To an average person, it might seem strange to have a bat flying around the house in mid-February. However, this is a rather common occurrence during the winter here in the great state of Maine. If this happens in your home during the winter, you most certainly have a bat infestation. It’s likely that before winter even began, there was a group of bats who decided to use your house as a hibernation roost. Bats go in and out of what’s called “torpor” all winter long, usually starting in October and until March/April. Torpor is a state the bats go into where there are extended periods of sleep and lowered body metabolism to preserve their fat. For intermittent periods, the bats will wake up and become active. This is the reason why you are experiencing a bat in your house during the winter in Maine.
Before you see bats in your house, you may notice some scratching or squeaking sounds in a wall or ceiling area. Bats can move up and down walls and under insulation in an attic. The sounds are usually limited to a relatively small area. In Maine, we experience arctic air moving in from time. As the temperatures plummet, it may force the hibernating bats into the living quarters of a home or into a basement. On the flip side of the coin, a sudden warm-up in temperatures may also trigger bat sightings.
The Bat Species We See Most Often In Maine
The bat species we see most often in Maine during the winter are big brown bats. After feeding on insects all summer and fall, the bats have built up enough fat to survive the long, harsh Maine winter. Because of the lack of the insect food supply in the winter, the bats must hibernate to survive. They rely on the fats they have stored to sustain themselves until spring.
The Big Brown Bat inhabits Maine building most often during the winter months. If in your home avoid all contact. However, if a big brown bat enters your living space, you must have it captured.
In situations where we are called out for bat removal from the house during the winter, we almost always find bat waste and urine scattered throughout the home’s attic insulation. Another sign of bat hibernation is finding bat droppings underneath insulation, which indicates they were nesting underneath the insulation for warmth. These are the telltale signs you have a full-blown bat infestation. Being in the bat removal business for many years, we have seen many homes with winter bats in Maine.
Don’t hesitate to call Midcoast Wildlife Specialists today for bat removal from your house. Call us at (207) 380-6652. Thank you for visiting our website, and feel free to look around our site for more info!