Bat droppings are the unmistakable indication that the house, balcony and garden are an island of hope for the flying goblins of the night. This guide explains how you can reliably identify bat droppings. Read practical tips on what to do if you find bat solution here.
How do I recognize bat droppings and what can I do with them?
Bat droppings are 3-15 mm in size, elongated in shape, dark brown to black in color and contain visible insect remains. There is no risk of infection for humans. If bat droppings are found, you can protect their habitat and use the droppings as nutrient-rich fertilizer for plants.
- Bat droppings are 3-15 mm in size, elongated in shape and dark brown to black in color.
- Natural hobby gardeners collect bat guano and use the pellets as organic, nutrient-rich plant fertilizer.
- Anyone who finds bat droppings then minimizes the dangers for the endangered animals: install fly screens, cover rain barrels, avoid chemical wood protection, pigeon repellent spikes and toxic pesticides.
What does bat poop look like?
Bat droppings are elongated and rarely larger than 1cm
Bats feed exclusively on insects. Mosquitoes, beetles, spiders and moths are on the menu. This food shapes the appearance of bat droppings. The following table provides an overview of the appearance and properties of bat solution:
| Bat droppings | Property |
|---|---|
| Size | 3-10 mm (rarely up to 15 mm) |
| color | dark brown to black |
| Shape | elongated, pellet-shaped |
| Consistency | dry, shiny |
| Smell | odorless |
| Speciality | visible insect remains |
| Danger of infection | no |
Bat droppings are not dangerous. There are no toxic pathogens in the excrement that are harmful to people or pets. Feces and urine also do not contain the dreaded rabies viruses. Bat rabies is transmitted exclusively through saliva in skin wounds. As long as you don't touch bats, there is no danger. Even rabid bats never attack humans of their own accord. Any weakened, flightless animals found should be picked up with thick leather gloves.
Common Locations
Bat droppings always accumulate near roosts, hiding places and nurseries. Experts refer to the grouping of several females to raise their offspring together as a nursery. The following locations are characteristic of bat solution:
- Under an attic
- In the attic
- At the chimney
- Under roof tiles
- Behind shutters
- In the roller shutter box
- In cracks in the wall
- In tree hollows and bark crevices
The following picture illustrates typical locations where bat droppings are found on the house:
Bat droppings on and in the house – what to do?
Finds of bat droppings on and in the house are cause for joy. In fact, one of the most industrious insect killers has found its way to you. Even a single pipistrelle bat eats up to 2,000 mosquitoes per night and in this way pays rent for the accommodation. The night's feast leaves behind plenty of bat droppings that you shouldn't throw away unused. Furthermore, found fecal pellets are a good reason for important precautions to protect the highly threatened beneficial insects. The following table summarizes what to do if there are bat droppings on the house:
| What to do? | Options |
|---|---|
| Use | as plant fertilizer |
| Minimize dangers | + Protective nets on windows |
| + cover open containers | |
| + no chemical wood protection | |
| + no pigeon defense skewers | |
| + no glue traps | |
| + no pesticides | |
| Set up quarters | + Build a neighborhood |
| + Hang up nesting boxes | |
| Ask experts | Call the bat hotline |
How to use the options mentioned correctly will be explained in more detail in the following sections with practical tips for a bat-friendly environment in and around the house.
Use bat droppings – nutrient-rich plant fertilizer
Bat droppings are a great fertilizer and are sold expensively
Bats are unique treasures of nature in many ways. This even applies to their poop. The excrement is a special variant of guano, which is exceptionally not produced by birds and is called bat guano. With up to 8.5 percent nitrogen and other valuable components, bat solution proves to be a superlative natural fertilizer for the hobby garden. If the winged suppliers have rented space from you, you will receive the organic nutrient supply for your plants for free. How to use bat droppings as plant fertilizer:
- Put on gloves, arm yourself with a bucket and shovel
- Collect bat droppings
- sprinkle thinly in the bed by hand
- work in superficially with the rake and pour in again
You can optionally make an organic liquid fertilizer from bat guano. Stir 3 tablespoons of fecal crumbs into 1 liter of rainwater and let the mixture steep for a few hours in a shady, cool location. With a pH value of 7.5, solid or liquid bat fertilizer is suitable for most vegetable plants, perennials, woody plants and flowers.
