![]() Put on a pair of leather gardening or work gloves.If the bat tires and comes to rest on a curtain or wall, you can easily remove it without directly touching it. Just allow it to get its bearings, and within ten to fifteen minutes the bat should settle down, locate the open door or window, and fly out of the room. Do not try to chase the bat towards a window.Remove pets from the room, leave the lights on, stand quietly against a wall or door, and watch the bat until it leaves.Open all windows and doors leading outside to give the bat a chance to escape.Shut all doors leading into other rooms to confine the bat to as small an area as possible.If you encounter a bat flying in a room, follow the procedure below: Chasing or swatting at the bat will cause it to panic and fly erratically around the room, which needlessly prolongs the incident. The best method for getting a bat out of the house is to allow it to find its own way out. ![]() A bat flying in the house will usually circle a room several times in search of an exit. Fortunately, these incidents can be dealt with quite easily. Individual bats occasionally enter houses during summer evenings. Reducing Bat Conflictsīats and humans may come into conflict when a lone bat flies into a building or when a maternity colony roosts in a building. The females, however, continue to nurse their pups until they are able to adequately feed themselves. By mid-July, the pups are able to fly and begin hunting insects on their own. Each bat gives birth to one to two pups in late May and early June. In some species, females gather together prior to giving birth and form maternity colonies. Pregnant females seek sheltered roosts for their pups in buildings, tree cavities, and tree foliage. ![]() Hibernating bats survive on a very small amount of stored fat during the five- to six-month hibernation period.īats arouse from hibernation during March and migrate to their summer roosts in April. Bats that remain in Pennsylvania throughout the year gather in caves and abandoned mines to hibernate. General Biologyīecause flying insects are not active during the winter months, bats must either hibernate or migrate to survive the winter. A single bat, for instance, may consume as many as 2,000 insects every night. Bats are beneficial because they are efficient predators of insects. They usually feed in open areas where insects swarm, such as over open water, in forest clearings or farm fields, and around street lights. All bats in Pennsylvania eat insects and capture their prey in flight. Bats live in a variety of habitats, including wetlands, fields, forests, cities, and suburbs. Eight species are common in Pennsylvania. When temperatures fall in autumn, the bats will return to their winter homes to hibernate.Nearly 1,000 species of bats are known throughout the world, and approximately forty species inhabit the United States. Your best bet is to look for bats, approximately 30 minutes after sunset, from late spring to early autumn. When temperatures become warm enough in the spring, bats emerge from their hibernation sites to find an above-ground roost. You may be able to hear a click or squeak as they fly directly overhead. ![]() What to Listen forīats make sounds by echolocation, which are generally too high-pitched for the human ear to hear. White-nose syndrome is a serious disease in bat populations that can be spread from cave to cave by humans. In addition, it is important not to disturb and awaken hibernating bats in the winter, because they will lose necessary fat reserves that they rely on to survive. Entering into caves or mines is dangerous without the proper knowledge or guidance. Looking up above a body of water in areas where flying insects are most abundant (lake, pond, stream, etc.), provides a good chance to spot bats.ĭuring the winter, bats take shelter in caves and mines, but do not look for bats in these areas. In warmer months, during early dawn or at dusk, bats can be seen flying above and alongside trees as they dip and dive for insects. Appearanceīats are covered in a coat of silky cinnamon and dark brown hair with pale grey underneath. On average, adults weigh less than half an ounce. Their body length is 3-4½ inches long with a 1½ inch forearm. Little brown bats have a wingspan of 8-9 inches.
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