Our FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ's
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Q. Why do I need a bat survey?
All property and land that are being developed should have a Preliminary Roost Assessment. This then assigns a value, Negligible, Moderate or High that stipulates the number of Emergence surveys required.
Q. What type of bat surveys can I have?
PRA – A preliminary Roost Assessment, is carried out on any building that you are planning on doing work on. We can also carry out PRA on trees and other features that proposed building work may have an impact upon. The objective of the PRA is to decide if there are any roosting features that can be used by bats.
Emergence – The number of surveys is based on the PRA and are three weeks apart. These are carried out in the evening, where we start 15 minutes before sunset and carry on for two hours after sunset. There are one, two or three surveys depending on the suitability of the features. Please see “How many surveys do I need?”
Transect – These are carried out to see if the area has bats or if it is a bat flight path. Often used if you are thinking of putting up a wind turbine or solar panels. These are carried out in the evening to the same criteria as Emergence surveys, but the positions are mobile.
Q. How many surveys do I need?
It depends on the categorisation of the property.
- Negligible Suitability -Typically a new house or a house in excellent condition with no suitable features for roosting bats. – No Emergence survey required.
- Low Suitability – A structure (house, tree shed etc.) with at least one potential roost site. This would include features such as missing or a lifted tile on a roof or gaps between the leadwork and bricks or gaps between the facia and soffit and brickwork. If you can get your thumb into the gap then a bat can roost in that gap. – One Emergence survey required.
- Moderate Suitability – Most properties fall under this category; the criteria is as for Negligible but has more than one feature that could allow bats to roost. This also includes a continuous habitat connected to the wider landscape e.g. backs onto a field. – Two Emergence surveys required.
- High Suitability – A structure or other feature that has more than one obviously suitable roost site and that could be used for larger numbers of bats (10+). Additionally, if bat droppings are found or if there are signs of a roost being used this would classify the site as High suitability. – Three Emergence surveys required.
Q. How many surveyors do I need?
Example of how many surveyors you need if you have dormer windows:
Q. When can I have a bat survey?
PRA – Any time of the year.
Emergence Survey – May to August and you can have them carried out in September if you have had the first emergence survey in August.
Transect Survey – May to August and you can have them carried out in September if you have had the first emergence survey in August.
Hibernation Survey – November to February.
Q. How long is a bat survey valid for?
Surveys are valid for one year and depending on Local Planning Authority up to two years. If there has been any major changes then this can affect the validity time of the survey.
Q. Is access to the roof space required?
Ideally, yes, but if access is impossible we can mention this in the report and why we couldn’t access the roof space.