Do Bats Hibernate or Migrate During Winter in Marlton, NJ? Need for Bat Exclusion in Spring

You don’t see many bats fluttering through the sky in the winter time. You may be wondering where these creepy little creatures go during the coldest months of the year. Bats are one of those pests that go away during the winter and Ross Environmental Solutions is here to explain what they do to survive when it’s cold outside.

Bats Use a Lot of Energy to Fly

Because bats use so much energy as they fly through the sky, they have to eat a lot. Their diet consists of a variety of insects to give them the fuel they need. When these insects hide or die out for the winter, bats need to figure out what they are going to do in the meantime. To do this, some bats hibernate while others will migrate to warmer climates to find food.

Do Bats Hibernate?

For those that don’t understand what it means to hibernate, it means that there is an extreme reduction is heartrate, metabolic rate and respiratory rate so that the bats can go a prolonged amount of time without any food and still survive it. During the warmer months of the year, a bat’s heart rate will normally be between 200-300 bpm. When a bat is in hibernation mode, their heart will only beat around 10 times per minute and there may be periods of time that a bat won’t even need to take a breath. Not only will these major body systems will slow down but when a bat is in hibernation, they enter into a state known as “torpor” and only use 2% of the energy that they would normally use when they are wide awake.

Temporary Bat Hibernation or Torpor

As we are on the cusp of spring, there may be days that are warm enough for bats to thrive as well as some cold days ahead. Bats can enter a torpor state temporarily so that they can conserve energy if needed. If their body temperature returns to normal temporarily, they may be aroused for a short period of time and then go right back into torpor.

Bat Migration

Many bat species will simply migrate to warmer weather if needed. These are the bats that like to roost in trees like hoary bats. They will fly south, even as far as Mexico, so that they can find their much needed food sources and then fly back as the weather start to warm up.

Bat Wildlife Control

Early spring is a great time to conduct bat exclusion, since bats are active and food is abundant. If you are having problems with pests of all shapes and sizes, you can count on the pest professionals at Ross Environmental Solutions to help you get rid of them. We offer a long list of pest control solutions to help keep your home pest free. Call us today!