Bats are often heard before they are seen, appearing at dusk as tiny shapes flickering over gardens, ponds and rooftops. But what happens when a bat turns up in your loft, or you discover one living behind the tiles? Here we answer the common questions about UK bats, from what they eat and where they sleep to bat boxes, gardens, houses, safety and what to do if bats move in.

What bats live in the UK?

There are 18 species of bat in the UK, and they range from the tiny pipistrelle bats that may hunt around an urban garden to larger species such as the noctule. Each species has its own preferred habitat, food and roosting places.

Some bats are regularly encountered around houses and gardens. Others are much more specialised and less likely to be seen by the average home owner.

That is why identifying a bat can be surprisingly difficult.

A bat flying across the garden at dusk may only be visible for a few seconds, and many species are similar in size and appearance. Flight behaviour, habitat and echolocation calls can all provide useful clues.

We've created individual UK bat identification guides to help you work out which species you may have seen and understand where it lives, what it eats and how you can help it.

Do bats live in gardens?

Yes. Gardens can be surprisingly important places for bats. They provide somewhere to hunt, travel between larger areas of habitat and, in some cases, shelter during the day.

A garden with mature trees, hedges, ponds, shrubs and plenty of insects can become part of a bat's feeding territory. Even a small urban garden can contribute, particularly where it connects with neighbouring gardens, parks, woodland, waterways or other green spaces.

Bats don't necessarily need a garden to contain a roost to make use of it. You might never have a bat living in your garden, yet see one flying across it every evening.

When are bats active?

Bats are nocturnal, so they are most active from dusk onwards.

On a warm, calm evening, watch the sky above trees, hedges and open areas as daylight fades. The first bat can appear surprisingly early, particularly in summer. Once you know what you are looking for, you may start noticing them everywhere.

They are often seen making rapid, twisting flights as they chase insects. Some fly high above trees, while others hunt close to the ground, along hedges or even over water.

What do bats eat?

All UK bats are insectivores. They feed on insects and other small invertebrates, with different species specialising in different prey. Their food can include moths, flies, midges, beetles and other flying insects, with some species also taking spiders and other invertebrates.

This makes the garden habitat particularly important.

A garden full of insects is effectively a garden with a bat food supply. That is one reason planting for wildlife, retaining mature vegetation, creating ponds and avoiding unnecessary pesticides can help bats without you ever needing to put out food for them.

How can I attract bats to my garden?

You don't really attract bats in the same way you attract a robin to a bird feeder.

Instead, make your garden worth visiting.

Bats need food, water, shelter and safe routes through the landscape. A wildlife-friendly garden can provide all four.

Grow plants for insects

Choose plants that provide nectar and pollen over a long season, rather than having everything flower at once.

Night-scented flowers can be particularly useful because they attract moths and other nocturnal insects, which in turn provide food for bats.

Plant trees and hedges

Trees provide shelter and potential roosting places as they mature, while hedges and tree lines can provide valuable routes through the landscape.

Older trees are particularly valuable because cavities, cracks, splits and loose bark create natural roosting opportunities.

Add a pond

Even a small pond can increase the variety and abundance of insects in a garden.

Water can also become an important feeding area, with bats often hunting over the surface where insects are concentrated.

Leave some wild corners

A compost heap, log pile, longer grass, leaf litter and less intensively managed planting can all support insects.

You don't have to turn the whole garden wild. A few deliberately untidy corners can make a surprising difference.

Avoid unnecessary pesticides

The fewer insects your garden supports, the less food there is available for bats. Reducing pesticide use is therefore one of the simplest ways to make a garden more wildlife-friendly.

Keep the garden dark

Artificial light can interfere with bat activity and movement.

Where possible, avoid lighting hedges, trees, ponds and other areas used by bats. Keeping a dark corridor through the garden can be just as valuable as adding another wildlife feature.

Do I need a bat box?

A bat box is an artificial roost, designed to provide somewhere for bats to shelter where natural roosting opportunities are limited. Different species use different types of roost, so there isn't one bat box that suits every bat.

Natural roosts include tree cavities, loose bark, cracks, crevices and spaces within buildings.

A bat box can be a useful addition, particularly where natural roosting opportunities are scarce.

Just don't expect a box to be occupied immediately.

Bats are creatures of habit. A new box may be discovered quickly, or it can take months or even years before bats decide to use it.

Read our guide to choosing and siting a bat box

Can I make my own bat box?

Yes.

