The bat house from Stovall seems to be pretty well constructed, for the most part. Although, the vent at the bottom is larger ( about 3/4" or so) than the 1/2" that is usually specified in plans that are available for making one yourself. I don't know if that size vent is a problem or not. The stick that you see sticking out the top of the bat house, is the hanger. There were no real instructions that came with the bat house.There is a sticker on that hanger stick that tells you to swivel it up and reinstall the 2 screws that come with the house. There is a pilot hole drilled through the top of that stick, apparently for a user supplied screw to mount the house.
The house weighs about 17 lbs and I didn't think that 1 screw would be sufficient to attach the house to my pole. I drilled another pilot hole a couple of inches below the original mounting hole and attached the house to my pole with 2 #8 screws. The 2nd screw split the hanger stick pretty bad, so I had to make another one.The included hanger stick doesn't seem to be cedar like the outside of the house.I had some cedar planks, so the new hanger board that I made is cedar and will last as long as the house.
The house has 3 chambers inside, with fine netting attached to the surfaces. There is no landing platform for the bats, that you see on many of the bat house designs and I couldn't detect any openings between the chambers.I don't know if any of these things are an issue for bat occupancy of the house.
I mounted the house on a pole, generally following the instructions found in this booklet, The Bat House Builder's Handbook: Second Edition [BAT HOUSE BUILDERS HANDBK -OS], since there were no instructions with the Stovall bat house.If you don't already know how to install one of these houses in an optimal manner for bat occupancy, I'd suggest buying one of these type books.
Click Here to see more reviews about:
Stovall 10H Nursery Bat HouseProduct Description: Nursery bat house with three chambers that can hold up to 300 to 400 bats. This is great for golf courses or larger areas. 29-inch by 17-inch by 6-1/2-inch. Stovall products feature all cedar construction, stainless steel and dichromate plated screws, washers, hooks and chains, hand sanded, assembled with screws, many products coated with wood protector which accents the wood grain and the natural warmth of cedar. Environmentally green practices - hand sorted down graded lumber. The Shop is heated with scrap wood, cooled with natural shade and insulation, nestled in a glen among 25+ acres of beech/maple/oak forest. Rumored staffing of woodland gnomes with a payroll of nuts and berries is still not factual.
Buy cheap Stovall 10H Nursery Bat House now
I mistakenly bought a few of these thinking they'd be glass--like my old ones.Mistake.A thin (I mean THIN) plastic.I was too lazy to go back and check if "plastic" was used in the description.But I knew as soon as my UPS driver handed me the box something wasn't right--it was light as air.No--as light as thin plastic.Alas, they might work come spring.But I'm from the old school--I like heft.And somehow bird feeders gotta take a licking to keep on ticking.
