Give thanks to bats! They are the most misunderstood mammals...

November 4, 2:26 PMCharleston Green Living ExaminerPatti Romano

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Mexican Free-Tail Bats                     Photo (c) Bat World Sanctuary, Mineral Wells, Texas

Autumn is  harvest time, and this year while we are enjoying pumpkin pie and potatoes, squash, cauliflower, and a myriad of other vegetables, we need to stop and give thanks to bats. Many people view these furry brown, gray, or reddish mammals as vermin, a step above mice, rats with wings. What people fail to realize is that bats are an essential part of our ecosystem, keeping our blossoming insect population in check and dispersing fruit seeds and pollinating flowers in forests throughout the world.  Not only do bats zip through the night sky vacuuming up mosquitoes and other flying insect pests, they feed on moths and beetles whose larvae are capable of decimating our crops. Some bats can consume almost 1200 insects an hour! And bats alone are responsible for 98% of rainforst regrowth due to seed dispersal and pollination when they are feeding on nectar and fruits. We can thank bats for bringing us approximately 450 commercial products and 80 different medicines!

Photo (C) Bat World Sanctuary, Mineral Wells, Texas

"Yet for all they do, bats are continually killed due to myths, superstition, and fear. The life expectancy of a single bat may exceed 20 years, but slow birth rates limit their population growth. When just 5 bats re needlessly killed, a potential 100 years of animal life is killed. Worlwide, almost 60% of bats are either endangered or official candidate for endangered species listing.
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Pallid Bat                                           Photo (c) Bat World Sanctuary, Mineral Wells, Texas

When bats get into houses however, or take up residence in barns and other structures, they are often exterminated and are considered nuisance wildlife.  If bats have gotten into your home in the past, be sure to bat-proof your house by sealing cracks and holes to prevent indoor access. Provide bat houses in trees around your property to encourage these misunderstood mammals to roost there instead.  

Unfortunately, bats are surrounded by a multitude of untrue myths, one of which is that all bats carry rabies. The truth is any wild animal can have rabies, as well as dogs and cats. It is unwise to handle any wild animal with your hands and this holds true for bats as well. If you find an injured bat, as I did in my Seabrook Island driveway one morning, call a local wildlife rehabilitator. If you cannot find one, contact a local veterinarian or Bat World Sanctuary's web site. Do not handle the bat with your bare hands! Use heavy gloves or a thick towel and cardboard to scoop the injured bat into a box that will hold it comfortably. Follow the directions on the Bat World web site for safe handling and providing the bat with water while you wait for help to respond to your call.

Remember, bats provide an irreplaceable  service to the environment because they consume such an incredible quantity of insect pests. Bats are nature's own pesticide!  They decrease populations of pesky mosquitoes carrying diseases such as the West Nile Virus and other pests like Cucumber Beatles and armyworm moths which can cause severe crop damage. So this Thanksgiving, after you offer all your usual thanks, give thanks to bats!

Bat Facts:
• There are more than 1,100 bat species.
• 70% of bats are insectivores.
• Bats make up almost 25% of all mammal species.
• a single brown bat can catch more than 1,200 insects per hour

Bats Indigenous to Southeastern United States:

    * Big Brown Bat - Eptesicus fuscus
    * Mexican free-tailed bat - Tadarida brasiliensis
    * Eastern pipistrelle - Pipistrellus subflavus
    * Eastern red bat - Lasiurus borealis
    * Eastern small-footed bat - Myotis leibii
    * Evening bat - Nycticeius humeralis
    * Hoary bat - Lasiurus cinereus
    * Indiana bat - Myotis sodalis
    * Little brown bat - Myotis lucifugus
    * Northern long-eared bat - Myotis septentrionalis
    * Northern Yellow Bat - Lasiurus intermedius
    * Rafinesque's big-eared bat - Corynorhinus rafinesquii
    * Seminole bat - Lasiurus seminolus
    * Silver-haired bat - Lasionycteris noctivagans
    * Southeastern bat - Myotis austroriparius

   Bat World Sanctuary

   Bats: Misunderstood Mammals of Flight

   South Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitators

   Educational Bat Song for Kids (Echolocation!)