Habitats – Page 4 – Hoopoe

Top 10 Bat Boxes for Walls and Fences

Looking for a bat box but don’t know which one to buy? This article is the second in a three part series designed to help you to make the right choice.

Here you will find our top 10 boxes for installing on an external wall or fence. The first and third posts cover the best options for installing on a tree in a garden, park or woodland and for building into a new build or development respectively.

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.

1. Schwegler 1FF Bat Box

• Made from: Woodcrete and wood
• Dimensions: 43 x 27 x 14cm; 9.5kg
• Box type: Cavity; summer, maternity

2. Vivara Pro WoodStone Bat Box

• Made from: WoodStone
• Dimensions: 25 x 19 x 16.5cm; 4.5kg
• Box type: Cavity; summer

3. Schwegler 2FE Wall-Mounted Bat Shelter

• Made from: Woodcrete
• Dimensions: 30 x 25 x 5cm; 2.5kg
• Box type: Cavity, hibernation

4. Chavenage Bat Box

• Made from: FSC Wood
• Dimensions: 38 x 18 x 10cm; 1.2kg
• Box type: Cavity, summer

5. Schwegler 1WQ Summer & Winter Bat Roost

• Made from: Woodcrete
• Dimensions: 58 x 38 x 12cm; 22kg
• Box type: Crevice, hibernation and maternity

6. Improved Cavity Bat Box

• Made from: FSC Plywood
• Dimensions: 38 x 24 x 15cm; 1.5kg
• Box type: Cavity, summer

7. Large Multi Chamber WoodStone Bat Box

• Made from: WoodStone and wood
• Dimensions: 27.5 x 15 x 16cm; 4kg
• Box type: Crevice, summer, maternity, hibernation (mild winters)

8. Beaumaris WoodStone Bat Box: Midi

• Made from: WoodStone
• Dimensions: 39 x 29 x 6cm; 4.4kg
• Box type: Crevice, summer

9. Improved Roost Maternity Bat Box

• Made from: FSC Plywood
• Dimensions: 49 x 26 x 13cm; 6.6kg
• Box type: Crevice, maternity

10. Low Profile WoodStone Bat Box

• Made from: WoodStone
• Dimensions: 44 x 29 x 9cm; 4.7kg
• Box type: Crevice, summer

Browse our full range of bat boxes for external walls.

Top 10 Bat Boxes for Trees and Woodland

Schwegler 2F Bat Box front panel with one of its residents.

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.

1. 2F Schwegler Bat Box

• Made from: Woodcrete
• Dimensions: 33 x 16 x 16cm; 4kg
• Box type: Cavity, summer

2. 2FN Schwegler Bat Box

• 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. Eco Kent Bat Box

• Made from: Recycled plastic, FSC wood
• Dimensions: 52 x 23 x 16cm; 4.5kg
• Box type: Crevice, summer

5. Chavenage Bat Box

• 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

7. Double Chamber Bat Box

• 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

9. Improved Cavity Bat Box

• 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.

The Importance of Nest Sites for Birds and Bees

Changes in land use can result in strong competition between species that have historically survived alongside eachother, such as goldfinches and chaffinches. Goldfinch by Tony Smith is licenced under CC BY 2.0.

Over the last century, land use in the UK has changed drastically. Small mixed-crop farms, traditionally separated by lanes, hedgerows and wild meadows have been replaced with larger, more specialised facilities. At the same time, the density of grazing animals such as sheep and cattle has also risen substantially. This combination of land-use change and agricultural intensification has contributed significantly to habitat degradation and biodiversity loss, and has led to huge, often dire, changes for the wildlife that call these places home.

Understanding these processes is of huge importance to conservationists, and a considerable amount of research has been conducted into the broad scale effects of land use changes on biodiversity. It is less well understood, however, why seemingly similar species can be affected to a different extent by local changes in their habitat.

A recent study, conducted by Dr Andrew Higginson at the University of Exeter, suggests that competition for nesting space may be a key factor in the differences observed. His study used a mathematical model to predict the likely outcome when populations of birds and bees are faced with a reduction in suitable nesting sites. Results indicated that larger, earlier-nesting species tend to fare better in these conditions, but at the expense of smaller, later-nesting species who, in the real world, would either fail to find a nesting site or be forced into using a poor quality or risky location.

Dr Higginson’s results illustrate that, whilst two or more similar species can co-exist together very happily when there are sufficient nesting spaces available, as soon as these become limited, competition and conflict become inevitable. In severe situations, species that have historically thrived in the same environment may suddenly find themselves battling for survival.

A key message from the study was that conservation efforts should ensure that priority is given to the creation and maintenance of suitable nesting sites. Conservation practices often focus on provision of food for wildlife, such as planting wildflowers for bees and providing food for our garden birds. Preserving and creating safe and accessible places for these animals to nest, however, is just as critical if we are to ensure their continued survival.

Head over to www.nhbs.com for our full range of bird nest boxes and insect nesting aids, or download our full nest box price list.