Excursus
Bats are protected
All 25 bat species in Germany are at massive risk of extinction. Horseshoe bats, noctule bats, pipistrelle bats and conspecifics are therefore subject to the Federal Nature Conservation Act or are even listed on the Red List of Threatened Animal Species. Numerous European and international laws are dedicated to the protection of bats so that the extraordinary mammals do not become extinct. In principle, it is prohibited under pen alty of law to hunt, kill, disturb bats or destroy their summer and winter quarters.
Minimizing dangers to bats – tips & tricks
When bats get lost in the house, it often means their death
Have little crumbs of droppings revealed that you have bats as guests? Then animals worthy of protection have found their way to you. A variety of death traps lurk around the house and in the garden for the shy night owls with a huge appetite for insects. This is what you can do to minimize the dangers:
Fly screens on windows and doors
Tilted windows and open doors become a flight path for lost bats all year round. While hunting for prey and searching for summer or winter quarters, the animals stray from the right path. Once stranded in the house and apartment, the frightened bats can no longer find their way out and pay for the mistake with their lives.
This tragedy can be avoided with simple fly screens. Install insect protection nets (€9.00 on Amazon) on windows and doors to keep annoying flies, mosquitoes and other pests away. Before installation, please check that there are no bats hiding in roller shutter boxes, window and door gaps that could become trapped. It is important to note that you leave the protective grilles in place all year round.
Cover for rain barrel etc
Worthy measures, such as collecting rainwater or making your own nettle manure, pose a fatal danger to innocent bats. The flying gnomes often die in open containers of all kinds. For this reason, please cover the rain barrel, septic tank, bucket and watering can with a close-meshed wire mesh or lid.
Paint organic wood protection
By using environmentally friendly wood preservatives, you are doing a good work for your family, nature and especially for endangered bats. When shopping, you can identify recommended wood stains, impregnations and colors by looking at the “Blue Angel” environmental label. The Baden-Württemberg Bat Protection Working Group has published a list of explicitly bat-friendly wood preservatives on bat-friendly.de.
Pigeon defense without skewers
Pigeon spikes pose a fatal danger not only to pigeons
When it comes to protecting pigeons, nature lovers consistently avoid using skewers made of stainless steel or plastic. It's not just pigeons and songbirds that can be impaled by the spikes. In the dark, bats often realize far too late what deadly danger is lurking on the roof, balcony and window sill. If pigeon droppings make your life difficult, flexible pigeon repellent spirals and effective pigeon deterrents are the better solution because there are no fatalities.
Insect control without adhesive traps
Sticky traps play an important role in insect control and monitoring. For unsuspecting bats, however, the sticky traps mean a slow and painful death. If you find bat droppings on your property or building, please remove all sticky traps. The hungry bats will hunt down annoying insects with great effort anyway.
Pesticides taboo indoors and outdoors
The rigorous avoidance of pesticides transforms your home and garden into a paradise for birds, bats and hedgehogs. Chemical poisons kill the winged and stinged beneficial insects through the back door. On the one hand, the insectivores' food source is destroyed. On the other hand, birds, bats and hedgehogs have a hard time eating poisoned, still-living insects.
Setting up a bat roost – nesting box tips
There is a great housing shortage among bats. If you find bat droppings in a place that is completely unsuitable as a daytime hiding place in summer or winter quarters, you can set up a safe alternative quarters for the animals in need. Tried-and-tested designs are available for purchase in specialist retailers and are also suitable as a nesting box or nursery. We have summarized important information for beginners below:
Flat boxes for crevice-dwelling bats
Bats should not be driven away but should be protected
This type of box is the most commonly used and can also be built yourself. With a shallow depth, flat boxes are ideal for all bats that prefer narrow crevices with belly and back contact. The slight inclination of the front wall is advantageous in the models from Hasselfeldt and EMBA. The well-known Schwegler model has a door flap with different thicknesses, with the depth decreasing from bottom to top or from right to left. In this way, bats of different body sizes find a home here.
