Can i feed bats

Follow the link to your right to build your own! If building one isn't for you, then there are a range of ready-made boxes available at the RSPB shop. Along with, bat detectors, to help pick out bat calls as they flit across the night sky.

Noctules are the biggest bats in Britain. They have long, narrow wings, and a high and straight flightpath. Daubenton's bats are medium-sized bats with a white underside. They often fly low over water and use their big feet to scoop insects from the surface. Pipistrelles are Britain's smallest species of bat, weighing the same as just 10 paperclips!

They look much bigger in flight and have a very erratic flightpath. They are the most common bats seen in gardens and the most likely to use our bat boxes. If you find a sick or injured bat, would like more information, or a contact to your local bat group, please contact the Bat Conservation Trust. These nocturnal mammals need safe places to roost in during the day.

Bats are becoming increasingly rare. One reason for this is a loss of roost sites as old trees are cut down, mine shafts filled in and caves and tunnels disturbed.

Hanging a bat box in a suitable position can help local populations. Similar to a bird nestbox, but with a slit at the bottom rather than an entrance hole, bat boxes are easy to make and widely available to buy.

Tiny pipistrelles are most likely to use a bat box. Watch them leaving the box at dusk or look for other evidence of their presence, such as small, dry, crumbly droppings below it. Or, why not make one yourself? All our wooden bat boxes are made from wood from sustainable sources or carry the FSC logo, ie are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. All bats are protected and should never be disturbed.

If you find bats roosting in your loft, contact the Bat Conservation Trust. If you find a bat it is extremely important to record who found the bat, exactly where it was found and the circumstances with your local Bat Group as soon as possible.

They can send an experienced and trained person to collect and care for the bat as well as providing you with advice on how to care for it properly in the interim. Initial Care The most important initial care for the bat is provide water and warmth. Grounded bats are likely to be injured or otherwise incapacitated.

Do not put a grounded bat outside without proper assessment of the situation, and never put it into the loft, which may be totally unsuitable. Use gloves, or a cloth to handle the bat as they may try to bite. Shock and dehydration can be fatal but here are a few guidelines which will help a grounded bat survive.

Fluid If it very important to offer water; this may be enough to revive the bat. Water can be given on a small, clean paintbrush, cotton bud or a plastic spoon. It is best not to put a post of water in with the bat. Food Bats need to be warm before feeding, they may therefore need warming up.

Mealworms available from pet food shops are the best food for bats but are often difficult to obtain; small chunks of meaty cat food is an alternative. Bats usually need hand feeding at first. Release If there are no injuries the bat should be released as soon as it is able to fly well enough.

This must be close to where it was found, at the same spot if possible and in mild, dry weather at dusk. They can sometimes be seen hunting around a light source where there is often a higher density of moths but the long term impacts of artificial lighting on wildlife prey and predator are not usually positive.

Some bats will pick off insects that are resting on foliage. During the day, bats shelter in dark places roosts , such as in hollow trees, roof spaces, under tiles and soffits, loose bark on trees, or in splits in the trunks and branches of trees.

At different times of the year, bats will move between several resting places that are used as daytime roosts, maternity roosts where females give birth and nurse their young, and hibernation sites for the winter months. Some bats, such as Daubenton's bat, specialise in swooping low over ponds and other water bodies where they feed on insects such as adult caddis flies, mayflies and other insects with aquatic larvae. Linear features in the landscape, such as hedges and streams, are important for bats, both as feeding areas and navigation pathways that are used by bats as they travel between roosting sites and feeding areas.

All bats in Britain are legally protected. This protection extends to the places where bats roost or hibernate. Check if bats are in residence when building works are being planned or tree surgery is required. Advice on dealing with bats in these situations can be obtained from the Bat Conservation Trust or from most county Wildlife Trusts. Bat Conservation Trust Plants to encourage bats.

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