Bats are seeking sanctuary in churches

This work can only be done under cover of darkness.

As night falls, bat hunters make their way among the gravestones of Guestwick Church in Norfolk.

The creaky door opens. It's pitch black inside, a deserted church, and the team begins setting up their special equipment.

Infrared and thermal imaging cameras are carefully positioned, and audio detectors are tuned to bat-friendly frequencies.

Soon bats begin to appear, scurrying up and down the aisles, and the amplified sounds of their chatter fill the historic building.

“Many of these churches have been on these sites for probably 1,000 years, and they've probably been inhabited by bats for as long as they've been standing,” says Diana Spencer of Project “Bats in Churches”.

A new research published in the British Ecological Society's People & Nature magazine found that these historic buildings provide a vital home for nocturnal animals.

The research, based on citizen surveys by the Bat Conservation Trust, shows that half of all churches in England – more than 8,000 – have bats.

But for older churches this figure rises to about 80%.

“They're basically like an artificial forest,” Spencer says.

“Full of little nooks and crannies where they can hide, big open spaces for them to fly, dry areas inside away from the rain where they can fly. It’s really just an absolutely perfect environment.”

Guestwick is home to two types of bats: common pipistrelle bats and Natterer's bats. They sit high in the rafters.

The Bats appear first, flying around for a few minutes before squeezing through the tiny gaps around the church door.

The Chatterboxes came out a little later, preferring to exit through small holes in the roof to get out and find food.

Without the help of special cameras, bats are almost impossible to detect; they are lost in the dark.

About a third of churches surveyed in the study had no idea bats lived there.

But in others their presence was much more noticeable. Bats can be messy houseguests.

“They're beautiful, but they're also problematic,” says Graham Peart of St Margaret's Church in Saxlingham, just a few miles from Guestwick.

He is responsible for the upkeep of the church and says the bats began becoming a nuisance about 15 years ago.

“It’s urine, droppings,” he says. “One day, the carpet leading to the altar became completely saturated with urine and droppings and had to be thrown away. They also destroyed copper items.”

Bats are protected by law in the UK, so they generally cannot be removed.

But the church worked with the Bats in Churches team to find a solution – they built an insulated loft above the vestry.

Ecologist Phillip Parker sets up a ladder to show us inside.

“The idea is that the bats that are in the main part of the church will live there, rather than in the church itself,” he explains.

It is equipped with CCTV cameras, allowing the team to monitor the animal's behavior.

“We found that during certain weeks of the year there would be hundreds of bats here, and then suddenly they would disappear,” Parker says.

“We don't know where they go, but they disappear for about 10 days and then come back. And without video surveillance, we never knew.”

Such a large construction project requires time, effort and money.

The new loft and permanent bat monitoring cost approximately £50,000 and was funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund and other partners.

Diane Spencer says there are other less expensive solutions, and the Bat Conservation Foundation offers grants.

“Simply put, you can use sheets or covers on areas where something might get damaged. You can put a wax coating on things like brass to prevent urine from damaging them.”

She encourages anyone who finds bats in a building to contact emergency services. National Bat Hotline for advice.

More bats seem to be seeking shelter in churches.

“They're losing a lot of habitat, a lot of forests,” Spencer says. “We’re also tearing down old buildings, making our homes warmer, more airtight—there’s less space for them to go.”

Church members have to learn to live with these nocturnal creatures, and some congregations are even beginning to see bats as entertainment rather than a gimmick.

“We regularly see churches hosting bat nights and bat-themed events,” Spencer says.

“And they can be a very, very good way to reach people, especially in the local community, who may not come to church for services or prayers, but come to see the bats because people find them very, very fascinating.”