Looking for a bat box but don’t know which one to buy? This article is the first in a three part series designed to help you to make the right choice.
The following two blog posts will cover our bestselling boxes for walls and fences and for building into a new build or development.
Here you will find our top 10 boxes for installing on a tree, in a garden, park or woodland. For each box you will also find helpful information such as its dimensions and weight and the box type (e.g. whether it is for summer use, for hibernation or for access into an existing roost space).
The Glossary below provides a guide to the key terms used in the descriptions.
• Woodcrete/WoodStone: A blend of wood, concrete and clay which is very durable. It is also breathable and helps to maintain a stable temperature inside the box.
• Summer: Summer boxes are suitable for the warmer months but are less likely to be used over the winter.
• Hibernation: Designed to be larger and better insulated, hibernation boxes will provide a safe and warm space for bats over the winter.
• Maternity: Suitable for the formation of colonies and raising of young.
• Access: Provides an entrance to an existing roof space such as a wall cavity or loft.
• Crevice: Provides one or more narrow roost spaces. Species which prefer this type of box include common, soprano and Nathusius pipistrelle, Brandt’s and whiskered bats.
• Cavity: Provides a more spacious roost space. Bats such as brown long-eared, Daubenton’s and Natterer’s bats prefer cavity boxes.
• Large cavity: These boxes allow space for flight within the roost which is preferred by brown long-eared bats in particular.
• Made from: Woodcrete
• Dimensions: 33 x 16 x 16cm; 4kg
• Box type: Cavity, summer
• Made from: Woodcrete
• Dimensions: 36 x 16 x 16cm; 4.3kg
• Box type: Cavity, summer
3. Improved Crevice Bat Box (Double Crevice)
• Made from: FSC Plywood
• Dimensions: 33 x 16 x 10cm; 1.4kg
• Box type: Crevice, summer
4. • Made from: Recycled plastic, FSC wood
• Dimensions: 52 x 23 x 16cm; 4.5kg
• Box type: Crevice, summer
• Made from: FSC Wood
• Dimensions: 38 x 18 x 10cm; 1.2kg
• Box type: Cavity, summer
6. 1FS Schwegler Large Colony Bat Box
• Made from: Woodcrete
• Dimensions: 44 x 38 x 38cm; 10kg
• Box type: Large cavity, hibernation and maternity
• Made from: FSC Wood
• Dimensions: 28 x 16 x 16cm; 1.6kg
• Box type: Crevice, summer
8. Vivara Pro WoodStone Bat Box
• Made from: WoodStone
• Dimensions: 25 x 19 x 16.5cm; 4.5kg
• Box type: Cavity, summer
• Made from: FSC Plywood
• Dimensions: 38 x 24 x 15cm; 1.5kg
• Box type: Cavity, summer
10. Schwegler 1FW Bat Hibernation Box
• Made from: Woodcrete
• Dimensions: 50 x 38 x 38cm; 28kg
• Box type: Cavity, hibernation and maternity
Browse our full range of bat boxes for trees and woodland.
The full range of NHBS bat boxes can be found in our online shop, as well as a useful nest box price list which can be downloaded as a pdf.