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.

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.

"Toller" wrote in message
...
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.


You don't need a "bunch". Bats don't need houses on metal poles. 10' poles
aren't long enough - the house should be closer to 15' off the ground.

On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:23:38 GMT, "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.


Rebar is really too soft to be drilling into rock with.
you really want a 4' hard steel rod sized to
fit inside your pipe, and a helper who's really good with a
sledgehammer.
(And let me tell you, from experience, that holding a drill
while someone else swings a doublejack at it takes an
unfair amount of faith...)

Failing that, you can do it with a one-handed sledge by
yourself, but that's enough like real work that
I'd start looking to rent a pnuematic rock drill,
or just cast the poles into cement-filled tire bases,
and plop them on the surface.

--Goedjn

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.

Get a big bucket. Fill with concrete. Poke in pole. Let harden.