Bats
Raccoons Opossums Squirrels Skunks Bats
Groundhogs Foxes Coyotes
Everything You Wanted To Know About Bats
Two out of Eight species of bats found throughout Maine are - the Big Brown Bat and the Little Brown Bat. They have slightly different life-cycles and characteristics and as such are handled differently by wildlife removal experts. The following are some more bat facts for Maine homeowners:
​
Habitat
Urban: In urban environments bats are found in semi-open areas often near trees and water but will make their roots inside building spaces.
​
Breeding
Time of year: Bats mate in the fall and sometimes into the winter months. Sperm is stored and ovulation and fertilization are delayed until the female emerges from hibernation.
​
Litter size
Big Brown Bats have one to two offspring every year while the Little Brown Bat has only one.
​
Rearing
Little Brown Bats will stay in the roost for the first 18 days of their life and can fly thereafter. They reach maturity within 3 weeks. Big Brown Bats take longer to mature and do not reach adult size until 70 days.
​
Sexual maturity
Female bats are sexually mature near the end of their first year. Male bats take slightly longer and will reach sexual maturity after their first year.
​
Food and Feeding
Time of day: Bats are nocturnal and use high frequency echo-location to seek out their food.
​
Diet
Big Brown Bats eat a variety of insects but prefer beetles. Little Brown Bats enjoy flying insects like midges, mosquitoes and mayflies.
​
Morphology and Lifestyle
-
Wing span: Big Brown Bats - 32 to 39cm; Little Brown Bats - 22 to 27cm.
-
Weight: Big Brown Bats - 11 to 25g; Little Brown Bats - 5 to 11g.
-
Vocalization: Bats use high frequency echo-location that is hard to hear with the exception of some clicking sounds.
-
Lifespan: Between 10 and 20 years with the rare bat living as long as 30 years.
​
Did You Know?
-
Bats play an important role in our environment as they can consume up to 3,000 insects in one night.
-
Bats in Canada will not fly in your hair and suck your blood.
-
Bats can spread the rabies virus when infected with very little to no evidence of contact.
-
Bats can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime.
-
A bat can produce several times its own weight in waste each month.
-
Bat colonies can range in size from one to several hundred and can double in size every year.
-
Bats hibernate when the temperature drops below 10 degrees C.