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  • We want to mount a bat house on a tree, but aren’t sure what kind of mounting we need for that?

     I tend not to recommend placing bat houses on trees, there are instances where this can be successful. Generally it is hard to find a tree that allows a bat house to get enough direct sun, and some caution that predators can more easily climb/perch in trees. If you want to go with a tree, the “wood post mount kit” is most appropriate. By attaching the brackets to the Perch Panel, this keeps the brackets aligned and possible then to easily place onto a round, uneven tree.    You take a chance of weakening or even killing a tree when driving bolts into it. The mount kit includes galvanized bolts which are not appropriate for a live tree. Please replace with similar stainless steel lag bolts from a local hardware store. Typically we put 4 bolts total into the mounts into a post. If this is a live tree you might consider just putting 2 bolts in total, one in top, one in bottom, to minimize the chance of weakening the tree. -JC

  • Why do I need a post mount kit?

    The Mount Kit forms a secure connection between the narrow post and the wide bat house, and we improve on it a bit by turning the middle space into potential roost. The Mount Kit consists of 2 brackets that attach to your post, and a panel that attaches between the brackets on the post as well. The bat house then fits over all of this. All of the manuals are located here: https://batmanagement.com/pages/manuals

  • For the Siding Mount - I have 6 long + 3 short (galvanized?) screws.

    Because this is a siding mount you have mounts that have no pilot holes in them, and 6 - very long deck screws. This is to fasten the 2x4 mounts to siding- try to get at least one or two screws into the framing behind the siding. Once to find a spot for a screw, you might want to pilot hole the 2x4. The location of course depends on your exact location so that’s why nothing is pre-drilled.    Three screws simply hold the perch panel to your siding; we assume it is metal or vinyl or painted wood siding, and that perch panel just gives bats something rough to roost on should they hang out on the back of the bat house. Don’t forget to take a utility knife and add a lot of scratches on the back side of the ColonyLodge in the area around the vent and where the perch panel will be.    For the latest manuals please see: https://batmanagement.com/pages/manuals

  • Hi there. I'm looking into purchasing two day lodge kits, as well as two post mount kits. I'm looking to put up both houses back-to-back on a single post. Is there any recommended modification to the houses/post mount kits to allow transit between the two houses if desired?

    We can make a kit for this if desired, but the general DIY idea is: Start by installing the two post mount kits; the upper and lower mounts on both sides should be symetrical. Cut an inch off the Perch Panel to be sure there is a 1'' gap both above and below the panel. You could add more panels inside if desired, 3/4'' apart, but they should always be 1'' below the inside of the roof. Roof: add 1x (0.75'') spacers across the top and then cover with plywood and white aluminum (cool climate use brown aluminum, or black shingles. The "roof" of this center section is intentionally vented to give bats lots of options; the main bat houses should have airtight roofs. There is a rear vent on all our bat houses. scratch the back of the bat houses so it can be used as a roost, and everything in-between the two houses needs to be heavily scratched (use a utility knife.) Contact sales@batmanagement.com for questions or if you'd like us to create a kit for this configuration.

  • Can this product be painted?

    We just moved to recycled plastic lumber for the mount kits, since our bat houses were outlasting the mounts in some ways. Yes it can be painted, it comes in black that does not require any painting. The mount and "perch panel" is black to darken the gap behind the bat house that forms an extra crevice on our bat houses. 

  • Hi I am mounting the bat house to a 1-1/4” metal pole 10’ long that’s attached to a 1-1/2” metal pole 10’ long both pipes galvanized steel pipe cemented in ground approximately 48” deep for Northern Wisconsin winters. I cannot find a picture or diagram of your side mounting bracket for metal poles just wood. Can you send me something before I order. Thanks

    Hello Tim- Because of the different sizes and wall thickness of metal, I don't offer guidance on what bat house is safe to put on a particular metal pole. You'll need to make some sort of metal bracket and bolt or weld it together. Ideally, you'd still use the mount scheme so that you add an extra roost crevice behind the bat house. So, that would be bolting a wood or plastic wood 1x or 2x material to make a crevice with the perch panel. Take a look at the manual for the Colony-type bat houses and you can see it's pretty simple to create your own. https://batmanagement.com/pages/manuals  I can say installing any of our bat houses on a 4''x6''x16' PT post cemented 30'' in the ground will not fall over, and will last ~20+ years, and even longer with a post protector/insulating sleeve where it contacts the ground. -Thanks, JC