Bats and Scottish Architecture
Just as you can tell the difference between an Aberdonian street and one from the Scottish Borders, so do Scottish bats! The differences in materials, building techniques and structural features across Scotland have a considerable influence on the roosting opportunities for bats. While your house may break the regional mould, here are some trends we’ve spotted across Scotland and how they impact if bats will roost in your property…
Meet Scottish Bats
Scottish bats range from 5g pipistrelles, to Noctules with a 35cm wingspan. Here’s a quick introduction to the bats who call Scotland home!
Are Bats Pests or Pest Controllers?
Far from being a pest, bats are key pest controllers. For starters, they play a key role in reducing midge populations!
Blind as a bat? debunking bat myths
‘Blind as a bat’ dates back to Aristotle, but is there any truth to this bat myth?
Bat roosts in trees
All Scottish bat species will use trees to roost. Identifying tree roosts can be challenging, especially in summer when leaves can make for tricky viewing. Fortunately, there are some features and signs we can use to identify roosts (and roost potential) when conducting tree surveys.
Why Are Hibernacula so important?
Over winter, many of our native mammals ‘power down’ and rest to conserve energy. For some, this is a reduction in activity and tendency towards staying in their shelters. For bats and hedgehogs (and dormice in the south of England) this is a huge physiological change, resulting in a dramatically reduced metabolism, with decreased body temperature, breathing and heart rates. This change is known as hibernation, and is a distinct adaptation to conserve energy.
How do bats choose roosts in urban areas?
Understanding how bats choose where to roost is where we start with your bat surveys. This blog is a basic overview, so if you think you might have bats roosting and they’ll be impacted by a renovation or development, get in touch with us today.
Getting Help with a Problem Bat Roost
If you are currently having problems with a bat roost, please get in touch with us on our website. If you have a bat in your home or have found a grounded bat, please reach out to the National Bat Helpline through the Bat Conservation Trust.
Hair-Raising Bat Myths: What If It Gets in My Hair?!
Have you ever been worried about a bat getting in your hair? Well, we’re here to reassure you that is extremely unlikely to happen!
Are Vampire bats real?
Another blog, another bat myth busted. This time, vampire bats - are they real? And if so are you likely to encounter one?
From Flappy Mouse to Bat: A Linguistic Journey
Why are bats called bats? Take a look at the etymology behind ‘bat’, and the entertaining names for bats in other languages.
How do bats choose their roosts?
Understanding how and where bats choose to roost is crucial for both development and renovation projects and for conservation efforts. The 10 bat species recorded in Scotland all have their own preferences for roosting sites, shaped by their ecological niche, physical adaptations and the balance of conditions needed for their survival and reproduction.
Why can’t you just clear out the bats?
If you’ve searched “get rid of a bat roost” or a similar phrase, you may have come across resources from North America about the logistics of removing bats from your home - in the UK it’s a little bit different.
4 Bat Survey Questions Asked and Answered
The last thing you want when you’re planning a renovation or development project is an unexpected delay or cost. To make sure you’re not caught out, here are your top 5 bat survey questions asked and answered!