IF YOU HAVE TO LIFT A BAT TO HELP IT, ALWAYS USE GLOVES, WEAR A MASK AND LIFT GENTLY USING A SOFT CLOTH.
There is a different range of options to help a bat back on the wing again but what to do depends on a number of factors. Click on the links below to find out what to do in each situation:
Photo credit: Karen Healy
Bat Conservation Ireland endeavours to provide as much information as possible on this website to address your questions.
We regret that we are not in a position to provide a helpline service.
If, after reading through this page, you need further assistance please contact:
- Irish Wildlife Matters website
- National Parks and Wildlife Service or call (01) 888 2000
- Mayo Bat Rehab
- Kildare Bat Group
- Bat Rehabilitation Ireland
- Donegal Bat Group
In Northern Ireland, please complete the Northern Ireland Bat Group’s online query form and a volunteer nearest you will respond: Bat queries – Northern Ireland Bat Group (bats-ni.org.uk)
Please read all the information below first as you may find your questions are answered here.
Bats sometimes appear in houses or on the ground outdoors during the day time, and this can be due to a number of reasons depending on the time of year or circumstances:
- You may have a roost in or near your home and bats might enter by accident through an open window, gaps in ceiling or hot press.
- Young bats like to explore, so sometimes wander away from the roost. They can turn up inside your home, in your garden, or on a wall.
- After a long winter of hibernating, bats may become dehydrated or exhausted. You might find bats turning up in porches or on walls.
- Poor weather conditions can prevent them from finding food during spring/summer months, and so may become too weak to fly.
- In summer, young bats learning to fly may become grounded. You might even see mums trying to coax the young bat by circling and social calling. Most of the time the young bat will try again and succeed. Other times, it may be injured by a collision or fall from height so will need help.
- Bats are sometimes caught by cats and they can cause serious injuries, and infection. It is important to get cat related incidents to a vet immediately as cat saliva contains bacteria that is deadly to bats.
- Old age, illness or even collisions with road traffic are also reasons why you might come across a bat sitting out in the open during the daytime.
Sometimes people are surprised by how small bats are and assume that the grounded bat they have found must be a baby. However, bats are among Ireland’s smallest mammals and many weigh less than 5g (the weight of a €1 coin) so they can appear extremely small even when fully grown.
An adult and juvenile pipistrelle – our smallest bat species in Ireland. Photo credit: Karen Healy.
Babies are usually born in June, so if you find a bat later in the year, chances are your grounded bat is not a baby. Our smallest bat, the soprano pipistrelle, is the size of a teabag and weighs less than a packet of crisps.
IF YOU HAVE TO LIFT A BAT TO HELP IT, ALWAYS USE GLOVES, WEAR A MASK AND LIFT GENTLY USING A SOFT CLOTH.
There is a different range of options to help a bat back on the wing again but what to do depends on whether the bat is:
Healthy but trapped inside
If a bat is inside the living space of a building, it is lost and trying to get out. You can help it to escape.
Bats are not aggressive and will not attack you but a bat may bite in self-defence if you try to pick it up. Therefore, ALWAYS USE GLOVES if you need to handle a bat.
- If it is a mild evening and the bat is trapped inside, confine the bat to a room with access to the outside through a door or window. This will allow the bat to escape. Open the window(s) fully or exterior doors fully, switch off the lights and close any interior doors and let the bat fly out. If you are not sure whether it has flown out check behind curtains, behind wall hangings or pictures and also lower down under sofas etc.
- If it is daylight wait until it lands and contain it in a shoe box with a secure lid until sunset. The best way to pick up a bat is to wear thick gloves and a mask, scoop it up gently with a soft cloth and place in a prepared shoe box (or equivalent). Remember to ensure that there are pin holes in the lid to allow air to get into the box. Place a clean bottle top or jam jar lid with a few drops of water in the box.
