Bats are amazing animals that, partly because they are nocturnal, are shrouded in mystery.  Not only are these animals nocturnal, they typically find very concealed places to sleep during the day so they will be safe from predators.  The combination of hiding during the day and nocturnal activity often leads people to ask, “Where do bats live?”

Bats live in locations that protect them from predators and the weather.  These locations are typically caves, attics, abandoned structures or even trees. Bats typically change roost locations throughout the year and spend the winter in special caves that are ideally suited for hibernation.

Let’s look at the roosting locations of bats in more detail.

Summer Living Locations

Bats will roost in a wide array of locations as long as the basic need of protection from predators and weather are met.  Bats do not make nests and instead rely upon taking advantage of whatever locations they can find.

Caves are popular homes for bats as are the abandoned mines and human made structures such as wells, attics and the underside of bridges. Rock crevices are favorite homes for some species like Eastern Small-Footed Bats and little brown bats.

The group Bat Conservation International states that of the 47 species of bats that live in the United States, more than half of them live in trees (source). Bats will roost in dead trees beneath loose bark or inside cavities. Others types of bats roost exclusively in the foliage of living trees.

You’ll also like this: Types of Bats: An Introduction To Common Bats Of The United States

Where a bat will roost will depend heavily upon both the species of bat as well as its geographical location.  Below is a list from the College of Agricultural Sciences at Pennsylvania State University that details the preferred summer roost locations by the different types of bats in Pennsylvania (source).

Almost all bat species found in the United States are insectivores and prefer to roost close to a water source such as a lake or river (source).  The water source provides water from them to drink and also attracts their favorite food source.

Read more here: [SHOCKING] What Do Bats Eat: Insects, Fruit and Blood!

Bats will often segregate their roost with females forming maternal colonies where they raise their pups and the males forming bachelor colonies.

Winter Living Locations

When fall comes around and it is time for bats to hibernate they become incredibly picky about where they will roost.  In order for a bat to survive hibernation the environmental conditions have to be just right and the optimum conditions vary between species.  For example the roost temperature for a hibernation gray bat must be between 42 to 52 degrees F while the Big Brown bat can tolerate temperatures between 32 to 41 degrees F. (source).

Bats seek locations where the temperature and humidity will be consistent for the full hibernation cycle.  Typically these locations are deep underground caves or abandoned mine shafts.

The specificity of cave requirements can be extreme as noted in the example of the endangered Gray bat.  According to Bat Conservation International, at least 95% of the entire known gray bat population hibernates in just nine highly vulnerable caves, with more than half in a single cave (source).

Famous Bat Locations

Here is an overview of several famous bat roosts that are worth pointing out as well as a few interesting bats whose homes are always of interest.

1. The most famous bat roost in the world is the Bracken Cave Preserve near San Antonio, Texas.  This roost is home to more than 15 million Mexican Free Tailed bats and is the largest known bat colony in the world.
2. Vampire bats roost in moderately lighted caves with deep fissures, and in tree hollows. Vampire bats can also be found in old wells, mine shafts, and abandoned buildings.  These bats are located in Central and South America. (source).
3. The smallest bat in the world, the Kitti’s Hog Nosed, lives in limestone caves in Myanmar and Thailand. Read all about it here: How Big Are Bats: The Smallest and Largest In The World
4. The largest bat in the world, the Giant Golden-Crowned Flying Fox, eats fruit as it lives in the trees in the Philippines (source).

Many people are scared of bats.  They think that bats are disease ridden, blood suckers that hide under the cover of darkness so you can’t see them coming. They think that bats are around just to spread viruses.

This fear of bats is driven by a lack of understanding into the true nature of the animals.  Let’s take a closer look at why people are terrified of bats and see if we can’t clear up some misunderstandings.

When people have a complete phobia about bats the condition is called “Chiroptophobia” (source).  While this condition is very real and painful for those who are suffering from it, this is not the focus of this article.

Instead of the fear that comes from a phobia, we will be looking at the fear produced by a lack of understanding.  These fears stem from concerns about being attacked, catching diseases and simply being afraid of the dark.

The Dawn of Bat Mythology

The Mayan civilization is one of the earliest to have developed a mythology surrounding bats. Camazotz, also known as the “Death Bat God”, was a figurative idol that was expressed throughout Mayan artwork and culture dating back as far as 2,000 BC. So, we know that even the Mayans had developed a less-than-stellar opinion of bats, going so far as to associate them with death.

When we examine the behavior of most bat species, it’s not surprising that early humans developed such an off-putting opinion about them. Bats prefer to live in the shadows or the dark, they swoop down from the skies during times when we cannot see them well, and they’re nowhere to be found in the daylight hours, unless of course you wander into a cavern and find a bat colony roosting on the ceiling.

However, not all mythology surrounding bats is necessarily negative.

For example, the Evaki Goddess of ancient Native American folklore is often depicted as a bat and is associated with sleep and dreams (source). According to this myth, Evaki is responsible for taking the sun out of a jar every morning and putting it back every evening, contributing to the routine operation of the cosmos. Even still, Evaki is shrouded in a dark, night-ish aura that smacks of disguise and elusivity.

Should We Fear Bat Bites?

Being bitten by a bat is something that people fear but it is not something they should be worried about.  While bats do bite humans it is almost always in self defense.

