What's the best, easiest and quickest way to attach hardware cloth to brick?

I ran into one yesterday where I was putting up excluders to remove the bats from an attic. One spot where they had been gaining entry was under the edge of a facial board against the brick wall. The top of my excluder was easy enough to attach to the facials board but the bottom was directly against the brick.

Luckily, there were a couple of cracks in the mortar that I was able to get a couple of screws to hold and the screen was tight enough to the brick that it may just hold. But if the cracks had not been present I could have had a real problem.

Short of drilling holes into the home owners brick, how would y'all suggest that I attach my screen or hardware cloth to the next one?

I'm not sure if my pics of that same exact scenario made it to the archives or got pruned but I have a method that works. Tapcon screws. Yes you have to put holes in the brick and you need a hammer drill but usually it's only two to three 5/16th inch holes. I use mostly plastic to make my valves so I screw flashing g
down to hold duct tape but I have also screwed metal and tube valves directly to the brick. Lath strip are handy as well.

duct tape, caulk, and even foam then wire brush it off when done

Gorilla Tape

hurricane putty works very well. for holding just about anything needed for exclusion work. to get it off you just peal it off and dab it to it self on the tougher spots.

It is a fine looking valve....but they can climp brick. Anyone have similar thoughts?

Yes, they can. That is but one of the resons I use plastic sheeting. If I were to do that type of valve, and it is a very nice valve btw really good work, I would have at least lined the brick side with something slick like plastic or sheet metal. Of course they can climb hardware cloth so I do not use that type of valve.
I would say that nine times out of ten a simple valve like that turns the trick as bats are not practicioners of higher logic but do this long enough and the tenth einstein bat will figure you out.

David beat me to it! From experience, also from reading and listening to tons of folks with decades of bat
exclusion experience, it seems what you look for is the best, most effective way that is easiest to install
and that above all you know does the job.

I would imagine many folks wouldn't realize if they had 1 bat or 10 get back up in a particular excluder.
Especially where we are talking inside a sealed wall or soffit versus in an open attic where you can visually
see most of the colony before and after.

The application looks great Chris, I'd tend to agree with others that it could be a problem, if even 99.9% of
bats land near the actual entry point and don't find their way down to the mouth of that cone. Probably the
longer that the exit is from the wire exit, the better off you are assurance wise.

Good thread, I honestly always feel I can learn from anyone, some little thing that might keep me from going
back to a place or having an issue and I look for those all the time, threads like this are good food for thought
and I get brick facades a bit here too, so thanks for sharing.

Justin

Thanks fop the tips, guys.

I use Tapcon screws a lot in my plumbing and light construction business. They are great! But I really want to avoid a permanent hole when it's just for temporary use. This particular home owner is a bit particular and drilling holes in his brick wall would be frowned on.

I wish I had some pictures of my valves. They are simple but very effective. I duct tape a short length of 2" PVC pipe, about 10 inches to a foot, into the hardware cloth. Then on the end of that I wrap a piece of 4 mill plastic around the pipe, hanging down another 10 to 12 inches, and tape that around the pipe. So the bats slide down the pipe and through a plastic tube and they are out. When they come back, they can't climb or fly back through the flopping plastic. Even if they COULD get past the plastic, they couldn't climb the slick sided pipe and there's not enough room for them to fly up. I would not use pipe larger than 2 inch. 1 1/2 inch may even be better.

1 1/2 works great....no need for the plastic.

I agree no need for the plastic if your down slope is sufficient. I used to do that very trick myself until I got to looking at a tube I had installed pointing staight down and thought [Please excuse my language... I'm an idiot]. This year I had it driven home though that there are no absolutes and had a reentry through a caulk tube. It was resting on a 12 pitch roof and evidently they found a way to go from the gravel of the shingle and wedge their way back up the tube. A longer tube and plastic sufficed to fix their little red wagon. Just be prepared for the idiot savant when it comes to animals.

I use seine net....(not legal in FL i believe) Quick and easy

, Seine is heavy and does not blow in the wind too bad

Have you tried the "Bat Netting " sold by WCS? I think it is 1/3X1/3 mesh, Ive used it with good results, I like the netting in some aplications. I never thought of seine netting. but it s the same principal, when i run short on bat netting I'll check prices.

This is the second time I've put up pics of that excluder and both times there have been doubters. I've used this technique for years now, I've watched bats "work" the thing, and they all fly away frustrated at dawn........

Our job is to doubt it...

I have no doubt that it works and if you have confidence in it then it works.

I've had others comment on my metal excluders and everyone says my plastic sheeting excluders look like crap. So it works for me and I have absolute faith in them.

Google brick clamps.

http://brickclip.com/

Now thats a good idea. I could see alot of applications for those.

BRICK CLIPS - I tried them thinking the same thing, if made a little sturdier yes they would be great, another down fall most homes dont have enough brick relief for them to secure properly.