A properly constructed DIY bat box can provide a useful roosting opportunity.

The Bat Conservation Trust recommends rough-sawn, untreated timber, well-sealed joints and a suitably narrow entrance. Bats prefer shelter that is free from draughts and provides a stable environment.

However, there is one important difference between a bat box and a bird box. Don't make a bat box with a removable lid so you can check inside. Once installed, an occupied bat box should not simply be opened for inspection. Bats and their roosts are legally protected.

How do I know if a bat box is being used?

This can be one of the frustrating things about helping bats. You may put up a box and see absolutely nothing happen. That doesn't mean it isn't working.

Possible signs of use include:

• Bat droppings beneath the entrance
• Bats emerging around dusk
• Bats returning around dawn
• Repeated activity around the entrance
• Sounds coming from inside the box

Droppings can be a useful clue, but don't assume that every dropping underneath a box proves that bats are living there.

If you need to establish whether a box is being used, a suitable wildlife camera or professional monitoring equipment can provide information without opening the roost.

Can I put a camera on a bat box?

Yes, although the way you do it matters.

An external camera aimed at the entrance can be a fascinating way to see bats emerging at dusk without disturbing the box.

For longer-term monitoring, specialist wildlife cameras or automated acoustic detectors can provide considerably more information than a standard security camera.

Acoustic monitoring is particularly useful because bats use ultrasonic echolocation calls that humans cannot normally hear. Automated detectors can record these calls for later analysis.

For the average garden owner, however, you don't need specialist equipment to enjoy watching bats. A camera aimed at the entrance can tell you when bats are emerging, while simply sitting quietly in the garden at dusk can be just as rewarding.

Can I identify a bat by its call?

Sometimes, but bat identification by sound is more complicated than identifying a bird by song.

Different species produce characteristic echolocation calls, but those calls can overlap between species and change according to what the bat is doing. A bat detector converts ultrasonic calls into sounds we can hear and, with suitable experience and software, recordings can help identify species.

Bats in houses

Finding bats around your house can be exciting, but it can also cause concern, particularly if you are a homeowner planning repairs or building work.

Buildings can provide excellent roosting conditions. Pipistrelle bats, for example, are among the species most commonly found in houses and can squeeze into surprisingly small spaces behind tiles, barge boards and other features. Long-eared bats may roost within roof spaces.

A bat may therefore be living much closer to you than you realise.

Where do bats roost in houses?

Different species choose different places.

Common possibilities include:

• Behind hanging tiles
• Beneath roof tiles
• Around barge boards
• In gaps around roof timbers
• Inside loft spaces
• Behind boarding
• In wall cavities
• Around other small cracks and crevices

Bats favour sheltered places where they can remain undisturbed. They may also move between several roosts during the year. Finding a few droppings beneath a roof entrance therefore doesn't necessarily mean that you have a large colony living inside the house.

It does, however, warrant care before you carry out work that could affect the area.

I have bats in my loft. What should I do?

In England, all bat species and their breeding and resting places are protected by law. It can be an offence to damage or destroy a roost, obstruct access to it or intentionally or recklessly disturb bats while they are occupying a place of shelter.

This protection matters even if you don't see a bat sitting there.

If bats are using your loft, roof or another part of your property and you are planning building work, roof repairs, repointing, insulation or a loft conversion, get appropriate advice before starting. Natural England advises that building work can affect bat roosts and that surveys may be needed where buildings have features suitable for bats.

The Bat Conservation Trust's National Bat Helpline: 0345 1300 228 can provide advice for householders concerned about bats in their homes.

Will bats damage my house?

Generally, bats do not damage buildings simply by living in them.

They don't chew through wood or insulation to make nests like mice, and they don't build nests in the way birds do. Their droppings and urine can cause staining where large numbers are concentrated, but a small number of bats may leave surprisingly little evidence.

The bigger issue is usually the building work you might want to carry out around them.

Do bats smell?

A large established roost can produce an odour, particularly where droppings accumulate.

But bats themselves are not inherently smelly animals, and finding a few bats around your house does not mean your home will smell. The amount of evidence you see depends largely on the number of bats, the location of the roost and how long they have been using it.

If you are concerned about an odour or accumulation of droppings, get advice rather than attempting to remove the bats yourself.

Are bats dangerous?

Bats are wild animals and should never be handled unnecessarily.

They are not aggressive towards people and normally have no interest in us. If caught or handled, however, a bat may bite or scratch in self-defence.

