Built Shelters

In the following pages you will find instruction sheets, directions and plans for building or creating shelters for a variety of wildlife species including birds, bats, insects, reptiles and amphibians and mammals. The resources are categorized by species type. Also look at the Habitat Elements page for more information that relates to wildlife shelters including dead wood and rock walls. If you have a resource not listed, please send it to me by using the contact form (also found in the pages drop down menu) and I’ll be happy to add it.

General Shelters

• Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest (Book)
• Beastly Abodes: Homes for Birds, Bats, Butterflies & Other Backyard Wildlife (Book)

Bat Houses

• The Bat House Builder’s Handbook, Completely Revised and Updated (Book)
• Criteria for Successful Bat Houses (PDF):: Bat Conservation International
• Single-chamber Bat House Plan (PDF):: Bat Conservation International
• Build a Bat House:: National Wildlife Federation
• Beneficial Bats (PDF):: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Creating Roosts for Bats in Your Yard (PDF):: Oregon State University Extension Service
• Bat House Plan Modifications for the Pacific Northwest (PDF):: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Economy Bat Houses:: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Post Bat Houses:: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Rocket-Box Bat House (PDF):: Bats Northwest
• Bat Condo Directions (PDF):: Pennsylvania Game Commission
• Holloway Wood Duck/Bat House Condo:: Bats Northwest
• Bat House Construction and Installation (PDF):: University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension
• Effective Bat Houses for Florida (PDF):: University of Florida IFAS Extension

Bee Houses

• Nests for Native Bees (PDF):: Xerces Society
• Tunnel Nests for Native Bees (PDF):: Xerces Society
• Information Sheet: Bee Hotels (PDF):: Hymettus Ltd, The Bees Wasps & Ants Recording Society
• Nesting Block Preparation:: United States Department of Agriculture
• Create a Bee Hotel (PDF):: Buglife
• Providing Bumblebee Nest Sites (PDF):: Bumblebee Conservation Trust
• Make a House for Solitary Bees:: Gardens for Wildlife
• Home Made Mason Bee Paper Liners That Work (PDF):: Washington State University Extension
• Man Made Bee Nests (PDF):: Penn State Cooperative Extension

Insect Hotels

• The Bug Hotel
• How to make a habitat wall (PDF:: Sussex Wildlife Trust
• Building an Invertebrate Habitat (PDF):: The Wildlife Trusts Cheshire
• Mini-beast mansion (PDF):: Wild About Your Garden
• Wildlife Stacks (PDF):: RSPB
• Building Insect Homes:: RSPB
• How to make a mini wildlife stack:: The Guardian

Mammal Shelters

• Tree Squirrel Nesting Boxes:: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Douglas Squirrel and Flying Squirrel Nest Box:: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Shelves, Houses and Feeders for Birds and Mammals (PDF):: North Central Regional Extension

Bird Houses

ROOSTS

• Roost Box for Songbirds:: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

GENERAL

• Artificial Nesting Structures (PDF):: Wildlife Habitat Council
• Features of a good birdhouse (PDF):: Nestwatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Build Nest Boxes for Wild Birds (PDF):: Oregon State Extension Service
• Song Bird Nest Box (PDF):: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Building Songbird Nests (PDF):: Stewardship Forest
• Birdhouses:: Mass Audubon
• Nest Structures for Wildlife (PDF):: Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
• Building and Locating Backyard Birdhouses (PDF):: Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service
• A Guide to Building and Placing Birdhouses for Alaska:: Alaska Department of Fish and Game
• Nest Boxes for Cavity-Nesting Birds in Oklahoma (PDF):: Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
• Backyard Wildlife Birdhouses and Shelves (PDF):: University of Nebraska Lincoln
• Shelves, Houses and Feeders for Birds and Mammals (PDF):: North Central Regional Extension
• Help Cavity-nesters in Florida (PDF):: University of Florida IFAS Extension

SPECIES SPECIFIC

• Nest Boxes for Wood Ducks (PDF):: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Robin, Barn Swallow and Phoebe Nest Platform:: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Barn Owl Nest Box:: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Flicker Nest Box:: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Downy and Hairy Woodpecker Next Box:: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Kestrel, Saw-whet Owl and Screech-Owl Nest Box:: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife