Bats in Belgium: Facts, Species and Where They Hibernate

Halloween is just around the corner, and bats pop up everywhere: on decorations, costumes and horror films. But real bats are far more fascinating than their spooky image. They are the only mammals that can truly fly, they "see" with sound, and they eat hundreds of insects in a single night. And right now, in autumn, they are looking for a place to hibernate. Pull on your Night Watch Hoodie, with an owl that sees everything the night tries to hide, and discover everything about the bats of Belgium.

How many bat species live in Belgium?

In Belgium, more than twenty species of bat live. The Bat Working Group of Natuurpunt counts 23, of which about seventeen also occur in Flanders. The exact number differs slightly from one source to another, because some species are very rare.

Our bats are small: they weigh between 5 and 25 grams. Most of them fit in a matchbox when folded up.

All bats are protected

All bat species are legally protected in Belgium. It is forbidden to disturb, catch or kill bats, and also to destroy their roosts.

A few species you might come across

• Common pipistrelle: the most common species in Belgium, found in every province. It weighs only 3.5 to 8.5 grams and has a wingspan of 18 to 24 cm. It likes to live in crevices in houses, behind cladding or under roof tiles.
• Daubenton's bat: hunts low over water for insects. On a summer evening you will often see it above a pond or canal.
• Noctule: one of the largest species, which lives in hollow trees.
• Brown long-eared bat: recognisable by its enormous ears, almost as long as its body.
• Natterer's bat and whiskered bat: together with Daubenton's bat, the species you find most often in the Antwerp forts.

How bats see in the dark

Bats are not blind: they can see perfectly well. But in the dark they rely mainly on echolocation. They emit high-pitched sounds, up to 160 per second, and listen for the echo. In this way they build a "sound map" of their surroundings and find insects in mid-flight.

These sounds are so high that we cannot hear them. With a bat detector they become audible. You can use such a device on guided bat walks.

Natural mosquito catchers

According to Natuur en Bos, a bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes a night. A soprano pipistrelle often eats several hundred insects in a night. Bats are therefore real allies in the garden. If you enjoy being outside in the evening to watch them hunt, you will feel at home in the Lunar Horizon Hoodie, with a mountain landscape under the moon.

Hibernation: why you should leave bats alone now

In autumn food becomes scarce, because fewer insects fly. That is why bats go into true hibernation, roughly from November to March. They start when the temperature often drops below 10 °C.

During hibernation their body temperature, heart rate and breathing drop to a minimum. In this way they use almost no energy and survive for months on their fat reserves.

Waking up can be fatal

If a bat is woken during hibernation, by light, noise or warmth, warming up costs an enormous amount of energy. That takes up to half an hour. If it happens too often, its fat reserves run out before spring arrives, and it often does not survive. That is why many winter roosts are closed to visitors in winter.

Where do bats hibernate in Belgium?

Before winter, bats look for a place that is cool, humid and frost-free and where it stays quiet. Think of:

• forts, such as the forts around Antwerp;
• marl caves and quarries, including in Limburg;
• ice cellars, bunkers and cellars;
• stone quarries and bridge foundations.

A warm layer is no luxury for us then: the Crescent Peak Sweatshirt, with a crescent moon above the mountains, is perfect for long autumn evenings.

The winter counts

Every year in February, volunteers of the Bat Working Group of Natuurpunt count the bats in their winter roosts. Together they follow around 2,700 hibernation sites.

• In the Antwerp forts, 90 volunteers counted around 3,500 bats in 16 forts in February 2025. In one fort up to 1,500 were hanging. The populations there have remained stable over the past decade.
• In the Limburg marl caves and quarries, the latest count gave 6,340 bats, compared with 5,670 the year before. The number of Bechstein's bats even doubled. According to Natuurpunt, this is because the winter roosts are being better protected.

Bat myths

• "Bats are blind." Not true: they can see, and they use echolocation in the dark.
• "Bats suck blood." The real vampire bats live only in Central and South America. Our bats eat only insects.
• "They fly into your hair." Thanks to their echolocation they know exactly where you are, and they fly right past you.

Never touch a bat with bare hands

One small risk is real: bats can carry a rare form of rabies, the bat lyssavirus. In Belgium it was found in 2016 and 2017 in serotines in the province of Luxembourg. The risk to the public is very small, but never touch a bat with bare hands.

Found a bat?

Did you find a bat on the ground or indoors?

1. Put on gloves.
2. Gently place the bat in a shoebox with air holes and a cloth.
3. Place a bottle cap of water next to it.
4. Release it in the evening, in a quiet place.
5. If it cannot fly, is injured or is cold, call a bird rescue centre or the number 1700.

How to help bats

• Don't use pesticides in your garden, so there are enough insects.
• Dim your outdoor lighting or switch it off. Bright light scares bats away.
• Hang a bat box, high on a wall or tree.
• Mow less often, so more insects live in your lawn.
• Join a bat walk: every year on the last weekend of August, Natuurpunt organises the Night of the Bat, with evening walks and bat detectors at dozens of locations.

Why are bats linked to Halloween?

Halloween goes back to the Celtic festival Samhain, more than 2,000 years old. According to folklorists, the great bonfires of that festival attracted insects, and therefore bats too. That is how they became linked to that dark autumn night at an early stage. In 1897 Bram Stoker added to the myth: in his novel Dracula, the count can turn into a bat. Ever since, the bat has been the symbol of all things creepy.

Fancy a night-time walk? On a mild autumn evening you may still see bats hunting, and afterwards you can go stargazing in Belgium. Owls in Belgium also often make themselves heard in the evening.

Frequently asked questions

How many bat species are there in Belgium?

More than twenty. The Bat Working Group of Natuurpunt counts 23 in Belgium, of which about seventeen are in Flanders.

When do bats hibernate?

Roughly from November to March, as soon as the temperature often drops below 10 °C. They hibernate in forts, caves, cellars and bunkers.

What should you do with a bat you find?

Use gloves, put it in a box with air holes and release it in the evening. If it is injured or cannot fly, call a bird rescue centre or 1700.

For those at home in the night

A starry sky, the fluttering of a bat and the silence of an autumn night: nature only becomes truly magical once it is dark. Discover all our night designs in the Night Sky collection, such as the Star Map Hoodie with a campfire under a starry sky, or the Dark Raven T-shirt with a raven that keeps an eye on everything. Shipping is free across the EU from €45 (otherwise €4.99).