Bats give birth to single babies, which mature swiftly and are capable of flight and able to eat insects as well as their mothers' milk at three weeks of age. Bats mate prior to their hibernation cycle; the females store sperm over the winter, and ovulation and fertilization occurs in the spring. They typically give birth in mid-June.

Though bats rarely attack people (and will not, contrary to urban legend, get caught in your hair), they do spread disease. Bats can carry both rabies and histoplasmosis, which is a fungal illness that presents with flu-like symptoms. If dust containing the fungal spores is inhaled, it can result in a lung infection.

Bats in your belfry?

If you have a bat flying around your house, don't panic. Open every available exit and it will eventually find its way to one and fly out. If this doesn't work, call the Animal Movers, and we will remove it safely and humanely.

With nearly one thousand species worldwide, bats make up almost one quarter of all mammal species. Mammals give birth to live offspring and nurse their young, but bats are the only mammals that can truly fly.  Sometimes they are mistakenly called "flying rodents" or "flying rats".

Bats are natural reservoirs for a large number of diseases including rabies, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Henipavirus and possibly ebola virus.  Their high mobility, broad distribution, and social behaviour (communal roosting, fission-fusion social structure) make bats favourable hosts and transmitterss of disease. Many species also appear to have a high tolerance for these pathogens and often do not develop the disease while infected.

Nineteen species of bats have been recorded in Canada, and 17 of them are regular residents. The little brown bat is the most common, and best-known bat in Ontario. It lives in all parts of Canada in large numbers.