Contain the bat in a secure box with lid, line with kitchen roll, add a clean bottle top/jam jar lid with a few drops of water, and lift the bat using a soft cloth. Place bat and cloth into the box to give it something to cling to and hide. Photo credit: Karen Healy
- Do not release a bat outside in daylight hours. Keep it contained and somewhere quiet until sunset. Near sunset, if you have a covered hot water bottle, place this under the box to help the bat heat up. Please do not put a hot water bottle in with the bat, and make sure it’s covered with a cloth or towel. Just after sunset, put the box on a wall, hedge and make sure no cats are around. Open the lid, and place the box on its side. Keep an eye on the bat until you see it fly away. If the bat doesn’t fly away within 30 minutes, put the lid back on, bring inside and contact a rehabber nearest to you (see list above).
A successful release: note there is a covered hot water bottle under the box to help the bat heat up before flight.
Exhausted or Injured bat
Grounded bats should never be handled with bare hands. ALWAYS USE GLOVES as bats may bite in self-defence. Please also wear a mask and use a soft cloth to gently lift the bat.
Short term solutions for a bat that appears tired is to contain it in a shoebox with small ventilation holes punched in the lid and provide it with very small amounts of fresh mealworms or very finely chopped up dog or cat food.
Water to drink can be provided through a dropper or from the end of a drinking straw.
Keep the bat in a dark quiet room, at room temperature.
Just after sunset, put the box on a wall or on top of closed wheelie bin, and make sure no cats are around. Open the lid, and place the box on its side. Keep an eye on the bat until you see it fly away.
If the bat doesn’t fly away within 30 minutes, put the lid back on, bring inside and contact a rehabber nearest to you (see list above).
Injured bats need to be assessed by a trained carer or vet in order to determine what the best option is, whether it may be rehabilitated or if its injuries are too severe, euthanised. For further advice on caring for bats and contacts of wildlife carers with bat experience please see here: Rehabilitators – Irish Wildlife Matters and veterinary surgeons with bat experience see here: Veterinary Surgeons – Irish Wildlife Matters.
Never release a bat outside in daylight hours.
Baby Bats
Sometimes people are surprised by how small bats are and assume that the grounded bat they have found must be a pup. However, bats are among Ireland’s smallest mammals and many weigh less than 5g (the weight of a €1 coin) so they can appear extremely small even when fully grown.
Bat pups in their first few weeks are pink, then proceed to get darker with a suede like appearance.
Baby bats (pups) are usually born in June so if you find a bat later in the year, chances are your grounded bat is not a baby.
Pups are born blind and furless and as they grow they become suede like in appearance, and eventually grow fur.
If you have found a baby bat and are unsure where it came from it would be best to contact a trained carer (see contacts above) or a member of staff at NPWS in the Republic of Ireland or in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Bat Group.
Pups need their mum so the best solution is to always try to reunite with her.
If you know where the roost is, contain the pup and keep warm using a covered hot water bottle until sunset.
Put the pup and covered hot water bottle in a shallow tray such as a cat litter tray (to prevent it from climbing out and falling) and make sure no cats are around.
Place the tray as high as you can get it (but not out of reach) either on a step ladder or closed wheelie bin, but please keep your eyes on the pup at all times.
When adult bats emerge from the roost, you might see them swoop down to the pup, this may happen several times over the course of 30 minutes to an hour.
If mum is there, the pup will start calling to her, she will circle and eventually land to pick up the pup and take it back to the roost.
If the pup is too big for her to carry, she will coax it by circling and social calling to encourage it to fly. When pups reach this stage they are called juveniles.
Reuniting a pup with mum is time consuming, requires patience and perseverance but it is all worth it in the end!
If adult bats do not approach the pup or you think it has been more than 3 days since the pup has been away from the roost, it will need to be taken in by an experienced carer. Again, use the contacts above to find a carer nearest to you.
Every bat rescue scenario is different, so if you are in doubt, please use the contacts listed in this section.