Bat Boxes: A Haven for Vermont's Bats

To educate park visitors about the beneficial aspects of bats, and to provide roosting habitat for local bat populations, the Vermont Departments of Forests, Parks & Recreation and Fish & Wildlife have equipped 15 of the state's 45 parks with artificial roosting sites or "bat boxes"; built by the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. The boxes are placed 10-20 feet away from nature trails.

While bat boxes are relatively new to Americans, these structures have been popular in Europe since the 1930's.

The boxes are made of wood, with slats inside to serve as roosting sites. They are designed for summer use by single male bats or small groups of mothers and their young.

Observe: But Don't Disturb. An accumulation of bats droppings, or "guano", is a good indication that bats are living in the boxes. It may take more than a year before bat boxes attract any tenants, so please do not disturb the boxes even if they look unoccupied. If you come too close, they may never be used.

The Truth About Bats

Bats are perhaps one of the most misunderstood groups of animals on earth.

Many people associate bats with rabies, horror movies and Halloween, although these flying mammals do not attack people.

Instead of being a menace, bats play a significant role in our environment. A major nocturnal predator of insects, bats help control populations of mosquitos, flies, beetles and moths. As few as 50 bats can eat up to 30 million insects in just one summer.

Male bats hunt for insects at night and roost alone in trees during the day. Mothers leave at dusk and return throughout the night to feed their young.

Vermont's 9 Species of Bats

• Little brown bat (brown)
• Northern long-eared bat (brown)
• Indiana bat (brown) *
• Small-footed bat (yellow-brown) +
• Big brown bat (brown)
• Eastern pipistrelle (yellow-brown)
• Silver-haired bat (black-brown)
• Red bat (rusty/white tips)
• Hoary bat (yellow-brown/white tips)

* endangered (federal and state)
+ threatened (state)

Vermont's nine species of bats are small creatures that, in summer, live either in trees, under bark, in barns or in attics. Most species have only one offspring per year.

The state's largest bat, the hoary bat, is a tree bat weighing one ounce. Our smallest, the eastern pipistrelle, weighs only one-fifth of an ounce. Tree bats migrate south in the winter; cave bats seek out warm places and live here year-round.

Caves and mines serve as hibernation areas for adult bats, while barns, attics, and tree cavities serve as "maternity wards". It is often the female and young of little and big brown bats that can be found in Vermont attics during the summer.

Some Vermont caves and abandoned mines containing hibernating bats have been vandalized. In response, the Nature Conservancy and the Nongame and Natural Heritage Program of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department have erected steel gates across cave and mine entrances. This prevents access during a critical time in the bats' life cycle.

To rid your house of bats without harming them, watch the outside of your house about 15 minutes after sunset, when bats leave their roosts. This will help you locate where bats are getting in. Always wait until late August to attempt eviction. By this time young bats will have grown and hibernation will still be a few months away.

Human disturbance, extermination, pesticide poisoning and loss of habitat have taken their toll on Vermont's bats. The Indiana bat and small-footed bat are now on threatened and endangered species lists.

Bat Facts

• Bats belong to the mammalian order Chiroptera, which means "hand-wing."
• The temperature of active bats is the same as in humans: 98.6 F.
• When the Indiana bat is pregnant, it eats flies, moths and caddisflies. During lactation, it prefers moths.
• In the tropics and deserts bats play a significant role in dispersing seeds and pollinating flowers.
• Bats are not blind. They use a sonar system for locating their tiny prey in the dark.

Rabies: A Small but Dangerous Risk

While the incidence of rabies from bats in this state is low, you should never touch a bat, especially one that is lying on the ground.

A bat found lying on the ground is a sick bat and should not be handled. If for some reason you are bitten by a bat, contact your doctor and the park ranger immediately. The bat must be captured and tested for rabies, a disease which can kill you if not properly treated.

Other Bat Links

So far, the best resource we've found for more bat information is Bat Conservation International. They have the answers to many of your bat questions.