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Bat guano or seabird guano

Updated: October 2026

You have a VitaLink tub in one tab and COMPO sticks in the other, and both say guano. Bat guano or seabird guano is not a flavour choice. It is whether the label names an animal, and what UK rules say if you are tempted to collect your own. GOV.UK defines guano as excrement from bats or wild sea birds. This page splits the nine saved listings into bat, seabird, and neither, then sets the import note against the roost offence. The [guano fertiliser comparison](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/guano-fertiliser) only shows the source column. Form and pack size stay on the [guano fertiliser buying guide](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/guano-fertiliser/sub/guano-fertiliser-buying-guide).

You have a VitaLink tub in one tab and COMPO sticks in the other, and both say guano. Bat guano or seabird guano is not a flavour choice.

Our top picks

Guanokalong Guanokalong bat guano, 3 kg

Best overall

Guanokalong Guanokalong bat guano, 3 kg
10.0/10about £29.96
View offer
COMPO COMPO palm sticks with guano, 30

Alternative

COMPO COMPO palm sticks with guano, 30
9.0/10about £15.78
View offer
Flower Flower guano sticks, 20

Best value

Flower Flower guano sticks, 20
8.0/10about £5.97
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The label says bat, seabird, or neither
  2. 2.A seabird stick is not bat powder
  3. 3.Sea-bird import rules are not a licence to collect bats
  4. 4.UK loft droppings are a small compost exception
  5. 5.Read the animal, then stop

The label says bat, seabird, or neither

Three listings say bat: both VitaLink 3.5 kg tubs and Guanokalong’s 3 kg pack. The product data does not resolve whether Guanokalong is powder or granules. COMPO’s thirty sticks are the only seabird pack. Five say guano and name no animal: both Flower packs, both CULTIVERS sizes, and Fertiberia. If the listing is silent, the source is unknown. Do not guess from a Spanish review or a shop blend. A sealed tub needs no mitigation licence. A loft is not a refill.

A seabird stick is not bat powder

COMPO’s bullets say natural seabird guano, and the product is still a three-month insert, not bat powder. A German 11+4+8 sheet is not the UK product data, which only shows a mixing field of 11:4:8. Shop blends with vinasse are not in this set. According to the manufacturer, Guanokalong’s site talks about rainforest-cave droppings and a minimum NPK of 1-10-1. That story is not the amazon.co.uk product data, and it is not the Trust’s note on insect-eating UK bats. A powder pick sits on best guano fertiliser.
Guanokalong Guanokalong bat guano, 3 kg

Testsieger

Guanokalong Guanokalong bat guano, 3 kg
10.0/10about £29.96
View offer

Sea-bird import rules are not a licence to collect bats

IIN ABP/21, published on GOV.UK on 2 December 2024, covers imported non-mineralised wild sea-bird guano. It allows import from any country without a health certificate. It does not certify COMPO’s stick, and it does not cover bat guano. All UK bats and their roosts are protected. Damaging a roost, even when bats are absent, is an offence in England, and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 covers reckless disturbance of an occupied roost. Entering a roost to collect droppings is a wildlife offence. A sealed tub needs no licence. Building work that may affect a roost does.

UK loft droppings are a small compost exception

The Bat Conservation Trust says UK bats are insectivores and that histoplasmosis is not associated with UK bats or their droppings. Small amounts of loft droppings may go on compost or a flower bed, cleared when bats are absent, usually September to April. That health sentence stops at UK bats. Do not apply it to imported cave guano or to a sealed powder whose origin you do not know. Loft droppings are not a substitute method on how to use guano fertiliser. Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 lists Guano as published. That list is not a Soil Association certificate, and 100% organic on these listings names no control body. If you import or repack as a business, the professional is APHA.

Read the animal, then stop

Buy a listing that prints bat if you need bat, and the COMPO sticks if you need seabird. If the pack only says guano, the animal is unknown. A sealed tub does not need a licence. Entering a UK roost to collect droppings does. The small loft exception is compost when bats are absent, usually September to April, and it does not cover imported cave powder.

Common questions

What is guano in UK rules?
GOV.UK treats guano as excrement from bats or wild sea birds. That definition sits on the manure, guano, and digestive-tract-content page. A shop listing that only says guano has not told you which of those animals it used.
Which packs in this set say bat, which say seabird, and which say neither?
Bat: both VitaLink 3.5 kg tubs and Guanokalong 3 kg. Seabird: COMPO sticks only. Neither named: Flower sticks, Flower 2 kg, both CULTIVERS sizes, and Fertiberia. The comparison table repeats that column.
Is a seabird stick the same product as bat powder?
No. COMPO is a three-month insert that names seabird guano. VitaLink and Guanokalong are tubs that name bat. Form and animal are both different. A shop blend that adds vinasse is a third product and is not in this set.
Can I scrape droppings from a UK loft and use them like a tub?
Not as a substitute for a sealed pack, and not by entering a roost. The Bat Conservation Trust allows small amounts on compost when bats are absent, usually September to April. All UK roosts stay protected. Loft droppings are not imported cave guano.
Does the UK histoplasmosis advice cover imported cave guano?
No. The Trust’s sentence is about UK bats and their droppings. Do not apply it to a rainforest-cave product or to any imported powder.
Does guano on Annex I mean this listing is certified organic?
No. Annex I lists the material as published. These listings’ organic lines name no control body. That is not a Soil Association input certificate.
Do I need a licence to buy a sealed tub?
No. You need to stop if building work may affect a roost, and you need APHA if you import or repack as a business. Buying a closed bag on amazon.co.uk is not that case.

Related pages

Guano fertiliser for vegetables

Guano fertiliser

Best guano fertiliser for powder, sticks, or a sack

Guano fertiliser buying guide: form, source, and pack

How to use guano fertiliser: powder, tea, and sticks

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the nine amazon.co.uk listings in the saved files. A 100% organic line names no certifier. A star count whose saved texts are not from the United Kingdom is not UK opinion. This is not a laboratory test. Do not collect droppings from a bat roost.

  1. GOV.UK, manure, guano and digestive tract content (retrieved October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK, import of sea bird guano (IIN ABP/21) (retrieved October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK, fertilisers made from processed animal by-products (retrieved October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK, bats: protection and licences (retrieved October 2026)
  5. Bat Conservation Trust, managing droppings and urine (retrieved October 2026)
  6. legislation.gov.uk, Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 Annex I (retrieved October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK, rules for farmers and land managers to prevent water pollution (retrieved October 2026)
  8. RHS, fertilisers (retrieved October 2026)