Living with a bat colony
Living with Bats in British Columbia
Examples of safe, secure roost sites for bat colonies in buildings
There are many reasons why you may decide to maintain your colony of bats rather than try to get rid of them:
- The roost site may be providing critical habitat for the bats and the chance of losing the colony will be reduced if they can stay where they are.
- Bats are fascinating and provide a learning environment, especially for children. Some landowners have even installed a viewing chamber to watch the bats without disturbing them.
- Bats are long-lived (more than 30 years) unlike rodents and usually only have a single pup, making them more vulnerable to population decline.
- Bats rarely carry rabies and will sicken and die if they contract it, unlike some other animals that are unaffected carriers.
- Most colonies in buildings are maternity colonies, used year-after-year.
- Bats consume noxious pests (mosquitoes), agricultural pests and forest pests.
- Bat guano is an excellent fertilizer.
Read more in Living with Bats. This document has information about how to safely coexist with a colony, and examples of people and bats sharing public and private properties. Or, visit each example site on its own:
Bats in attics
Bats in exterior siding
Bats in soffits
Additionally
1. There is a colony of MYVO in the Pallisades Centre in Jasper National Park (complete with batcam).
Learn more: http://www.thepalisadescentre.ca/Photos.php
2. There is a colony of COTO in the golf club house at the St Eugene’s Mission.
Learn more: http://steugene.ca/en/townsends-big-eared-bats/