Do Bats Make Clicking Noises? What a Phone Can Hear
Learn which bat clicks are ultrasonic, which social sounds may be audible, why a phone has limits, and what else may click near a roof or attic.
Quick answer
Bats produce rapid echolocation calls, but most are ultrasonic and cannot be heard by people or captured correctly with a standard phone microphone. Some bat social calls and lower-frequency sounds can be audible. Clicking near an attic may instead come from insects, mice, squirrels, birds, or building materials.
A bat silhouette and a clicking sound can occur at the same time without sharing a source. The bat may be using ultrasound while an insect calls nearby or a structure cools after sunset.
This is an important limit for a phone-based identifier: if the microphone never captured the ultrasonic signal, software cannot reconstruct it from ordinary audio.
Echolocation is usually ultrasonic
The National Park Service explains that bats navigate and hunt with calls above typical human hearing. Researchers use specialized ultrasonic microphones and then display or transform those recordings for analysis.
Some bat species and social calls extend into audible ranges, but hearing a click does not provide enough evidence to name a species.
What else clicks near bats
- Crickets, katydids, beetles, and other nocturnal insects
- Mice or squirrels moving and vocalizing in a structure
- Chimney swifts or other birds near a roof or chimney
- Cooling gutters, vents, pipes, and roof materials
- An audio artifact from automatic gain or digital compression
Use the right tool
Use Rawz for audible wildlife captured by the phone. For bat echolocation, use a detector and microphone designed for ultrasonic frequencies, ideally with regional reference data and expert review.
Penn State Extension notes that squirrels and mice in attics can sound like bats and that correct identification should come before control. Never handle a bat or enter an occupied roost.
Document without disturbing a roost
- 1Observe flight activity from a safe outdoor position around dusk.
- 2Record audible sounds without blocking exits or shining lights into crevices.
- 3Note whether clicks continue when no bats are visible.
- 4Seek a bat professional for a suspected building colony.
- 5Use specialized acoustic equipment for species-level echolocation work.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can an iPhone record bat echolocation?
A standard iPhone microphone is not a substitute for an ultrasonic bat detector. It may capture audible social calls or a few lower-frequency components, but not most echolocation accurately.
Are clicks in my attic definitely bats?
No. Rodents, birds, insects, and building sounds are common alternatives.
Can Rawz identify bats?
Use Rawz only for an audible clip the phone actually captured and treat any result as a lead. Specialist equipment is needed for typical ultrasonic calls.
Sources and further listening
Identification details were checked against the following wildlife and bioacoustics resources.