The answer to this question will always be no. Trapping a Charlottesville bat in a cage can be fatal to the animal and it may also be illegal as per the animal control regulations in your country. Why is it fatal? When you cage a bat, it would try to escape, hitting its body on the cage. Due to its fragile nature, this action would hurt the bat physically. Another reason is its high metabolic rate, eating as much as 3,000 insects per day. Bats utilize their energy reserves very quickly and by keeping them in a cage without a source of food, would cause them to become dehydrated and starved, the end result being death. You can also involuntarily cause the bat to die from heatstroke and exhaustion if you leave it in the cage that is left outside.



Not all Charlottesville bats are nocturnal, there are some that come out during the day to forage for food. However, the majority of bats are nocturnal, and they would seek shelter in high, dark areas, hanging by their feet and safe from their enemies. Common places for bats to take shelter are in trees, attics, caves, under bridges and even in barns. They do hibernate in winter since there are not a lot of insects around, going into a deep sleep to conserve their energy. Bats are often associated with vampires, blood drinking creatures. They do, in fact, drink blood. But only from other animals such as cattle and deer. If you trap one in a cage, don’t think that you can leave a bowl of blood out and it would feed on that though. There are some bats who feed on fruits and pollen as well. With over 900 species of bats, you may not even know the type you captured.

Bats live in colonies ranging from a dozen to hundreds and even thousands. If you suspect a Virginia bat in your attic or building, more than likely it would be a birthing roost and there would be more than one. Removing bats from your home or building can be slightly difficult since these creatures are very small and can be easily missed. There are so small, they can enter a hole that is the size of a dime. To eradicate them from your building, you would need to first see where the holes are. You may need to search for this when the sun is out so that you can see where the sunlight enters from. Mark these spots so that you know where you need to seal and wait for the night when you expect that the bats would leave to forage for food. It is important that you ensure all the bats have left before you start sealing the holes.

If you trap a bat and release it away from where you caught it, chances are that the bat would return to the same place if it had considered it a home. You should in no way or under any circumstance, trap a bat or bats, in a cage.

Visit our Charlottesville wildlife control home page to learn more about us.