four sides as opposed to a flat area so they may micro-climate and follow the sun or heat. This style also has a proven track record for occupancy.
The rocket box is also an understated, attractive design. We do live in a neighborhood with an HOA and wanted something that neighbors would not balk at. So far our bat houses have gone over very well in the community – we have built additional rocket box bat houses for neighbors who admired ours.
Tools:
- Circular or other saw
- Square
- Tape measure
- Drill, bits and screwdriver bit
- Sandpaper
- Caulk gun
- Utility knife
Materials:
- 5′x4″x4″ untreated post
- 4″x4″ treated post
- Galvanized exterior screws
- Wood Glue
- 8 small nails for spacers (#4 galvanized finishing)
- 1/2″ or 3/4″ plywood
- Exterior grade paintable caulk (clear caulk if using unpainted cedar)
- Roofing shingle (optional)
- lag bolts
Above is the plans for the original rocket box. We modified ours a bit and below is how we built our own rocket box bat house.
How we made ours:
We used smooth cedar wood since we are in the south and things rot quickly here.
5′x4″x4″ Inner Post
- Cut the interior roosting areas at sharp angles. Our cuts were made at 9″x1½”.
- From the top of the post, make scores or grooves 2½’ down towards the bottom. This will end up to make scores 6″ below the bottom of the outer shell and act as a landing pad for the bats. There are many tools you can make these grooves with but in our case a circular saw was used. It has a depth gauge as well as we have an experienced circular saw handler guy (wasn’t me. He won’t let me touch the thing, fancy that!). The scores are ¼” deep however it is not mandatory to make them at that depth. A utility knife may also be used to make shallower cuts. Ours are spaced at just over ½”, but a bit further apart might be better if using a circular saw. We had some chipping at the ends.
- After the scores are cut, sand the entire post lightly. A splinter to you is a spike to a little bat.
Spacers
- Use small blocks of ¾” thick wood to space the inner 4×4 post from the outer shell. The spacing is very important. The inner 4×4 and outer shell must have a ¾” crevice space which bats prefer as well as to help discourage wasps and mud daubers from nesting inside the bat house. Our blocks are just under 2″x2″ square and placed alternating to allow the bats mobility within the box.
The spacers were attached to the inner post with a dab of wood glue and a small, thin nail in two corners. The holes were pre-drilled to avoid splitting the small blocks and we used #4 galvanized finishing nails. Do not nail through the center of the block as later you will be using a nail here to attach the outer shell to the inner post.
Please note in this photo the 4×4 has not been sanded yet and is still rough!
Inner Baffles:
Made from 4×6 smooth cedar boards. Since smooth cedar still has a rougher side, the smooth side is used for the interior wall with the rough side facing outwards. The boards were first cut down to a 5¾” width as the sides will be built from pieces 2′x5¾”, but did the scoring prior to cutting the boards length.
- Score the entire wall surfaces to allow bats more roosting areas and easier mobility within the box. Scoring for this was done at 5/8″ apart and about 1/4″ deep.
- Sand the grooved side of the board lightly to remove rough edges.
Outer Shell:
A 1/4″ deep x 3/4″ wide groove was sanded along the edges of the outer baffle shell so that the sides would fit together snugly. We used a belt sander for this, it was simple procedure.
Caulk bat house seams for water proofing and to retain heat.
Mounting:
Tools:
- Drill
- 10″x 3/8″ drill bit
- Circular saw or other saw
Materials:
- 20″x 7/16″ steel bar – find these with dowels at Home Depot or Lowes
- 1 2″x8′ pressure treated lumber
- PL 4000 adhesive
- 4 1/4″x6″ lag screws
- Galvanized exterior screws
Connect the bat house 4×4 post to the treated 4×4 mounting post. This can be done using metal brackets or by notching each of the 4×4 ends and securing with lag bolts, or a combination of both for extra stability.
For extra support we drilled a 10″ x 3/8″ hole in the bottom center of the bath house 4×4 and the pressure treated mounting post. The 3/8″ diameter will give the 7/16″ bar a snug fit.
The bar is to be inserted in the hole drilled in the bottom of the bat house 4×4 and will be attached to the pressure treated mounting post.
We painted it with rustoilium spray paint for extra protection.
Mounting Skirt:
The opening is 3 1/2″ to fit over the 4″x4″ mounting post.
More Information:
For installing a bat house, bat house placement and selecting the appropriate color of paint for your area if you use plywood and need to paint the exterior, please visit the experts at Bat Conservation International.
For questions about bats in general, please join the Bat House Forums. The bat community is a small one but here I have found very experienced bat house builders and bat hosts. It’s a very friendly group and all of my questions have generously been answered by people who have been doing this a long time.
I would like to thank whomever made up this posting. My son is working on his Eagle Scout project and this is exactly what we he has in mind. I am very proud to learn more about bats,I had no idea their impact to our everyday life and our Ecosyste. SO I thank all of you and I thank my son.
Keep up the Good work.
P.S
My son’s name is Thomas J. Indykiewicz. Life Scout Troop 9817
Guardian Angels Church in Oakdale,Minnesota.
Age: 14
Sincerly Jeffery A.Indykiewicz Assistant Scoutmaster/Committee member. Troop 9817 Guardian Angels Church Oakdale,Minnesota
I have written a comment before. I would like to thank whomever made this design.My son took the design ideas of 3 different Rocket Style houses and made his own design and built a total of 5 houses like these. He did this for his Eagle Scout project and will complete the highest rank attainable in SCOUTING in a just a couple of days. SO thank you for any and all that had something to do with it.
Jeff and Colleen Indykiewicz
Troop 817
I sure would love to see some photos! We ended up making a few of these for friends and neighbors, so hopefully they will start to see some occupancy. Please let me know how your son’s do!