Bat House
Start Date 2002
Completion Date 2002
Project Design Jeremy Greene
Builder Steve Taylor Builder
Owner Sidney and Susan Manes
Location Ojibway Island
The Manes Bat house is located in a clearing on an island among the Thousand
Islands region of the St Lawrence River. It stands away from an existing summer
house poking just beyond a cluster of trees.
When homeowner Susan Manes decided that she wanted to remove the approximately
2,000 - 3,000 bats that were living in the attic and walls of her house, she
did something that most people wouldn't even consider. She built a house for
the animals, knowing the tremendous benefit they provide to the local ecosystem.
Having never attempted this type of project, STB consulted a handbook
provided by the Bat Conservation International (a non-profit
group based in Austin, Texas) that outlined the basic construction techniques
for bat house. Theses included using ¾" wide chambers, 2' deep
for the bats to roost in. This gives the animals enough space to move up or
down in the house depending on what temperature they prefer. Another technique
included creating a "sandwich": of plywood layers to increase the
surface area and allow more bats to roost. The BCI handbook provided plans
for small houses that could hold up to 100 bats. However, Mrs. Manes had such
a large quantity of bats that STB had to modify the design.
The design of the bat house consisted of a repeated pattern of three individual
houses that together made up a unified whole structure. Reminiscent of a Japanese
temple, or pagoda, the structure was meant to be both sculptural and functional.
Since the houses increase in size from the top down, the guano from the bats
drops freely to the ground and can be collected and used for fertilizer in nearby gardens.
