Jump to content

Bats in my belfry !


Recommended Posts

well not quite, actually they're in my verandah roof. I had thought I had a lot of mice, seeing a lot of droppings in the morning, but after laying bait, etc., - and also having four cats - the droppings continued. Then I heard chittering noises during the afternoon coming from the roof and remembered that I'd had pipistrelle bats behind some shutters and heard similar noises ..

Checking online I see that mouse poos and bat poos can look identical except that bat droppings are crumbly, as these ones are. I'm seeing bats in the early evening but don't know how many I have

My problem is the bat droppings. I am vacuuming the verandah to get rid of them ... they're sort of in a two-feet wide area - because there are so many, probably a hundred or so every day. That's quite a lot, and unexpected visitors are thinking I have mice! So I sweep or vacuum in the morning, and have to in the evening. Easily a hundred droppings a day ... so how many bats do I have up there?

I can't easily take off the roof tiles, and there are small gaps in the wooden boards underneath but I can't see anything up there although I think I can see a little movement every now and again. The structure of the roof is a bit fragile, but I'm wondering if I've got too many bats up there and it's a bit out of control. A handful of bats, yes, but if there's several dozen up there and more to come then I shall be knee-deep in bat poo shortly.

So, advice ... should I leave everything as it is, or take steps to reduce the population by driving them away. Naturally, not killing or disposing of them ... I know they are protected ... but how many is 'ordinary' for one house and how many do I have up there based on the droppings?

All advice appreciated. Many thanks.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes very protected. Bats have a location for breeding and a location for hibernating.

You have a maternity colony, females and young; the mummy bats will leave first and later the little baby chauve-souris; if the clement conditions continue they may be all gone by the end of june.

Then clean up and board up to prevent a repetition next year.[:)]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had them, we never got rid of them. A baby which managed to end up on our drive was put back in the roof.

About a year after we moved in I was horrified to see we had 'mice' and their droppings were on our balcony. I bought a variety of mouse traps and caught nothing. Then we realised what we had and they were pipistrelles we had and I loved having them there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The good news is that you will be much less plagued by flying insects.  Bats eat vast quantities.

 

The bad news is that the size of the roost will determine the size of the colony.  In the US and in some SE Asian countries colonies counting well over 1 million have been recorded.   But fear not your verandah will not be big enough for that many.

 

Please please please do not do anything to deliberately disturb them.  Bats along with much other wildlife are gradually coming under threat and they should be cherished and nutured, not hounded oout of town.

 

Incidentally if you did want to get rid of them sweeping up the poo is exactly the wrong thing to do.

In the wild, the piles of poo gradually build up.  Each summer a new brood of young bats learn to fly, which they do by simply letting go and flapping the wings.  They have the distance between the roost and the poo to get it right.  AS time goes on and te poo pile increases the distance and time to perfect flight becomes less and less, until the new young find themselves well and truely in the sh1t.  From whence they cannot then take off.  That bit of the colony then dies out.

 

Personally if I could I would gladly take your colony away with me they are really fascinating little creatures.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all replies. Andy I loved your bit about the poo pile determining the size of the colony ... however as the roof space is about ten feet higher than the poo pile then there's a whole lotta poo to go until the young can't move!

I guess, for me, it's just the embarrassment of people thinking we have mice! But I guess having bats is something to be proud of and I shan't disturb them at all. In fact their chittering noise during the afternoon is quite entertaining - I suspect in bat speak they are saying"look she's swept up the poo, let's do another 30 now and make her get our the broom again!".

Thanks again for all replies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wooly, great minds think alike! I have placed a metal sheet under the poo drop-zone so it is easier to pick up and empty over the side of the verandah. Actually, now I know it's bats then I'm inclined to make a little sign, pointing to the poo, saying "no, it's not rats, it's bats" ...

As I speak I see another sprinkling of bat-poo tumbling down ....
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...