Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether NatureScot has analysed the impact delivered by contracted bat workers on bat species conservation.
NatureScot holds data on the type of roosts recorded by bat workers during visits to homes, including the number of bats present, and whether the roost was retained or excluded under licence.
In 2023, in Bats in Houses, a total of 74 bat roosts were excluded from properties across Scotland, following householder requests to do so due to Health & Safety requirements:
Bat Species | Number of roosts | Number of bats | Average |
Common Pipistrelle | 10 roosts | 548 bats | 55 bats per roost |
Soprano Pipistrelle | 55 roosts | 10,177 bats | 185 bats per roost |
Pipistrelle species | 9 roosts | 230 bats | 25 bats per roost |
The number of roosts retained across Scotland by the Bats in Houses Team, through discussion and advice on management for the resident:
Bat Species | Number of roosts | Number of bats | Average |
Common Pipistrelle | 4 roosts | 50 bats | 12 bats per roost |
Soprano Pipistrelle | 14 roosts | 1394 bats | 99 bats per roost |
Pipistrelle species | 8 roosts | 316 bats | 40 bats per roost |
Brown Long-eared | 7 roosts | 216 bats | 31 bats per roost |