Join members of the Florida Bat Conservancy for a Bat House Building Workshop at Fort Cooper State Park and learn how to build and install an effective bat house.

Bat House Building Workshop

Bats consume millions of insect pests each year and a well-placed bat house helps replace lost natural roosts and gives bats a place to call home!
Bat house kits are $60.00 each. This is the same bat house that is sold elsewhere for $150.00! Participants will build their bat house with the guidance of an instructor and take home a bat-ready roost!

Space is limited, you must RSVP by Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Please call 321-890-6154 to reserve your bat house kit and register for the workshop.

This workshop is appropriate for families with school-aged children with parental participation. Participants should bring a battery-operated screwdriver or drill gun with charged batteries, a phillips head screwdriver bit and a hammer.
Wear comfortable, old clothes, as we will be using caulk. Close-toed shoes are also recommended. Bring drinking water and plan for a full, two-hour workshop. Park entrance fee is $3 per vehicle, cash only please.

Saturday, April 15, 2023
10:00am – 12:00 p.m.
Fort Cooper State Park
3100 Old Floral City Rd.
Inverness, FL 34450

Bat Houses, Where the Bats are:
Bat house “kits” are created for participants to build during the workshop. Each kit is complete and is pre-stained and painted so that once built it’s ready to install. The cost of each kit is $60.00 and covers the materials used in the construction. These bat houses are a three-chambered model that will accommodate 300-350 bats.

The purpose of the workshop is to TEACH participants the skills and techniques required to build a successful bat house, including where and how to properly install the finished house. We want folks to
be able to replicate the process on their own. The bat house plan, installation drawings, and several other handouts will be provided to each participant, so they can go forth and multiply – bat houses, that is!

Bats are highly beneficial mammals and provide year-round insect control, but the loss of Florida’s hardwood hammocks and old growth trees has left many bats homeless. The bats that may have
once roosted in ancient trees with large hollows now often occupy attics, barns, carports, gazebos, and other man-made structures. In developed areas bats have become more reliant on man-made
structures for roosting space, and artificial roosts like bat houses offer bats an attractive alternative.
When used in combination with humane evictions from buildings, bat houses can keep bats in the neighborhood, while keeping them out of other structures. This program walks through the 35-year search for the perfect bat house and outlines the attributes of a well-made roost. Live bats will be exhibited after the program.