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Most commonly bat droppings accumulate underneath the roost, and below the points bats use to access their roost. In buildings, bat droppings might be found in the loft or close to the eaves. All bats in the UK are insectivores, so their droppings are made up of dried insect remains.
The characteristics of the droppings i.e. the shape, size and texture, can help to identify the bat species that produced it. You can also use the placement of the droppings (i.e. stuck to a wall or below a beam) to assist in the identification.
A guide to bat droppings and feeding remains The discovery of droppings at a survey site is perhaps the easiest method to prove that bats have used it as a roost. Bats, being entirely insectivorous in Britain, produce droppings that only contain the indigestible parts of their insect prey.
Look for bat droppings on windows, walls or sills. In the roof void droppings may be below the gable ends or in a line under the ridge. Bats may be visible on ridge beams inside the roof void but could be tucked away from sight.
Identifying the bats at your roost can be difficult but this guide has some tips. Get good photos of bats whenever possible. Inevitably, some bats will die at a roost. For ID confirmation, collect dead bats using gloves, double bag & freeze them and contact DNR immediately. DO NOT handle live bats unless absolutely necessary. Always use thick ...
Analysing droppings is non intrusive and does not normally require a licence (unless entering a bat roost to collect them). It can be used to narrow down the likely identity of a bat species even when you cannot see the bats involved.
This is a guide to finding tree-roosts of bats and so is of vital interest to many tree-care professionals – with not only conservation implications but legal and financial ones too.
