Super Rocket Roost - 8''x56'' Artificial tree bat roost

Fully Assembled, no painting, simplest bat house to install

The 8''x56'' Super Rocket Roost is a no brainer for serious bat habitat enhancement and mitigation. Our Rocket Core mimics a dead tree with both "wedge" roost crevices and more traditional vertical baffles. This is a great choice in forest environments suitable for small colonies of a wide range of species. A 1/8'' thick heavy-duty custom outdoor UV-resistant plastic shell protects the roost for a no maintenance roost.  The larger mass of the Super Rocket Roost retains heat longer into the night and provides more roost crevices for more bats.

The BCM Rocket Roost is intended to be added to an existing 4''x6''x16' treated post. Bats may land on, but never roost against the treated post. For warm climates consider installing in part (afternoon) or full shade. As with all bat houses, multiple location or roost designs can increase the chances of occupancy. 

Thanks to "White Nose Syndrome" that has killed millions of bats in North America, the landscape of the bat population has changed. Rocket Roosts tend to attract small families of bats but of a wider range of species, whereas larger nursery bat houses tend to attract a large number of just a few species. Some bats prefer small roosts which end up being less obvious to predators and less prone to parasite overload. So, one bat roost does not fit all, and BCM Rocket Roosts are a great complement to nursery style bat houses especially on forest edges.

Rocket boxes are highly successful and perform better than many other designs. Our 4'' test units had big brown bats occupy in less than 10 days at one site, while at another location little brown bats were recorded the first time it was surveyed 45 days after installation. At one location, our Super Rocket Roost had little brown bats occupying in approximately one month. Rocket Roosts are great for large mitigation projects were a number of long-term replacement roosts are necessary, while being far more cost effective than other solutions

Contents: (1) 8'' diameter, 56'' tall Super Rocket Roost with heavy-duty plastic exterior and associated hardware. The Super Rocket Roost overall is almost 8'' in diameter, 56'' high, and weighs ~35 lbs.

Difference from 4'' Super Rocket Roost: The 4’’ Super Rocket contains only “wedge” crevices. The 8’’ Super Rocket contains both “wedge” crevices and more traditional “vertical” crevices found in nursery type bat houses. Super Rockets have the fewest steps for installation and simply slip over an existing post.

You supply: (1)- 80 lb. bag concrete mix. For the base use (1) 4''x6''x16' treated post. 16' is minimum length for the base, this will get the bottom of the Rocket Roost ~11' above ground, assuming ~3' is in the ground. Use a longer base post if you anticipate the vegetation to grow up and possibly shade the roost. Caution: a dry 4''x6''x16' treated post can weigh 80- 100 lbs. but is usually available at some local lumber yards. You can make a warp-resistant post by using deck screws to attached two 2x4x16' or 2x6x16' PT together; these are available at any lumber supply. In wet locations, you might possibly double the life of the post by adding a Post Protector to protect the ground-air transition zone where most base posts fail. 

How to install:  Optionally stain the post to extend its life even longer and/or for looks. In wet locations use this sleeve or this post protector to protect from long term moisture or enable easy lowering if desired. Slip on post protector (if desired) and drill out its weep holes. Place in a hole with 8'' of gravel at the bottom. Backfill a few more inches of gravel, then backfill with cement mix. Approximately 2.5'-3' of the post should be below ground. While the Super Rocket Roost may be intimidating, two people can easily flip the post upright. Once standing in the hole, it will not fall over, assuming the hole diameter was not over-dug. 

Overall points:

• 8’’ diameter x 56'' tall Rocket Roost
• 35 lbs weight without post, ~135 lbs. with post
• 1’ of the Roost Core slips over and lag bolts to a 4’’x6’’x16' treated post (you provide)
• Heavy-duty shell slips over the baffle core, no bolts are exposed
• Diagonal "Gill Vents" provide lower level ventilation avoiding overheating
• Roost Core features both “wedge” crevices (specific to rocket boxes) and “vertical baffles” (like traditional bat houses), which are attractive to a wide range of tree, crevice, and building roosting species
• Designed so guano drops out; no cleaning required
• Two people can easily stand the post up into a 3’ deep hole
• Use a 4’’x6’’ post protector to double the life of the post; stain the post dark brown to extend even longer
• Approximate safe capacity ~114 bats, more or less depending on circumstances