Maternity season starts April 16 for Florida’s bats

Photos available

Florida's native and beneficial bat species typically roost in trees, caves or other natural spaces, but are sometimes attracted to buildings and other human-made structures, including buildings still undergoing construction. With bat maternity season starting soon, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reminds the public that April 15 is the last day to legally exclude bats from buildings without a permit, until Aug. 15.

Florida's bat maternity season, the time when most of our state's bats give birth and raise their young, starts on April 16 and lasts through Aug. 14 each year. During maternity season, it is illegal to block bats from returning to their roosts. This helps prevent flightless bat pups from being trapped inside structures, which could be detrimental to both humans and bats.

If you have bats roosting in your house or building, the only legal and the most effective method to remove roosting bats from structures is the use of exclusion devices, which allow bats to safely exit a structure but block them from returning to their roosts. It is only legal to use exclusion devices from Aug. 15 until April 15, which is outside of the maternity season. Permits are required to use exclusion devices during Florida's bat maternity season.

Exclusion guidelines were developed to ensure bats are removed safely and effectively from buildings outside of maternity season to avoid problems for people and prevent the killing or harming of bats, which is illegal in Florida. Bat exclusion is a multi-step process that begins by identifying all potential bat entry and exit points in a building. To legally exclude bats, exclusion devices must be installed on key exit points, left up for a minimum of four nights and the exclusion must be conducted when the overnight temperature is forecasted to be 50ºF or above.

Bats are highly ecologically and economically beneficial. Florida's bats are insectivores, with a single bat eating up to hundreds of insects a night, including mosquitoes and other garden and agricultural pests. Worldwide, bats serve critical functions due to their roles in insect pest control, and as pollinators and seed dispersers, and their guano can be a valuable fertilizer.

Our state's 13 native bat species include endangered species such as the Florida bonneted bat.

Want to help bats? Here are a few ways to help support bat conservation:

• Preserve natural roost sites, including trees with cavities or peeling bark.
• Leave dead fronds on palm trees to provide roosting spots for bats.
• Install a bat house on your property.
• Add native plants when landscaping your property to attract native pollinators and benefit bats.
• Do not bring equipment clothes or shoes that have been in caves in other states in Florida's caves.
• Report unusual bat behavior and sick or dead bats to MyFWC.com/BatMortality.

For more information about how to properly exclude bats as well as other tips to bat-proof your home, visit MyFWC.com/Bats and click "Living with Bats." If you have questions or need more assistance, contact your closest FWC Regional Office to speak with a wildlife assistance biologist. Learn more about bats in Florida and ways you can help them thrive by visiting FWC's Bat Conservation Program | FWC.