Please use the links below for advice if you come across a bat in a room or property. These mostly link to the website of our national body the BCT
Who can I call for advice?
If you would like to speak to someone the National Bat Helpline can answer your questions and concerns about bats and give you advice on bat care, building works and reporting bat crime.
- Call the BCT helpline on 0345 1300 228
- Monday – Friday 9:30am – 4:30pm
- May to Sept there is an additional Out of Hours Helpline 5:30pm – 10:30pm which is run by volunteers and is for emergency calls only.
Requests for bat surveys in a property in Somerset
The group does receive many requests, asking for bat surveys on properties in return for a donation. Unfortunately as a Bat group we cannot do internal house surveys, as the group does have that insurance cover, and we also have a policy of not doing work voluntarily that could, or should, be done by a professional consultant.
Instead our national body the BCT, does run a scheme, and you can contact the National Bat Helpline who can answer your questions and give you advice – 0345 1300 228. They are also able to arrange a Volunteer Bat Roost Visitor (VBRV) to come for a free visit to dwellings or churches, to advice in certain cases. However if planning permission for works is required, this free visit is also outside the scope of the VBRV.
Hence if planning is required then the only option is to employ a Bat Consultant to carry out a survey and provide advice. CIEEM, the national professional body for Ecologists has the list of local contacts.