
With over 18 species of bat in the UK, including non-resident bat species like pipistrelles, these great winged creatures need protecting, especially during the months they are hibernating. With so many different species, it’s hard to know when do bat come out of hibernation. So, here’s a quick bat hibernation guide so you know the basics.
When Does Bats Hibernation Start?
The winter is when bats go into hibernation. Hibernation is a period of deep sleep, also known as torpor, which allows animals to survive harsh cold winters. Bats enter hibernation during November and may not be fully active until the middle of May.
Where Do Bats Hibernate?
Before the winter months, bats are on the lookout for a comfy roost where they can hibernate over the winter. A roost is the place a bat lives, rests or feeds, and bats will find different roosting conditions depending on the time of year.
Many people think about bats as hanging upside down in caves, but while caves are popular with bats, bats are more likely to roost in natural features like holes in trees. As the human population increased over the centuries and natural roost sites like ancient trees became rarer, bats had to adapt to the man-made environment. This is why you may see bats in structures such as houses, barns, and even churches.
Bats are not able to bore holes or build nests, so they make the most of whatever gaps they can find. Any location can be a roost for a bat, as long as it has a constant temperature and is free from dampness or frost. Bats will squeeze into odd positions to keep warm, which could include lying on their side or even on their head!
How Can We Help During the Bats Hibernation Period?
All UK bat numbers are decreasing. As natural habitats have been taken away by humans, bats have adapted to urban environments and can use places like our gardens as a source of food or shelter, so if you see a bat, you have a very healthy green environment. You can help bats recover by doing any of the following:
- Increase the food supply by building a pond, not using pesticides, or creating a compost heap.
- Provide shelter, for example, by placing bat boxes on tree trunks or walls of buildings in a sunny location facing the southwest, and keeping old trees with splits or cracks to provide better roosting locations.
What Should We Do if We Find a Bat Roost?
You may be living with a bat nest in your attic or garden and don’t realise it, but disturbing hibernating bats is a risk to their survival. They cannot respond quickly to danger when hibernation is disturbed, and take around 30 minutes to awaken, but if you discover a roost or you don’t know how to progress, you may need a bat survey to protect the species.
Do You Need a Bat Survey?
Bats are a protected species in the UK, which means you may need a survey to help protect these species. Get in touch to learn more about our bat surveys.