Whilst we can’t say that saving hibernating animals is a service we offer as standard, during a recent installation of ours, our installers ended up doing just that. A testament to our installations team’s adaptability, here’s how a window installation quickly turned into bat conservation!
Not your everyday window replacement
When removing a large dormer window, our installers also had to remove and replace the cappit boards on either side of it. However, during their removal of the cappit boards, our team were shocked to find that they managed to dislodge a bat that was hibernating between the batten and hanging tiles!
Ringing the experts for advice
Bats in the UK hibernate during the winter months and this one had obviously decided that between the batten and hanging tiles was a suitable place to slumber until warmer temperatures were upon us. Of course, bat conservation is not our speciality, but we wanted to make sure that we didn’t disturb this bat’s hibernation. So, we rang the Bat Conservation Trust who advised us on what to do next.
Taking steps to ensure our furry friend was comfortable
We were advised to place the bat into a shoebox with tissue paper, but not to touch it with our bare hands when doing so as bats carry a number of harmful infections. They also told us to place a milk lid filled with water into the shoebox so the bat could keep hydrated. After ensuring the bat was comfortable, we were told to discontinue work until a volunteer for the Bat Conservation Trust from Weston-super-Mare could arrive to rehome it.
Batman arrives to save the day
Once the batman (sadly not his formal job title) arrived, he made his way up our scaffolding to check the bat over. He was very pleased with the job our team had done to make the bat comfortable and then he set out to rehome it underneath a ridge in the roof and between the fascia board.
Next, we moved the shoebox so the bat could be rehomed, and the volunteer performed his final checks. When doing so, he was very pleased to discover the bat enjoying a nice drink of water, before finally placing it into its new home where it could happily see out the rest of the winter months.
Finishing the job without disturbing any more hibernation
After praising our team again for how well we dealt with the situation, the volunteer from the Bat Conservation Trust even took our details for our quote of his own! We were then told we could continue fitting the windows but to keep the holes between the cappit and hanging tiles clear. This was to ensure we didn’t interfere with any other hibernating bats and so we finished off the job whilst taking special care to keep the holes clear.
Although we doubt we’ll begin to offer bat conservation as one of our standard services, we’re very pleased with how well we were able to adapt to such unique circumstances. If you were impressed by the Seal-Lite team’s actions here and would like to hire us to improve your home too, give us a call on 01275 342 656 or contact us online.