Baby Bats Present Now
In the Spring, female Big Brown Bats congregate to give birth. A congregation of female bats this time of year is called a maternal colony.
If given the opportunity, female Big Brown Bats here in the Akron, Canton, Kent, OH area often choose the attics and soffits of people’s homes as maternal colony spots.
Moving into structures in numbers gets these bats noticed.
And once they are on a homeowner’s radar, most homeowners want them out…now.
Now, however, is not the time to kick them out.
Bats are Protected in Ohio
It is not time to kick them out because the baby bats (pups) are very vulnerable at this time.
Since they are mammals, they need to nurse. If a mother bat couldn’t get back into the structure because they were excluded, this would certainly be a death sentence for the pups.
Bat pups start to fly after a few weeks but they are not good fliers immediately. It takes them a while before they are no longer nursing, able to leave the roosting spot, and strong enough to disperse.
For those whom this rationale doesn’t strike a chord, please consider that it is illegal to kill bats in the State of Ohio except for rare instances.
The nuisance animal control law states:
It shall be unlawful to euthanize or kill a bat unless a bite or potential exposure to zoonotic diseases has occurred. Any bat killed or euthanized must be reported to the local health department by the affected landowner or their designated agent by the end of the next business day.
In this spirit, baby bats needs to stay with their mothers in a stable environment until they are self sufficient.
Bats are an important for our ecology. Big Brown Bats, specifically, are a species of concern in the State of Ohio. For these and other reasons, Big Brown Bat maternal colonies need to be left alone for now…even if they are in your attic.
Ryan Rescues Baby Bat
In fact, Ryan got the chance to help out a baby bat during a recent inspection.
He was up in an attic confirming a maternal colony when he heard and saw a baby bat in the insulation.
Apparently, this small bat had fallen off the roost or off its mother about 15 feet overhead. There were other bats with babies roosted up there that Ryan could see.
This bat was stranded: unable to fly and in a spot where reuniting with its mother was improbable. We say this because during attic inspections over the years we have found many numerous baby bat carcasses that have suffered this same fate. Baby bat mortality before they are excellent flyers is, sadly, pretty high.
In order to give this bat a better chance to reunite with its mother, Ryan fished it out of the insulation. He placed it on a piece of wood above the attic floor so its mother could get to it. It promptly fell off, so he scooped it up again and placed it on the block wall.
The baby got a good grip on the block wall and started to climb. It’s mother should be able land on the wall too and get it back to the roost.
It is a great video for seeing what little, undeveloped bats look like.
What Can Be Done About Bats
Just because it is unethical to kick out bats from a maternal colony, it does not mean that nothing can be done.
Since you suspect a problem exists, now is the time to:
- Get an inspection. Knowing the extent of the problem and where the entry/exit points is vital information.
- Get on the schedule. Once September rolls around, we can begin bat exclusions in earnest. Letting them out and not back in can be accomplished throughout the Fall.
- Get a head start. If conditions permit, we can get a head start on the exclusion. All possible entries need shored up and made “bat proof”. If the job is large, the main entries can be left alone for now, but the other areas currently not in use can be closed off–even now. It’s like putting up a fence but leaving the gates open for now.
Bat Inspection Finds Maternal Colony
In this video, Ryan got some video of a maternal colony of Big Brown Bats.
For all of your bat exclusion/removal needs in the Akron, Canton, Kent, OH area, please give us a call.
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