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Bats in Your Belfry?
Little Brown Bat (myotis lucifugus)
Little is known about the local bat species of the Vancouver area. Approximately 7 species, including the little brown bat, Townsend's big-eared bat, and Yuma Myotis have been identified seasonally, making their homes under the bark of trees in Stanley Park. All bat species in BC are insect eaters and can often be seen on summer evenings flying over areas of water such as Lost Lagoon, Beaver Lake, and Coal Harbour.
As the month of May begins in the Pacific Northwest so does the time of year when you are most likely to encounter one of the 16 species of bats that live in BC. You may spot dozens of them feeding in flight over small bodies of water or in the insect filled, dusk air of a local park. You may notice one of the 5-11 gram ($1 dollar coin weight) little brown bats as the province's smallest flying mammal darts through the air, using the reflection of sound waves (echolocation) to find and feast on the local bug population.
Contact your local health authority with any safety or rabies related questions or concerns before acting
A bat hanging around in the attic
You may also find them in a state of torpor (deep sleep) in your attic or house during the winter months or in the daylight hours of spring or summer. Whatever the circumstances and season in which you find a bat in your home, the greatest concern should be for your safety. Bats may carry the rabies virus, and although bats do not attack anything larger than a bug, people are bitten and exposed to the possibility of contracting the rabies virus each year while handling a bat they have found in their home.
This leads to
Rule 1: Never Handle a Bat Directly
If you encounter a bat during the winter months, hanging upside down, in a state of torpor, the best action is to do nothing. As spring arrives and the days warm, the bat will naturally return to an active lifestyle, leaving your attic by the way it came in and feeding on mosquitoes and other insects. To ensure no other bats enter your attic, you can, having located the access hole:
- Attach a 60cm piece of cloth to a ledge above the hole. The cloth should hang down, well past the access point, be open at the bottom, but have the top and sides of the cloth secured to the wall. The cloth, when hung a few centimeters from the wall, will allow the bats to exit, but not return.
- Once you are sure the bat has left, secure the access point.
A bat in torpor
If you find a bat on your floor or window ledge:
- NEVER TOUCH A BAT
- Prepare a small box, with a lid and small ventilation holes, with a padded towel
- Put on a thick pair of garden gloves
- Using a hand broom or piece of paper, GENTLY, move the bat into a dust pan, or onto a newspaper or piece of cardboard
- GENTLY tilt the paper the bat is on and, if needed using another piece of paper, slide the bat into a box
- Put the lid on the box securely
- Keep the box in a quiet, dark area, away from children and pets until you are able to bring it to a wildlife rehabilitation centre in your area
A bat on the floor
If you find a wounded bat
(after your pet has):
- Follow the above instructions
- Ensure your pet has or receives a rabies vaccination
