BATS

It is only when you look at some websites on the Internet that you can begin to realise how important bats are to the environment - perhaps that is one of the reasons why they are a protected species.

They eat insects that irritate humans, like midges, gnats and mosqitoes - so really they are friendly to mankind.

The following information has been obtained from the Internet and after reading it you may want to search for more.  At least, the writer hopes so.

There are 16 species of bats in the UK., some are small as shown in the picture on the right.   Bats roost individually or in colonies, feeding at night and roosting during the day. Suitable roosting habitat includes buildings, bridges, quarries, trees, cliffs and caves. Whilst suitable foraging habitat includes woodland, scrub, parkland, farmland, hedgerows, wetlands, waterways, suburban gardens and well-lit  urban open spaces.

Bats have been misunderstood, and even feared, for centuries, but there must be few people who do not delight in the sight of these harmless little creatures flitting around our hedgerows and woodlands in the twilight. Bats have been on this planet for more than fifty million years….is ours the generation that, through sheer ignorance, and even hostility, finally pushes them into oblivion? We often hear people say, “There used to be hundreds round here, but now I never see them!”

Even though the public attitude is changing, bats are largely misunderstood, as are many creatures of the night. Indeed, bats are positively beneficial. The smallest, the pipistrelle can eat up to 3500-5000 midges in a night, which means a colony of 150 consume 500,000 midges during their evening flight.

Here are some interesting facts:-

1. Bats do not damage electrical wiring
2. Bat droppings crumble to a fine powder and do not smell
3. Bats do not damage loft insulation
4. Bats do not damage paintwork
5. Bats do not build nests
6. Bats do not get tangled in your hair; this is an old wives tale.

The Bat Conservation Trust have an interesting website, which includes a section entitled: "Bat conservation and the law" the following is an extract from the website:-

You will be committing a criminal offence if you:
1.Deliberately capture, injure or kill a bat
2.Intentionally or recklessly disturb a bat in its roost or deliberately disturb a group of bats
3.Damage or destroy a bat roosting place (even if bats are not occupying the roost at the time)
4.Possess or advertise/sell/exchange a bat (dead or alive) or any part of a bat
5.Intentionally or recklessly obstruct access to a bat roost

From the foregoing you can see how important bats are to the environment.   Perhaps one of the reasons why they have been misunderstood is because, as mentioned above,  they are creatures of the night and are sometimes rarely seen.  Hopefully the Internet will illuminate the subject in a way that we can appreciate their existence.   With our care for the environment we must ensure that they will continue to benefit future generations.

NOTE    The above pictures show one species being compared in size to the human hand, however it must be said that it is not advisable to handle bats as they have very delicate bodies and they are very shy creatures.

Links to Internet sites relating to bats can be found on our LINKS page (see Menu).