Bats in Ireland

Under EU law, bats are legally protected in Ireland. It is illegal to intentionally kill, injure or disturb a bat. (See https://www.batconservationireland.org/irish-bats/protection-law for more information.)

In Ireland, lawful exclusion of bats must be applied for and guided by the statutory body. Exclusion is the ONLY method acceptable in the EU. This should ideally occur when bats are not breeding nor hibernating. This requires advice from a specialist and must be accepted by the statutory body as legal.  Poisoning in any form is illegal throughout Europe, not to mention the cruelty of this process and the inefficiency (as noted on our home page) of having to deal with many dead bats stuck in various parts of the house.

Not only is intentional poisoning unacceptable, household treatments dangerous to bats are typically removed from the market in the EU.

Bats within houses are very often in attic spaces, under slates or tiles, shingles, sidings or wall cavities and are very rarely in direct contact with people. Householders should be encouraged to seal up gaps leading into the living space from such areas with tissue, socks or other cloth until bats have left the house for the season at which time such holes can be sealed with plaster / caulk etc.

Poison within a home runs the risk of poisoning people, especially those who are compromised in health, those with respiratory problems, the aged, children, as well as pets and other animals. Poison must also be kept securely at all times to ensure that children do not ingest it. The additional problems of using poison may hugely outweigh the perceived benefit of a mass killing of bats.

There are no situations in which poisoning bats in a home is beneficial to a householder and such an action is one borne of desperation and of poor consideration of consequences. Bat Conservation Ireland would also view it as an act of extreme cruelty upon a mammal (like the family pet dog, cat and even the family members themselves) that experiences pain and distress in much the same way as all other mammals.