Bats

Living with bats

The builders are ahead of time, you’ve scheduled the plumber, and are in the process of agreeing a price with the electrician, when you get the call; you’re to be sharing your newly renovated house or self build with bats! If this sound s familiar then you are not alone, as the Bat Conservation Trust estimates that there are up to 50,000 bat roosts in homes in the UK.

If this affects you already, or are in the process of purchasing a renovation property, or an area of land, it would certainly be worth checking for the presence of bats, as bats and their environments are protected by law, and should you have a roost, it could affect or delay your building plans.

Bats and their roosts are protected by law under The Wild life and Countryside Act 1981, The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and The Conservation (Natural Habitats & C.) Regulations 1994. Under these acts and regulations it is unlawful to:

• Intentionally or recklessly damage, destroy or obstruct access to any structure or place used for shelter or protection by a bat. [S9(4)(a)]
• Intentionally or recklessly disturb a bat while it is occupying a structure or place which it uses for that purpose. [S9(4)(b)]
• Deliberately disturb a bat. [R. 39(1)(b)]
• Damage or destroy a breeding site or resting place of a bat. [R.39(1)(d)]

In some circumstances, licenses are available from the Dept. For Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), but you will need to demonstrate that there is no other satisfactory alternative and that your actions are to preserve public health, or are of an overriding public interest. There are likely to be special notices attached to any mitigation such as protection of existing roosts, the creation of new ones, or works to carried out at a particular time of year. All these will need to be scheduled in and costed, when looking at projected budgets.

If you do believe you have a roost, work should stop immediately, and you should seek advice from your local Statutory Nature Conservation Organisation (SNCO) – English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage, or the Countryside Council for Wales, who will be able send out a trained bat worker, free of charge, to inspect your roost and provide advice and suggestions.

However it is not all doom and gloom, as many householders have lived alongside bats without being aware of them for many years, and many  have lived happily with them fully aware that they’re there! , Contrary to public opinion, bats do not cause any damage whiles residing in your house. They don’t nibble or gnaw wood, wires or insulation, nor do they build nests or bring bedding materials into their roost.

There are 17  species of bat resident in the UK, each with their own lifestyles and habitat requirements. The bats usually found roosting in houses are, the pipistrelles, who often choose modern houses, and like small tight spaces, usually roosting outside the roof space, behind barge boards, hanging tiles, or between underfelt and tiles, and Long-eared bats who prefer older buildings, roosting inside the roof void against the timbers usually along the ridge. A sign of a roost can be their droppings on windows or sills in the summer for the pipistrilles, or a line under the ridge of the roof for the long-eared bat. Another clue is the chattering sound, at dusk as they fly out to feed, and particularly in July and August mothers are welcomed back by a shrill chorus from their babies at dawn.

For more information on bats or for details of your local SNCO office, please contact the Bat Conservation Trust on 0845 1300 228 or visit their website at www.bats.org.uk