Gardening Guides
The Truth About Bats: 3 Reasons to Love Them
It’s Halloween — time for spiders, black cats and bats. Here’s why we should appreciate, not fear, the nocturnal winged mammals
When someone mentions bats, do you automatically think of blind, rabies-carrying, blood-sucking flying rodents getting caught in your hair? Well, the truth about bats is anything but scary.
A cave nectar bat (Eonycteris spelaea) pollinates a petai flower (Parkia speciosa) in Thailand;
photo by MerlinTuttle.org
Misconceptions About Bats
First of all, bats are certainly not blind. They have eyes just as we do. Many of the larger bats see three times better than most of us. Their ears are essentially a second pair of eyes, as they use biosonar or echolocation to navigate the night skies in search of food, when other mammalian competitors are fast asleep.
photo by MerlinTuttle.org
Misconceptions About Bats
First of all, bats are certainly not blind. They have eyes just as we do. Many of the larger bats see three times better than most of us. Their ears are essentially a second pair of eyes, as they use biosonar or echolocation to navigate the night skies in search of food, when other mammalian competitors are fast asleep.
A Hardwicke’s woolly bat (Kerivoula hardwickii) enters a pitcher plant; photo by MerlinTuttle.org
As for the rabies risk? Rabies is scary but extremely rare and needs to be put into perspective with the risks we take on a daily basis. In the past 50 years, fewer than 40 people have been infected with rabies from wild bats, according to the Organization for Bat Conservation’s executive director, Rob Mies. The spooky truth? Based on LiveScience’s “The Odds of Dying,” you’re far more likely to perish from an encounter with a misbehaved dog, salmonella-laced meatloaf sandwich or stray lightning bolt.
As for the rabies risk? Rabies is scary but extremely rare and needs to be put into perspective with the risks we take on a daily basis. In the past 50 years, fewer than 40 people have been infected with rabies from wild bats, according to the Organization for Bat Conservation’s executive director, Rob Mies. The spooky truth? Based on LiveScience’s “The Odds of Dying,” you’re far more likely to perish from an encounter with a misbehaved dog, salmonella-laced meatloaf sandwich or stray lightning bolt.
A hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata) in Mexico. This species doesn’t cause problems for people or livestock since they feed exclusively on the blood of birds; photo by MerlinTuttle.org
So what about the vampire types? Of the more than 1,300 kinds of bats that share our space on this planet, only three species are hematophagous, or fueled by an exclusive blood diet. These residents of southern Mexico, Central and South America, Batworlds explains, rarely seek human prey and don’t suck per se, but lap instead — I would imagine like a dog at a water bowl — consuming a few teaspoons of blood from a typically unsuspecting sleeping mammalian or bird host through small puncture wounds.
And no, they’re not rodents; bats belong to the order Chiroptera, Latin for “hand-wing.”
Finally, the getting-caught-in-the-hair scare is blown way out of proportion. Insectivorous bats, which make up the majority of bats in North America, are interested in the insects buzzing around you as you walk, not your hair. Bat Conservation International explains that bats’ rapid, seemingly erratic movements in hot pursuit of insects often cause people to think that they’re being attacked. The spooky truth? You should be much more worried about mosquitoes laced with malaria parasites or the West Nile and Zika viruses than the bats that are swooping in to eat them.
So what about the vampire types? Of the more than 1,300 kinds of bats that share our space on this planet, only three species are hematophagous, or fueled by an exclusive blood diet. These residents of southern Mexico, Central and South America, Batworlds explains, rarely seek human prey and don’t suck per se, but lap instead — I would imagine like a dog at a water bowl — consuming a few teaspoons of blood from a typically unsuspecting sleeping mammalian or bird host through small puncture wounds.
And no, they’re not rodents; bats belong to the order Chiroptera, Latin for “hand-wing.”
Finally, the getting-caught-in-the-hair scare is blown way out of proportion. Insectivorous bats, which make up the majority of bats in North America, are interested in the insects buzzing around you as you walk, not your hair. Bat Conservation International explains that bats’ rapid, seemingly erratic movements in hot pursuit of insects often cause people to think that they’re being attacked. The spooky truth? You should be much more worried about mosquitoes laced with malaria parasites or the West Nile and Zika viruses than the bats that are swooping in to eat them.
A lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) flies in to grab cardon cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) flower nectar and pollen; photo by MerlinTuttle.org
How Bats Help
As an integral piece of planet Earth’s biodiversity puzzle, consider three far-from-scary ways bats benefit our lives.
1. Bats pollinate food crops. They pollinate some 300 of them, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service — birds and bees aren’t the only ones. The next time you’re eating a mango and banana fruit salad, thank a bat. If you’re washing that salad down with a shot of tequila, give a Mexican long-tongued bat (Choeronycteris mexicana) a big thumbs-up for its role in agave pollination.
How Bats Help
As an integral piece of planet Earth’s biodiversity puzzle, consider three far-from-scary ways bats benefit our lives.
1. Bats pollinate food crops. They pollinate some 300 of them, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service — birds and bees aren’t the only ones. The next time you’re eating a mango and banana fruit salad, thank a bat. If you’re washing that salad down with a shot of tequila, give a Mexican long-tongued bat (Choeronycteris mexicana) a big thumbs-up for its role in agave pollination.
