Bats may be closer than you think

SOME people may have uninvited guests in their houses, without even realising it.

These particular visitors have a chilling reputation, but fear not – they are absolutely harmless.

Many myths have grown up through the centuries about bats, aided and abetted by stories of Count Dracula and other macabre figures. But bats do not drink human blood, or get stuck in your hair. In fact, they are very beneficial and feed voraciously on pests such as midges.

This is the time of year when bats, which traditionally roost in trees, caves, old buildings, cellars and bridges, can get into people’s houses. Attics, walls and eaves provide potential roosting sites. Bats use houses seasonally, rather like swallows, arriving in April or May and leaving in September.

Bats rarely cause any problems when they move into houses and many people all over Ireland have lived happily under the same roof with their bats for many years.

A new freefone helpline to deal with queries about bats is now being provided by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). The service has been set up in response to a growing interest in bats and to advise homeowners on how to manage domestic bat roosts.

“Every summer we get hundreds and hundreds of queries about bats, in particular about bats in houses,” explained Dr Ferdia Marnel, of the NPWS.

“It’s the time of year when a bat can fly in an open window pursuing an insect, or a young bat exploring their roost in an attic will squeeze down through cracks around piping and end up in the hot press. There are some simple steps that homeowners can take to manage these situations. This helpline will provide such practical advice.”

The Government is under significant pressure from the EU to improve protection for all bat species in Ireland. In the words of Environment Minister John Gormley, the helpline will provide practical advice to homeowners to enhance their appreciation of bats and to help ensure happy co-habitation. That should improve the conservation status of protected species of Irish bats which are hugely beneficial to us as they eat midges, mosquitoes and other pest species in enormous numbers.

Even our smallest bats, the pipistrelles, which can fit on the end of your thumb, can easily consume 3,000 insects in one night. Other bat species feed on moths, beetles and spiders.

There are 10 species of bats in Ireland, some very rare, others still quite widespread. The species most usually found in houses in Ireland are the common pipistrelle, soprano pipistrelle and the brown long-eared bat.

Bats and people have been harmoniously sharing buildings for centuries. Dr Marnel stressed bats do not spread disease, do not chew cables or wood, are not blind, do not get caught in your hair and do not bring nesting material into houses. Pregnant females gather in maternity roosts to have their babies in summer and this is the time they are most likely to be seen using buildings. Mother bats have only one baby a year, suckling it for several weeks.

Females from a wide catchment area come together and give birth in these roosts. Disturbance, or the use of chemicals at such roosts, can have a knock-on impact on bat populations for miles around.

Occasionally, bats disperse from the summer roost as the young begin to fly and feed themselves: all the bats will usually have departed by the end of September.

Bats do roost in houses in winter, but as they hibernate and are normally in small numbers, they are difficult to see.

Bats leave telltale signs of their presence, like their droppings which, by all accounts, make great compost! People with bats in the house are advised to ensure the water tank is covered and to place a polythene sheet on the attic floor where bat droppings regularly accumulate.

They should also make sure the attic door is not left open to prevent bats flying into the living space of the building.

Bats will only enter human living space accidentally. Common reasons, according to Dr Marnel, are that bats mistake an open window for a roost entrance, or follow an insect through an open window.

Because populations of most species have declined in past decades, all bats have been protected by Irish law since 1976. Bats and their roosts are also protected by European law.