Where do colonizing bats live?

If you watched in the movies, you would think that bats were making their home inside your home in large numbers. This is a myth to be honest, because bats need a lot of room to hold their colonies.



You may find that this flies against what you have been shown, but to help you to understand you may need a little lesson in how bats live. Here is some information to help you to understand better.

The Way that Bats Live

While this is not true of all species of bats, the fact is that vast majority of bats live in large colonies. These colonies exist with thousands in a colony if not tens of thousands. In fact, there have been some colonies that have been found that have numbered in the millions.

These large colonies serve several purposes, including the fact that there is great protection in such high numbers. Can you image a colony of a few thousand descending upon a few bears or wolves that are trying to attack a few bats or chasing after an eagle? The sheer numbers would be awesome and terrifying at the same time.

The large numbers also make hunting a lot easier, as they can easily attack and defeat almost any animal that they come across. It also makes reproduction quite easy as there are plenty of males and females that are available.

Because of these huge numbers, the bat colony needs a lot of room for it to be able to prosper. The attic to your home is simply not a viable option when you are talking about a thousand bats. There simply is not enough room and the access to get in and out of the attic area is most likely quite limited, making it a lot more work to try to get out to go hunt. This simply does not work for a bat colony.

Where Will You Find Them

The place that you will likely find bats is in large areas. For those who are fans of the movies that are related to bats, you frequently see them living in caves and this is with good reason. In many caves there is a lot of space, especially in the ceiling area. Bats cling to the ceiling of whatever structure they are in to sleep. The ceiling of a cave is the perfect location for that.

The cave is also ideal for two other reasons. It is quite dark in a cave, which benefits the bats who are nocturnal. These creatures cannot see well, and so living in a cave where it is dark in most areas is perfect. There is also usually only one or two ways to get in so defense of the cave is easy.

In terms of manmade structures, bats usually like structures like barns and large high raises or warehouses to make into their home. The barn is so ideal because there is plenty of space and there is also usually a lot of easy food to find, like insects and rodents. This makes for quite a buffet for the bats.

Warehouses and high rise buildings each offer their own form of attraction. A warehouse offers a large amount of space, especially into the ceiling. They also find a lot of food in these, as can be found in the high rise. Bats also like the high rise because they can be high up in the building, where they can better defend themselves. It is not uncommon to find bats in sports stadiums as well, where the space and the food that is left around can be an attractive choice for the bat colony. NEED LOCAL HELP? We have wildlife removal professionals servicing 95% of the USA. Click here to hire a local bat removal expert in your home town. Updated 2018. It's best to be educated on the subject, so browse this site and especially read the bats in the attic home page, or email me if you have any more questions about Where do colonizing bats live?

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How long do bats live in a house?


Wildlife Education - Information and Advice for the Safe Removal of Bats from Attics