It is hard to put an exact number on how many people get bitten by bats but some numbers from the city of Philadelphia helps put things in perspective.  Over a period of five years the city had about 500 reports of bat bites compared to 6,900 reports of bites from cats and dogs (source).

The most common way people get bitten by a bat is when they try to catch a bat by grabbing it in their hands.  This typically happens when a bat gets trapped inside a house and a clumsy homeowner tries to handle the situation.  Other instances of bites occur when people are handling or trying to release a sick bat they found on the ground.

Bats will not actively seek you out to bite you.  Most bats eat small flying insects or fruits and seeds and do not see humans as edible food sources. The best prevention for bites is to leave bats alone.

Bat Disease

Bats are associated with dangerous or deadly diseases such as rabies and that scares the heck out of people.  To be fair, the Center for Disease Control says that most cases of rabies in humans between 1997 to 2006 are from bats so it is understandable that people are concerned.

On the other hand, in that ten year period there were only 19 cases of rabies in the United States.  Put another way, there are about two cases of rabies from bats per year.

Bats can carry other diseases than rabies.  Regardless of what disease people are concerned about the overarching guidance is the same:

Do not attempt to handle a bat.  It does not matter if you are trying to help an injured bat or are trying to get a bat out of your bedroom.  Do not attempt to handle a bat.

Are Bats Blood Suckers?

What really freaks people out is the thought of a bat swooping down from the sky, landing on your neck and sucking your blood.

The notion of people being attacked by blood sucking bats makes for great scary movies but is not a concern in the United States.  The only bats that eat blood from other animals are vampire bats.  While vampire bats do exist they only exist in Central and South America where their food of choice is sleeping livestock (source).

Are Bats Flying Rats?

Some people think that bats are simply flying rats and since rats are nasty then bats must be as well.

The good news is that bats and rats have very little in common.  Bats are not rodents like rats as they lack the constantly growing front incisors.  Bats also tend to avoid humans when possible while rats thrive in our presence.

About the only thing rats and bats have in common is that they are both nocturnal, are about the same size and sometimes live in trees.

If it makes you feel better, bats are much more like sugar gliders than rats!

People Are Afraid Of The Dark And Bats

Last up on the list of why people get freaked out over bats is that bats typically come out at night.

If someone is already afraid of the dark then any sudden motions that they sense will increase their anxiety levels.  The thing about bats and sudden motions is that bats are aerial acrobats that can turn on a dime and fly at incredible speeds. So yeah, if you are afraid of the dark then bats might freak you out even more!

Don’t miss this: How Fast and High Do Bats Fly?

This is one of those crazy situations that you can actually make worse when you try to solve it!  The easiest way to deal with being afraid of the dark is carry a flashlight set on high or to stay in lit areas like under a light pole.  The problem is that the light will attract moths and moths are one of the favorite foods bats like to eat!

If the thought of being around bats stresses you out then just remember that, as long as you do not try to handle them, they will not harm you. 

Bats are some of the most populous animals on the planet, and they live on every continent except the arctic. They’ve also been around for a very, very long time, dating back as far as 52 million years ago. For as pervasive and long-lived as bats are, it makes sense to ask the question, “What do bats eat?”.

Almost all species of bats in the United States are Insectivores that eat flying insects such as beetles, moths, mosquitoes, gnats, flies and wasps.  Some tropical species of bats are Frugivores that eat fruits, seeds and nectar while the Vampire bat dines on the blood of other animals.  

When you examine all of the different types of bats in the world you will find that their is a great diversity in their diets that can be broken into the following categories:

• Insectivore
• Frugivore/Nectarivore
• Carnivore
• Hemovore

Let’s look at each of these categories in more detail.

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How bats survive winter is incredibly complex and, in some cases, almost miraculous.  When it comes to winter survival a common question is often asked, “Do bats hibernate or migrate?” Here is the quick answer:

Some species of bats hibernate while other species migrate to warmer climates during the winter.  Some species of bats are migratory in order to reach specific hibernation areas.  

The mechanisms bats use to survive winter are only partially understood. The fact that bats are nocturnal creatures that live in remote, often hidden locations makes studying them, especially in the cold of winter, difficult.  These challenges are compounded by differing behavior between the different types of bats and even variable behavior within the same species that are in different geographic locations.

An example of the diversity in winter behaviors are the nine species of bats that regularly reside in the state of Pennsylvania.  Six of these species undergo hibernation in Pennsylvania while three species migrate to hibernation locations in other parts of the country (source).

Let’s take a look at some bats that hibernate, some that migrate and some that do both.

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Bats come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them are barely even perceptible as they dart here and there, using the cover of night to add stealth to their nocturnal activities. You may think that all bats are about the size of a small bird, but the real sizes of some of the world’s bats might surprise you.

So, if you have ever wondered, “How Big Are Bats?” then here is the answer:

The most common bats seen in the United States have a length of 2-3 inches when measured from nose to tail, weigh about 10 grams and have a wingspan of approximately 10 inches.  The smallest bat in the world, the Kitti’s Hog Nosed, only weighs 2 grams while the largest bat in the world, the Giant Golden Crowned Flying Fox, weighs in at 1,300 grams.

Let’s take a look at some of these species in more detail.

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