Have a house with stucco siding to bat proof. Have never worked with stucco before. What is the best way to fasten wire/ metal to the siding without damaging it?

I have done a couple jobs with Dryvit before. It is similar, might even be what you are looking at. Its an extremely hard material. You will probably need to predrill just to get a screw in it.

Jim,

I work on stucco daily due to regional construction designs and architecture. Most of the work is exclusion based, birds or bats.

Though there are gobs of anchors out there that you could use and get to hold, what I utilize most are the expanding anchor system
and with lighter wire or metal mesh where pounds of pressure on it isn't going to be great, you can use the smaller versions which will
be less visible. Generally if we have to use under the soffit exclusion materials like kwik mesh, we color match it to the stucco which is
often beige or some form of tan for us. Once up it really disappears, though the screws that come with the anchor kits are generally
shiny as the day is long, still pretty unobtrusive if up higher in the air like second story.

Hope that helps, you can get just about anything into stucco with pre-drilling which the kit requires, but true "stucco anchors" often seek
to go behind the stucco and then lock in behind the sheets of lath and so forth. These nearly always cause me issues as stucco seems to
vary widely and don't get me started on what bob mentioned above! I've had some commercial buildings where one wall is solid concrete,
the next is stucco, the next is wood and then finally a dryvit panel all of which need to hold bird net canopies and the pressure they put on
anchors. Not my idea of fun and now I look very closely at what is there as I spent lots of time running back and forth to hardware stores
in my first year (still do, but less than before).

Bulldog is one brand of those anchors, they are readily available in your big box hardware stores and come with the bit that is sized for the
anchor sleeve. We seal inside the hole as well before inserting the sleeve to protect from water intrusion potential.

Thats my .02, I'm sure there are tons of other options, this is what works best for us and keeps things where they need to stay!

Best,

Justin

Other than the cone, you can foam it and then paint the foam. I can't think of a way to hold the cone on. Maybe silicone held with duct tape until it dries? No idea on large holes needing hardware cloth. Maybe you could use a metal lath with the intention that the customer has the expert of their choice finish it at a later time.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-27-in-x-8-ft-Steel-Lath-2-5-METAL-LATH/202093395

Most of my stucco homes have wooden soffit above the siding or wood of some sort. That is an easy anchor point for one ways.

After bats are out to have a stucco guy finish the job per the owners spec if large holes or gaps.

Stucco is horrible stuff, looks pretty for about a year, after that best viewed from a distance to not see all the cracks. Own a home covered in it, would never buy it again.

not sure what you are doing,,,mortar and a applicator used for stone work grouting?

that 6/8 inch mesh from HD can be cut tight and set using polseamseal?

I repainted right away with a elastomeric (sp) paint,,,,,,,LOVE IT

Post tension foundation in your area?