Helping Bats

Bats have a very sophisticated system for finding their way around in the dark, but, despite this, some do end up getting trapped inside buildings. This happens most often between mid-July and mid-August, when baby bats are learning to fly, and they are inexperienced in using their newly-developed echolocation skills. This means that when they are finding their way back to the roost after hunting, they might crawl through the wrong gap or through an open window, especially if this window is beneath the roost entrance; they will then find themselves inside the house, rather than in the roof. Bats are very small and need only a very small space in order to gain access, so sometimes it can be very hard to tell how a bat got in.

NEVER try to catch a flying bat – you are likely to injure it severely and it may even bite in self-defence.

So what do you do? If it’s a warm evening, the best course of action is to close the door to the room, and to open the windows to the outside as widely as possible, dim the lights and give the bat the chance to find its own way out. Bats navigate by sending out high-pitched sounds and listening for the echoes, so the bat should soon detect any opening that leads out of the room. If it does not find its way out, it will roost somewhere in the room when it becomes light, and will appear again the following evening, at dusk. If you wish to search the room to ensure the bat has gone, the best places to look are in the folds of curtains and behind picture frames, and other places that are high up, where the bat can roost, out of the light. However, bats have been found hanging from the tassels at the bottom of an armchair, so do check at a lower level, as well.

At all other times, such as during daylight hours or during the winter, wait until the bat lands. Sometimes young bats, which are inexperienced flyers, will become exhausted before finding the way out. They may try to land on a wall or curtains, or they may crash-land on furniture or the floor. In this case, you should contain the bat and then release it in the evening.

Place a box (which should be shoe box or ice cream tub-sized) over the bat and slide a piece of cardboard under the box to make the floor of the container. If this is not practical, then put on a pair of thick protective gloves and pick up the bat and put it in the box. It is recommended that people wear thick gloves to handle bats because there is a tiny risk of some bats in Britain carrying a rabies-related virus, which could be transmitted through a bite or a scratch. Bats are not vicious, but a frightened wild animal may become distressed and bite.

Put a piece of cloth, such as an old tea towel, loosely crumpled, in one corner of the box. The bat will feel safer if it has something to crawl into and hide. Put a few small air holes into the lid and a very shallow container (such as a foil milk bottle top) of water in one corner, so the bat can have a drink.

When releasing the bat, you should wait until dusk, or as near to that time as possible. It should be a warm, dry night. Place the box on its side, so the bat can crawl straight out. Bats need to drop and swoop to become airborne, so the box should be on the top of a wall or on a shed roof, at least five feet off the ground, as near as possible to where the bat was found. It should be placed somewhere safe from predators. The bat can then crawl out of the box and fly away, when it is ready.

If the bat does not fly away within 2 hours, it might need further attention, so take it back inside, as it will need to be passed on to a bat rehabilitator. If you pass the bat on to a bat rehabilitator, it is important to, also, pass on details of who found the bat, where and in what circumstances it was found.