Preparing for the End of Bat Maternity Season and the Beginning of Snowbird Season

By John Greenwood / Published June 2019

Some fun facts about June:

• This month was named after the Roman Goddess, Juno.
• It’s the sixth month of the year in our current Gregorian calendar; and it is also the sixth month in its predecessor, the Julian calendar.
• It’s the second month of the year to contain 30 days.
• June has two birth flowers: the rose and the honeysuckle.
• Its birth stones are the pearl, the moonstone, and the alexandrite (all symbols of health and longevity).
• June marks the half way point of Florida’s Bat Maternity Season (which extends from mid-April to mid-August).

     Of all of the “fun facts” listed above, perhaps the most important of these to the health, welfare, and prosperity of our communities is the last one. As many people in Florida are aware, our state is home to the second largest bat population in the country (only Texas has more bats); and these Floridian bats are all protected by state law, enforced by the officers of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission. This is because of their importance to the environment and their contribution to the safety and welfare of its human inhabitants.

     A feeding bat will consume 2,000–3,000 small flying insects in a night, including small moths and mosquitos. In South Florida, bats can make up around 50 percent of the total mammal population, and these large numbers therefore contribute greatly to the fight against diseases that can be insect-borne, such as malaria, chikungunya fever, dengue fever, encephalitis, Rift Valley fever, and West Nile virus. Without bats, we would be constantly fogging the streets of our cities and towns, using trucks that drive around our neighborhoods, pumping diesel fumes into the air; and we would be constantly spraying the lakes, ponds, and canals with tons of insecticides from above, using fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.

     Bats, therefore, are our friends—and this is why we protect them with our laws. One of those laws defines bat maternity season, which is the time when the new baby bats (pups) are being born. During these four months of the year (mid-April to mid-August), there is a moratorium on disturbing them. This allows the new generation time to grow enough and gain enough strength to be able to fly. Bat activity—and bat sightings—increase quite dramatically during this period because the mothers that nurse their pups—bats are mammals—are having to consume even more small bugs and mosquitos to feed the new, hungry mouths.

     However, because bats tend to roost in large colonies, often numbering in the hundreds, thousands, and even tens of thousands, they can cause serious problems when they make their homes in our houses, apartments, and condominiums. For this reason, professional bat exclusion companies such as ours are allowed—under strict circumstances and closely following the requirements of the legislation—to safely and humanely exclude (remove and prevent from returning) these animals.

     Bat maternity season, as we’ve seen, precludes us from performing such exclusions at this time of year. In summary, there is bad news and good news:

• The bad news: If you currently have bats living in your building, you must leave them there for the time being.
• The good news: You don’t have much longer to wait until we would be able to exclude them for you.

How to Prepare for the End of Bat Maternity Season

     Bat maternity season in Florida ends on August 15th. From this date on, we can re-commence exclusions. However, folks with a bat colony infestation issue should not wait until this date before deciding to engage a company such as ours. Here’s why:

Understanding the Process and Understanding What Can Be Done during Maternity Season

     In almost every case, the most time-consuming and methodical part of the exclusion process involves sealing up areas (and sometimes adjacent buildings) that are not currently being used by the bats but which would otherwise present safe and good potential alternate roosting sites. This we can do during maternity season, taking care not to disturb the roosting sites themselves. It is a vital part of the process, since it denies any excluded bats from finding their way back into the roof at new points, once the actual exclusion begins. Ignoring this step would simply lead to relocating the colonies to other parts of the building and moving the problem around rather than solving it.

     It’s important to be aware of this for the following reasons:

• It contains the problem. (Although maternity season extends to mid-August, the juvenile bats are capable of flying before then, and they will often be looking for a new site close by to establish a brand-new colony of their own.)
• It hastens the exclusion itself when the time comes. (The adjacent areas have already been dealt with and the infested areas can be addressed right away.)
• It is evidence to unit owners and tenants that the problem is being addressed, lessening the tendency to complain about a lack of action and providing some degree of comfort to the affected residents.
• It lessens the “shock” to returning snowbirds, who arrive back in-state before the onset of the coming winter to find that new “tenants” have moved into their home while they have been away; the problem is being addressed and the solution is already underway.
• It allows us, as professional bat excluders, to solve more of our customers’ problems in a far timelier manner once the bat maternity season is over. (As you might imagine, scheduling for these projects to commence on or close to the same date—August 15th—is a big challenge for us practitioners at this time of year, especially if there is significant pre-sealing work to be done before we can move on to the actual exclusion.)

Further Recommendations to Prepare for Exclusion Season

• Select a contractor who is qualified, experienced, trustworthy, and—most importantly—focused exclusively on resolving bat infestation problems and is therefore an expert in this field. (Remember the old saying: “Jack of all trades, master of none.”)
• Don’t dawdle—a proposal is preceded by an inspection (which you shouldn’t have to pay for). Reputable companies such as ours who are confident in their abilities to win contracts, do not charge for this initial inspection visit and the resulting report and proposal.
• Request an inspection at the earliest opportunity—some customers think that because no exclusion work can begin until mid-August, they can “sit on their hands” until that date arrives. Understand that if a bat exclusion company has a strong reputation for reliable, effective, and safe work, they will be in great demand at that time.
• Don’t accept an “estimate” —if an inspection is properly conducted, a reputable and experienced practitioner should be able to give firm pricing.
• Make sure that the work is guaranteed—for example, we offer a free guarantee for the first year following the exclusion, which can then be renewed on a yearly basis for multiple years (at the customer’s discretion) for a small annual fee, should the customer select this option.

     In conclusion, if you currently have bats in your building, don’t be overly concerned. They are non-aggressive, timid animals that are far more afraid of you than you are of them; and in any case, help can be on its way as soon as you pick up the phone or send us an email!

John Greenwood

Technical Consultant, Friends of Bats

John Greenwood is the Technical Consultant for Friends of Bats—a Statewide, family-owned, and family-operated company specializing exclusively in the safe, humane, and guaranteed exclusion of bat colonies. For more information, contact us at john@friendsofbats.com, visit www.friendsofbats.com, or call 1-888-758-BATS (2287).