Which Bats Get Into Central Florida Buildings

The species that colonize buildings

Florida has a number of native bat species, but only a few regularly form colonies inside buildings. The Brazilian free tailed bat is the one encountered most often in Florida structures, and the evening bat is also common in the central part of the state. Both are small, both are insectivorous, and both will use an attic or a roof void as a maternity roost.

Species matters practically because colony size and roost preference differ. A species that prefers a tight crevice behaves differently from one that will use an open attic, and that changes where the exclusion devices go.

What they are doing in the roof

A building roost is chosen for the same reasons any roost is chosen. It is dry, it holds warmth overnight, it is out of reach of predators, and it sits within a short flight of a reliable food supply. Around Lakeland the lakes and the tree canopy supply the insects, and the roof supplies everything else.