The work done by the Friends of Organ Pipes National Park in Victoria deserves special mention.  The site was initially barren, with virtually all trees being planted.  Subsequently some batboxes were installed and the site now supports a vigorous bat population based solely on batboxes.  More details are available at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~foopnp/. 

The original batbox was based on a British design by Robert Stebbings and S.T. Walsh.  Essential details are illustrated adjacent.  The dimensions shown are internal.

The bats enter from below. The rear board below the entrance acts as a landing pad and they crawl up into a narrow slit.  The width of the entrance slit seems to be important.  For Gould's wattled bat, they have found that 15mm is the optimum width.  For the two Forest bats, 12mm is the preferred width.

If using ply or any other material with a smooth surface, you must do something to allow the bats to get a grip.  The original design used horizontal saw cuts but we have found that scouring well with a glass cutter also works.

In Victoria the bats change their maternity colonies almost nightly.  Whether this applies elsewhere remains to be seen, but that behaviour suggests that boxes in clusters might work better than single boxes.

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