Charlottesville's Best Bat Removal

Do Bats Hibernate?

Bats have such a variety of habits during different seasons. Hot and cold weather, the location of roosts and hunting grounds, and which species it is will all determine whether they hibernate and how long they do it for. In general, attics are common roosting locations for bats in America, but they do not make a great place to hibernate.

Why Hibernate?

It takes a lot of energy for a bat to fly. They must consume a lot of food to keep up. Insects are one of the most common food sources for the species in North America. Cold weather can kill them or drive the bugs away. At that point, bats must choose to roost and hibernate or migrate to find more food sources.

There are over 1,300 species of bats across the globe. Some of them hibernate while others migrate, and still others do both. Temperate climates can allow bats to stay active year-round, although they may induce a torpor for high temperatures. A bat can die if their body reaches above 104 Fahrenheit.

What Is Hibernation?

Hibernation is the extreme reduction of their body functions to slow energy consumption. Functions like metabolic rate, heart rate, and respiratory rate all slow down dramatically, inducing a deep sleep. Studies have found that bat heartbeats are super speedy at 200-300 beats per minute while awake and active. That drops to only 10 per minute when they are hibernating.

Bats in torpor can go minutes without taking a breath. Their temperature can drop to near freezing depending on their surroundings. This type of deep sleep, or torpor, reduces how much energy they use by about 98 percent. Pregnant bats and those nurturing pups do not go through this torpor until after the pups mature.

Variations Between Species

Depending on the species, bats can enter torpor for a few hours multiple times a year or for more than six months at a time. All of this depends on the local weather and life cycles. Many go through this rotating cycle of hibernation with brief periods awake. Their body functions return to normal for a few hours and then they go back to torpor. Places bats feel safest doing this include caves, mines, and rock crevices. Other structures might work well if they maintain an ideal temperature and humidity for the bats. Household attics are not very common for hibernation during winter because they are not as consistent in their temperature or humidity. Wherever bats choose to hibernate, scientists have called those places hibernacula.

Burning Energy

Bats eat so much to store fat for periods of torpor. This means that their bodies do use up those stores to stay alive. Because of how much energy bats use to fly, hunting during times when food sources are scarce is far too much for them. Females who mate during the autumn and sometimes into early winter can store the sperm until spring. Those in other species slow the rate of development for the fetus until they can give birth in a maternity colony several months later.

Leave Bats Be

It is important to know that hibernating bats should not be disturbed. If their torpor is interrupted, the bats who have woken up may not survive the remaining months. Having a lack of food as well as the stress of disturbances can cause the colony to starve and die. This will greatly affect the ecosystem in that area. There will be fewer predators for the pests that disturb crops from farms and gardens. Bats provide a way to control the population of the rapid-producing insects. While they can go in and out of torpor, it is not good to interrupt them in the middle of it.

Moving or Excluding a Colony

Professional animal experts will only move a bat colony during hibernation if there is exceptional cause to do so. Otherwise, it is important to put exclusion tools in place before the maternity season for the bats. Bats in hibernation should never be handled except in emergencies. Interfering with bats during hibernation is not regarded as unlawful but causing the bat or colony to die as a result could lead to legal action against you. State and county laws will reference when it is appropriate to interact with bats and when a professional should be called in.