Bats — long associated with vampires and superheroes and most often seen at night — are increasingly being noticed in daylight hours and behaving, well, kind of strangely.
Not to worry, says Danielle Buckle, a co-ordinator of the bat conservation program with Victoria-based Habitat Acquisition Trust.
She’s been receiving an increasing number of calls from property owners on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands about bats found on the ground or flying “erratically” during the day, but it’s natural behaviour as young bats — called pups — are just learning to fly. “Understandably, learning to do that can take a while, but they eventually get the hang of it,” said Buckle.
The advice is to leave the bats alone and never touch them with your bare hands — dead or alive.
Experts say bats can carry low levels of rabies infection, and any risk of transmission shouldn’t be taken lightly. Contact a doctor or veterinarian if a person or pet is bitten or scratched by a bat.
According to the provincial Environment Ministry, less than 1% of wild bats have the rabies virus. Bats will sicken and die if they have it, unlike some other animals that are unaffected carriers.
British Columbia is home to 16 species of bats, more than any other province — seven of which live on Vancouver Island — and half of those are considered vulnerable or threatened, including the little brown bat and Townsend’s big-eared bat.
Mandy Kellner, a biologist and co-ordinator with the B.C. Community Bat Program, said mid-summer is usually the time when people start to notice bat activity, and some of the behaviour can be unusual.
“They may have bats flying into their house, and occasionally find a bat on the ground or roosting in unusual locations … these surprise visitors are usually the young pups,” said Kellner. She said in July and August, pups are learning to fly, and their early efforts can put them in contact with humans.
Kellner said heat and wildfire smoke in some parts of the province could also be causing bats to use different roosting sites, with reports of bats resting on patio umbrellas or on the sides of homes during the day.
Buckle said bats may be coming out of traditional roosting sites to cool off during the heat.
The B.C. Community Bat Program is collecting reports of changes in behaviour during the recent long hot and dry spell.
Kellner said female bats gather in “maternity colonies” to have a single pup in early summer, and remain there until the pups are ready to fly, usually about this time.
Buckle said unlike rodents such as rats, bats have a single pup each year. “And that’s one of the problems … they reproduce slowly and there just isn’t that many of them,” she said. “If they do ground themselves, they are fragile little creatures. Some people do move them out of the sun, but often they should be left alone. Most of them will eventually fly.”
Although bats traditionally prefer caves and cliffsides and the insides of trees with crevices and peeling bark, Kellner said some species of bats have adapted to live in man-made structures, such as under roofs or siding, or in attics, barns and other buildings. They migrate or hibernate in winter months, depending on the species, but some have been known to be active in colder months.
Buckle acknowledges bats often get a bad rap. They are often associated with rabies or being a nuisance in buildings. Some see them as just downright creepy.
But bats are beneficial.
Kellner said many landowners view bats as a help because they eat vast amounts of insects and control pests that affect agriculture and forestry.
Studies for the Environment Ministry say a lactating female bat can consume her own body weight or more in insects in one night. And in a laboratory setting, a single little brown bat, which typically weighs about six grams, ate 600 mosquitos in an hour.
Scientists say bats also play an important role in the movement of nitrogen, taking aquatic insects into forested areas by depositing their guano. They say bats are alarm bells in ecosystems due to their sensitivity to pollution and pesticides.
Kellner said some people may prefer to exclude the bats from their buildings. She said it is illegal to exterminate or harm bats under the B.C. Wildlife Act, and exclusion should only be done in the fall and winter after it is determined that the bats are no longer in the building.
And that might be easier said than done. Most bats are small and can squeeze through the tiniest of openings, and they can be persistent if you block a long-time access point.
Little brown bats can live up to 40 years.
An alternative promoted by bat conservation groups has been bat houses, simple roosting boxes that can be made at home for reasonable costs. Bats may be less persistent in finding entry to a blocked roosting site if an alternative box is nearby, or move in voluntarily.
The boxes can also be purchased at garden centres, hardware stores and some craft markets.
Buckle said the Habitat Acquisition Trust is eager to work with individuals, community groups and municipalities to get more bat boxes installed around the region. She said there are already active bat boxes in several locations, including Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary, Elk and Beaver Lakes Regional Park, the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific and Metchosin Community Hall.
Bat facts
• The Community Bat Programs of B.C. has downloadable plans to build several kinds of bat boxes at bcbats.ca
• For information on safely moving a bat and to report bat sightings, landowners can contact the Southern Vancouver Island and Southern Gulf Islands Community Bat Program at [email protected] or 1-855-9BC-BATS ext 12, or visit the Got Bats? B.C. Community Bat Program’s website.
• The Community Bat Programs of B.C. is supported by the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Forest Enhancement Society of B.C., the province of British Columbia and several regional funders.
