On Mar 30, 9:23 am, "Toller" wrote:
I build a bunch of bat houses to put on trees around my cottage. There are
some bats, and I am hoping to encourage more to move in, to keep down the
mosquitos.
Then I found out bats won't live in houses attached to trees; they must be
on metal poles. Fussy creatures, I wonder where they find such things in
the wild.

Well, a friend moving had to get rid of his 35 year old hang glider. I cut
it up into 6 10' poles. They ought to be great to hold the houses.
Now the problem; my "soil" is a little top soil over shale. I will have to
put a hole though 2 feet of shale if these are going to stand up. Driving
rebar into it to keep 4x4s in place is hard enough, this sounds impossible
without some power tool. Any ideas.

Try an auger. Available for rent everywhere, they come in different
sizes. The smallest one is like the ones ice fishermen use and
require one person only. Tow person models are also available. An
auger attachment is also available for use on heavy equipment like a
bobcat. You can choose your depth and diameter.