Another great way to help bat populations is to build a bat house and count the number of bats that use the house. Being mindful and minimizing the disturbance of bat habitats or places that bats are known to hibernate helps their over-all population and ecosystems. A big factor that increases bat populations is to avoid the possible spread of White Nose Syndrome by people. Bats slowly reproduce, female bats typically have one pup at a time, so it is important for us to do whatever we can to protect our bats.
- Bat roost monitoring surveys are used to identify locations where bat maternity colonies are roosting and determine the approximate size of the colonies. The data helps to understand where the bats are living and how the populations are changing.
- Little brown bats used to be the most common species of bats in Ohio; their population has declined by as much as 99% according to winter hibernacula counts.
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