Bat Society

Photograph by Chris Damant

Myths

"Blind as a bat"

Although bats emerge at dusk and feed at night, their eyesight is excellent. They use echolocation (ultrasonic sonar) to "see" in the dark.

"Bats in the belfry"

Churches are very important roosting places for bats, but the belfry is too cold and draughty. They use many different features, often cracks between walls and woodwork, inside and out.

"Bats get caught in your hair"

Bats' echolocation is so sophisticated that they can easily avoid spider webs, so missing people is easy! The origins of this myth are not clear, but it is thought that the heat rising from our bodies attracts small insects which fly above our heads and the bats swoop to take them.

"Bats feed on blood"

There are over 1,400 bat species in the world. In Central and South America and Mexico there are three species of vampire bats which feed on the blood of cattle (in the same way that mosquitoes do). All the species in Europe are insectivorous, and a single Pipistrelle bat can eat 3,000 insects in one night.

"Bats have rabies"

Some bats in Europe have been found to carry a virus similar to rabies. There is only a risk if you are bitten or scratched, so seek advice if you find a grounded bat.

"Bats die after giving birth"

Like all mammals, bats rear their young on milk until they are old enough to fly and catch insects for themselves. They usually only have one baby a year, and are our longest lived mammal, relative to their size.

"Bats gnaw roof timbers and electric cables"

Rodents do this, not bats. Bats don't need to wear their teeth down, since they are insect feeders. Nor do they make nests, squeezing instead into existing gaps or hanging underneath the ridge beam.

"Having bats means you can't do any building work"

Bats are vulnerable and so have legal protection. This doesn't prevent building work, it just means that the work has to be sympathetic to the needs of the bats and carried out at a certain time of year, according to the way bats use the building. A licence from Natural England may be required.