Bat House Forum

[IowaNate]

The flooding in Cedar Rapids had me very busy this summer and I didn't get as far as I wanted on a few bat house projects. But here is a half finished rocket house that should be ready to mount when I get a few hours of free time. This was alot more difficult to build than I had expected with my current tools, and some of the edges don't quite line up. But the chambers are a uniform 3/4", and I took to the painstaking task of saw kerfing every partition. I think this house has the Nature Center written all over it come next March.

[Joe Spencer]

That looks just like the few rocket cores I have made. Is it slipping over a 4x4 post or are you using a metal pole? Considering you doubled your bat count at this site I'm really curious as to how the rocket will do here. Looking forward to its erection and your feedback!

[IowaNate]

Joe, it is for a 4x4. It will be a basic 2 chamber rocket and unless I get some new tools, it will probably be the last one I build. Trying to make exact cuts with my circular saw was quite a hassle...I really need a table saw but that won't work well in my basement.
But the house should be crafted well enough to last at least 10 years, and there isn't another rocket style house in Eastern Iowa as far as I know. So I am also looking forward to seeing how well it does.

Jean Wiedenheft (the land steward) at the Nature Center has been great to me, and I gave her a 3 chamber bat house as a gift for letting me run the bat house program and for her doing the final exit count with another collegue in late August.

[Terry Lobdell]

Nate, that looks really good! I will be interested to see how your little browns at the nature center like your rocket. For some strange reason, here at my home, only my big browns use the rockets. The little brown maternities have never roosted in any of my rocket boxes at all. I don't understand it. I was expecting my little browns to use the rockets a lot since they love pole mounted houses. Even more strange is the fact that my big browns strongly prefer building mounted boxes........the exception being my rocket boxes!

[Joe Spencer]

Joe, it is for a 4x4. It will be a basic 2 chamber rocket and unless I get some new tools, it will probably be the last one I build. Trying to make exact cuts with my circular saw was quite a hassle...I really need a table saw but that won't work well in my basement.
But the house should be crafted well enough to last at least 10 years, and there isn't another rocket style house in Eastern Iowa as far as I know. So I am also looking forward to seeing how well it does.

Jean Wiedenheft (the land steward) at the Nature Center has been great to me, and I gave her a 3 chamber bat house as a gift for letting me run the bat house program and for her doing the final exit count with another collegue in late August.

Indeed Nate, with my table saw with 24" standard fence I take 24" worth of boards basically I put all the rocket core pine boards together and join them on end fastening with two small strips using 1 1/4" drywall screws one in each board end. I flip it over with flat side down of course and make one pass which crosscuts multiple boards at once. 5 minutes later all the crosscuts and grippable surface are done. On my first few rockets I made I used my circular saw but it was ad you said a slow inaccurate process. Table saw or radial arm saw is the way to go with this.

[Joe Spencer]

Hey Nate! Was this rocket box mounted at the nature ctr? Any update?