Bat droppings cannot accumulate in flat boxes if they open downwards. This is also a good solution for hobby gardeners, as the rich bat guano is simply collected from the ground.
Round boxes as day and mating quarters
The classic tit nest box was the inspiration for this box version for bats. Instead of a pitched roof, there is a domed roof and a removable front wall for cleaning work in spring and autumn. Inside a round box there is a grooved wall made of wood concrete for large bats that like to rest hanging. Some box models have additional, horizontal inner walls so that small bat species can also find space here.
A hatch tunnel on the front prevents the animals from soiling themselves with feces when crawling in. Luxury models feature a sloping base and an open gap to allow bat droppings to fall out.
Large caves as winter quarters or nurseries
Large-capacity caves are more than twice as large as normal daily round boxes in terms of volume and size. Insulating double walls guarantee reliable frost protection in winter. Grooved inserts create sloped areas on several levels, ideal for a comfortable nursery. However, large caves for bats weigh a considerable amount of 15 to 30 kilograms.
Built-in caves for the house facade
Bat-friendly builders include bat caves in their plans, which can be decoratively and discreetly integrated into house walls. Since the housing shortage among bats has become increasingly widespread, demand for permanent built-in facade caves has been increasing in the market. The range of models is correspondingly broad. The variants range from stackable built-in blocks based on the modular principle to walled-in gable tubes. Generous accommodation providers choose solutions with an opening on the back wall to allow shy guests access to the attic quarters.
Tip
A finger test reveals the furry culprit: bat droppings are shiny, crumbly-dry and fall apart when you rub them between your fingers. Mouse droppings, on the other hand, harden within a short time and do not break down. Please wear gloves when doing the test.
Ask bat experts – NABU bat hotline helps
The Nature Conservation Association of Germany (NABU) is vehemently dispelling myths, legends and prejudices that are circulating about bats. Intensive educational work is now generating a great deal of interest in the true nature of flying mammals. This raises many questions, and not just in relation to bat droppings. For this reason, NABU has set up a nationwide expert hotline:
Batphone: 030-284984-5000
The office hours are coordinated with the bat season. From June to August, the experts are available to give you good advice on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays you can reach the experts in person from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Outside the high season, office hours are slightly shortened.
Frequently asked questions
Can you build a bat nesting box yourself?
With a little craftsmanship you can build a bat box yourself. You can find recommended construction lines, for example, on Fledermausschutz.de or in the download area of all-about-bats.net. Use splinter-free, rough-sawn wood as building material. If at all, the outside of the nesting box should only be impregnated with linseed oil. Furthermore, the bat refuge should be breathable to prevent mold from forming and should not have tar paper as a roof, which could melt in the sun.
Bat droppings regularly accumulate on my windowsill. What to do?
It's actually a reason to be happy that an endangered bat has found safe shelter with you. If the brown crumbs of feces on the windowsill bother you, just make a virtue of necessity. Set up a decorative flower box. From now on, fallen bat droppings can no longer be seen and your plants benefit from the free fertilizer.
Do I have to report the discovery of bat droppings because it indicates the presence of bats?
No, bats or sites with bat droppings do not have to be reported. Nevertheless, the bat experts at NABU are happy about any information about their roost that gives reason to hope that the bats can be saved. There is also an award for people who tolerate bats in their house or garden.
Tip
Hobby gardeners with a big heart for little bats are creating a natural garden with nesting boxes. If night-blooming plants are part of the design plan, the food supply for bats looking for prey at night increases because there are hordes of insects here. Where nodding campion (Silene nutans), red campion (Silene dioica) and chicory (Cichorium intybus) thrive side by side, the table is also set for growling bat stomachs.
