What do I do if bats are roosting in my property?

The simple answer is nothing. There is no need to worry if bats are using your property as a roost. They do not gnaw through wiring or chew timber, nor do they make nests or bring food back to the roost. They are simply making use of the conditions and safety that our buildings provide. Most commonly they are found in buildings during the summer, when females often congregate to give birth and raise their single baby. After a few weeks the babies can fly sufficiently well for the colony to disperse and they will leave of their own accord. Bats are very vulnerable when roosting and it is important that they are not disturbed. If you plan any work that may disturb a bat roost site at any time of year there is a legal obligation to approach English Nature before proceeding, to seek their free advice. In this way you can ensure that work can proceed legitimately and that no bats are trapped or harmed. One very helpful thing you could also do would be to tell the Batscapes Project Officer or Avon Bat Group about your roost so that we can add it to our database to help build up a picture of our regions bats.

A bat has flown into my room – what should I do?

The most common time for bats to appear flying inside houses is mid-summer and often they are inexperienced juveniles. They will be using their echolocation to search for a way out so the best thing you can do is open any windows wide, dim the lights, close the door and let the bat find it’s own way out. You should never try to catch a flying bat, however sometimes young bats will become exhausted and land on walls or curtains, or fall to the floor. In this case the bat can be contained carefully using a piece of card and a container such as a clean margarine tub. Gloves should always be worn, as being a wild animal and distressed the bat may try to bite. If it is day time the bat should be kept safe before releasing in the evening. Placing a crumpled cloth in the box for the bat to hide in and a very shallow container (such as a foil milk bottle top) with water in it will help make the bat’s stay more comfortable.

Do bats carry rabies?

In a very small number of bats of one of our 16 British species there has recently been found evidence of a rabies-like virus called European Bat Lysavirus. The bat involved is the daubenton’s bat which most commonly roosts in bridges or in trees and is rarely encountered close up by the public. Even in this species the percentage shown to have been exposed to the virus is tiny and of bats tested in our region as part of a nationwide study there was no evidence of exposure. That said there remains a theoretical risk and so it is advised to never handle bats without gloves. The vast majority of people never have the need to handle bats and it is volunteer bat works such as those of Avon Bat Group for whom such precautions are most relevant.

Why are bats legally protected?

Indications are that bats have become considerably rarer over recent years in Britain, with one species, the greater mouse–eared bat, being declared extinct in this country in 1991. It is a similar story across northern Europe with vulnerable bat species continuing to decline and even disappear in several countries. The disturbance of roosts and impacts such as roof timber spraying with toxic chemicals have been highlighted as major factors in declines hence the legal protection.

Why is the project area so important for bats?

The Batscapes project area of Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire council districts falls within a regional hotspot for several of Britain’s rarest bats. In particular the area is recognised internationally as holding important populations of both greater and lesser horseshoe bats, both of which have suffered huge declines both in Britain and across northern Europe. It is also home for what is thought to be Britain’s rarest native mammal, the Bechstein’s bat. The landscape of old deciduous woodlands, river valleys, large old properties, sympathetically managed farmland and caves and old stone mine workings is a major factor in why these rare bats have managed to hang on in our region where in others they have been lost.

Who should I contact for more information on bats?

If you have a bat roost in your house and are considering doing work which may affect it then you should contact English Nature. If you are concerned with a bat flying within your house or have an injured bat, then contact the national bat helpline. If you know of a bat roost in your area or property and would like to find out more about the bats using it, contact Avon Bat Group or the Batscapes Project Officer. If you would like further general information on bats, visit the Bat Conservation Trust website.