There is a very small risk of European Bat Lyssaviruses in UK bats. The risk to the general public is extremely low, but it is one reason never to pick up a bat with bare hands.

If you are bitten or scratched by a bat, wash the area thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical advice promptly.

Enjoy bats, watch bats, photograph bats - but don't handle them.

What should I do if I find a bat inside my house?

A bat accidentally entering the living area is very different from discovering a roost in your loft.

If a bat is flying around a room, close the doors to other rooms, open a window or external door and turn off the lights. Give the bat space and allow it an opportunity to leave.

Don't chase it around the room or try to catch it with your hands.

If the bat is grounded, injured or appears unable to fly, don't handle it bare-handed. Contact the Bat Conservation Trust or an appropriate wildlife rescue service for advice.

If bats are repeatedly entering your living space from a loft or wall cavity, seek specialist advice rather than simply blocking the opening.

Do bats have nests?

Not in the way birds do.

Bats use roosts. A roost is simply a place where a bat rests, sleeps, hibernates or raises its young. Different species use different types of roost, from narrow cracks behind tiles to tree cavities and larger spaces within buildings.

This is why you'll see the word roost used throughout our bat guides rather than nest.

Where do bats sleep during the day?

Most UK bats spend the day tucked away in a roost.

That might be behind loose bark, inside a tree cavity, beneath a roof tile, behind hanging tiles, inside a loft or within another sheltered space. Some species prefer very narrow crevices, while others need larger spaces. They emerge around dusk to feed, returning to their roost after a night of hunting.

Where do bats go in winter?

Winter is a difficult time for insect-eating bats because their food becomes much harder to find.

As temperatures fall and insects become scarce, bats reduce their activity and enter periods of torpor or hibernation.

Their winter behaviour varies between species. Some remain relatively close to their summer range, while others move to different roosts that provide better winter conditions. Some species even migrate to better climates ahead of winter.

Are bats protected by law?

Yes.

All bat species in Britain are protected, including their breeding sites and resting places. The exact legislation and licensing arrangements differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In England, activities that could affect bats or their roosts may require specialist advice and, in some circumstances, a licence. Natural England's current guidance covers bats affected by home improvements, housing developments and other work.

This is particularly important if you are:

•  Replacing a roof
• Converting a loft
• Extending your house
• Repointing brickwork
• Removing or substantially altering mature trees
• Blocking gaps or roof entrances
• Installing lighting around a known roost
• Carrying out demolition or major renovation

The safest rule is simple:

If you think bats are using a building or tree, get advice before starting work.

Why are bat boxes fitted to new houses?

You may have noticed bat boxes or integrated bat features appearing on new developments and wondered why. They can be included as part of ecological mitigation, compensation or biodiversity enhancement associated with development.

A bat box on a new house does not necessarily mean that bats were found living there before construction. Equally, simply installing a box does not automatically make development work legally compliant.

Where a development affects a protected roost, the appropriate mitigation depends on the circumstances and the ecological assessment. Government guidance recognises measures such as bat lofts and other replacement habitat where existing roosts are affected.

How to make your garden bat-friendly

You don't need a huge garden or expensive equipment to attract bats.

Start with the things bats need naturally: Night-flying insects. More shelter. More water. Less light.

Grow a variety of plants, include night-scented flowers where possible, retain mature trees and hedges, provide a pond or water feature, leave some areas less intensively managed and avoid unnecessary pesticides.

A bat-friendly garden wants to offer a holistic solution: a place to feed, space to fly, somewhere to shelter and somewhere to rest.

Explore our UK Bat Identification Guides

Seeing a bat at dusk often leaves you with the same question:

“What was that?”

Our individual species guides are designed to help you work it out.

Each guide looks at what the bat looks like, where it lives, how it flies, what it eats, where it roosts, whether you are likely to encounter it around your garden and what you can do to help.

UK Bat Identification Guides

[Common Pipistrelle]

[Soprano Pipistrelle]

[Brown Long-eared Bat]

[Daubenton's Bat]

[Noctule]

[Serotine]

[Natterer's Bat]

[Whiskered Bat]

[Brandt's Bat]

[Barbastelle]

Individual species links will be added as each guide is published.

A final thought about bats

The first time you notice a bat in your garden, it can feel like discovering something new, that has been happening all along without you knowing. One moment the garden was yours. Then the light begins to fade, the moths start rising and a tiny shape appears over the hedge. A pipistrelle on the hunt!

And that is perhaps the nicest thing about making a garden wildlife-friendly.