To humans, bats are essentially harmless. But to insects, bats are spooky. A single little brown bat, which is lighter than a pencil and barely as big as a hand, can eat over 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour! They also eat garden pests like moths and beetles. Some insects flee at the very sound of a bat’s echolocation.

These helpful critters are struggling in the face of widespread disease and habitat loss, but humans can help by providing a safe home for them. In return, bat neighbors will happily protect gardens and yards from unwanted insects. Midcoast Conservancy Americorps member Skye Cahoon will lead a bat box building workshop on Sunday, Oct. 9, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hidden Valley Nature Center.

Participants will work together to build single-chambered bat boxes that can house 50-75 little brown bats each. Everyone will take home a bat box and an informational handout that includes suggestions on where to hang the box. All materials and tools will be provided, except for the final touch of black exterior paint and hanging hardware. This is a beginner friendly event- no previous carpentry experience required.

Any additional donation on top of the $20 registration fee will be given to Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation, the organization that provided the instructions for making and hanging the boxes. MTBC uses a combination of science and photography to save bats by teaching people to live harmoniously with them in order to protect public health, economies, and ecosystems worldwide. Midcoast Conservancy thanks Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation for supplying the blueprints, bat box research data, and hanging instructions.

To learn more and to register, go to https://www.midcoastconservancy.org/events-list/bat-box-build-day.