A frog-eating or fringe-lipped bat (Trachops cirrhosus) swoops in on an unsuspecting katydid in Panama; photo by MerlinTuttle.org
2. Bats keep insect pests in balance. Insectivorous bats consume 2,000 to 6,000 insects every night, a nontoxic pest-control service that the Center for Biological Diversity values at $3.7 billion to $53 billion per year. What a boon for farmers trying to protect their crops from micrograzers or for campers trying to roast one more marshmallow under a moonlit summer sky.
2. Bats keep insect pests in balance. Insectivorous bats consume 2,000 to 6,000 insects every night, a nontoxic pest-control service that the Center for Biological Diversity values at $3.7 billion to $53 billion per year. What a boon for farmers trying to protect their crops from micrograzers or for campers trying to roast one more marshmallow under a moonlit summer sky.
A minor epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus labiatus minor), an African resident, flies off with a piece of tropical fruit; photo by MerlinTuttle.org
3. Bats create habitat. Fruit-eating bats are efficient tropical forest seed installation specialists. In 20 minutes or less, bats eat the fruit, digest the pulp and poop “seed rain” during the night, colonizing once-bare ground with new life, according to a study in the lowland forests of French Guiana.
3. Bats create habitat. Fruit-eating bats are efficient tropical forest seed installation specialists. In 20 minutes or less, bats eat the fruit, digest the pulp and poop “seed rain” during the night, colonizing once-bare ground with new life, according to a study in the lowland forests of French Guiana.
A lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) pollinates a saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) in Mexico; photo by MerlinTuttle.org
But here’s the scary part. Bats are in danger. The Organization for Bat Conservation lists white-nose syndrome, habitat destruction, pesticides, climate change and wind turbines as culprits in the decline of many bat species.
But here’s the scary part. Bats are in danger. The Organization for Bat Conservation lists white-nose syndrome, habitat destruction, pesticides, climate change and wind turbines as culprits in the decline of many bat species.
White wild indigo (Baptisia alba) attracts pollinators and their prey night and day.
How You Can Help Bats
Plant food that attracts their food. Most North American bats eat night-flying insects, so use flowers that either stay open through the night or specifically bloom through the evening.
How You Can Help Bats
Plant food that attracts their food. Most North American bats eat night-flying insects, so use flowers that either stay open through the night or specifically bloom through the evening.
Cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum), at home in almost any soil type, attracts a variety of insects, which bring in the bats.
Use native plants that match your region and site conditions, as they have evolved to attract native insects. Although there are thousands of plants to choose from, the Organization for Bat Conservation’s Bat Garden Guide provides extensive plant lists by region.
Browse plants native to regions across the U.S.
Use native plants that match your region and site conditions, as they have evolved to attract native insects. Although there are thousands of plants to choose from, the Organization for Bat Conservation’s Bat Garden Guide provides extensive plant lists by region.
Browse plants native to regions across the U.S.
Don’t kill their food. Stay away from “bug bombs” or insecticide foggers that indiscriminately kill all insects. If there’s nothing to eat in your yard, bats will seek greener pastures, if they can find them.
A Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) drinks in flight in Arizona; photo by MerlinTuttle.org
Just add water. Although a pond surrounded by native plants is ideal, even a shallow birdbath or clay flower pot base filled with water set on your back porch does the trick.
Just add water. Although a pond surrounded by native plants is ideal, even a shallow birdbath or clay flower pot base filled with water set on your back porch does the trick.
Obviously, birds will benefit as well. Here, Wisconsin bluebirds enjoy a drink as they prepare for their fall migration.
A dead or dying oak may look messy to homeowners, but it provides essential habitat for bats and scores of other critters.
Leave the dead trees. Although building a cave in our backyard may be unrealistic, leaving dead and dying trees standing is not. Take “cleaning up the woods” off your to-do list. Loose bark and crevices typical of dead trees are especially valuable as summer roost sites.
7 Reasons Not to ‘Clean Up’ Your Fall Garden
Leave the dead trees. Although building a cave in our backyard may be unrealistic, leaving dead and dying trees standing is not. Take “cleaning up the woods” off your to-do list. Loose bark and crevices typical of dead trees are especially valuable as summer roost sites.
7 Reasons Not to ‘Clean Up’ Your Fall Garden
Florida bonneted bats (Eumops floridanus) occupy a pair of bat houses in the Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management area in Florida; photo by MerlinTuttle.org
Add a bat house. Make sure you’re getting a bat house that is built with the bat’s best interest in mind. The blog at Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation discusses a pecan grower’s experience successfully attracting bats with well-designed houses.
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Make Your Garden a Haven for Backyard Birds
Gardening for the Bees, and Why It’s a Good Thing
Add a bat house. Make sure you’re getting a bat house that is built with the bat’s best interest in mind. The blog at Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation discusses a pecan grower’s experience successfully attracting bats with well-designed houses.
More
Make Your Garden a Haven for Backyard Birds
Gardening for the Bees, and Why It’s a Good Thing
Bats are 1,300 species strong, making up 25 percent of all mammal species. They span six continents and range in size from the thumb-size Kitti’s hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) to the Malayan flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus), which boasts a 6-foot wingspan.
Except for regions surrounding the poles and remote islands, bats have evolved to thrive in the driest of deserts and lushest of rainforests, and are probably flitting about your neighborhood unnoticed.
Depending on the species, home could mean a cave, mine, rock, cliff crevice, tree hollow, tree leaves, tree bark, roof eave, attic, football stadium, bridge, barn — the list goes on. Just not in your hair, though.