Be prepared for bat maternity season

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April 8, 2022

Little brown bat. PHOTO: GKUCHERA/ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS/GETTY IMAGES

Little brown bat. PHOTO: GKUCHERA/ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS/GETTY IMAGES

Bat maternity season, the time when bats give birth and raise their young, will start on April 15 and is the last day to legally exclude bats from your home or building. The season ends Aug. 14.

According to Spectrum News, it is illegal to block bats form their roosts during bat maternity season. If bats are excluded during maternity season, flightless young can be trapped inside the structure and die.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reports that now is the time to check your accounts for entry points, ensure that no bats are present and make any necessary repairs. If bats are found, steps should be taken to exclude them before bat maternity season begins.

The only legal and most effective method to remove bats from a home or building is with exclusion devices, which allows bats to safely exit a structure but blocks them from returning to roosts.

It is illegal in Florida to kill or harm bats, so exclusion guidelines were developed to ensure bats are excluded safely and effectively from buildings outside of maternity season. Visit the FWC website for more information about this process here.

Bats are ecologically and economically beneficial. According to FWC, they serve critical functions worldwide due to their roles in insect pest control and as pollinators and seed dispersers, and their guano can be a valuable fertilizer. Florida’s bats are insectivores and a single bat can eat hundreds of insects, including mosquitoes and other garden and agricultural pests, each night.

Here is some recent news to help with your bat removal program:

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About the Author

Ellen Wagner

Ellen Wagner is the digital editor for PMP magazine. She can be reached at ewagner@northcoastmedia.net.

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