What are the benefits of bats?
While we often think of bats as nocturnal predators feasting on the blood of the innocent and harboring rabies, the truth is quite different. Yes, there are bats that feed on blood, but they mostly feed on insects and believe us, you want bats to be out there patrolling the night and helping eliminate them.
Bats are one of the major contributors to keeping down obnoxious night insects like mosquitoes, and if you’re a camper, you know how unpleasant mosquitoes can make an otherwise pleasant camping expedition.
There are also bats that feed on nectar and fruit, and actually help to pollinate and spread the seed of plants, in many cases they’re the only ones working to help those plants procreate!
These are just the beginnings of the wonders that bats possess, and there is far more just a flicker away, and International Bat Night is a great time to spend learning about them!
What you can do to help bats?
The number of bats in the UK has gone down significantly during the last hundred years, so there are far fewer bats than there used to be. But your support will help us fight to protect bats and other threatened and endangered wildlife.
Don’t use pesticides in your garden or around your home
Not only can the toxins in pesticides be dangerous to bats, but they also kill the insects that bats feed on. Find natural solutions to your pest problem, or better yet, leave the bugs for the bats to eat.
Promote natural bat habitat
Around your home leave dead and dying trees where they don’t create a hazard … these are favored roosting sites for bats.
Avoid disturbing bats
Stay out of caves and mines where bats are hibernating in winter. If a bat is disturbed during hibernation, it may arouse and become active. This increased activity can lead to starvation if the bat’s fat reserves are used up before winter is over.
Spread the truth about bats
With more than a thousand species on Earth, there is so much to learn about these animals. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and each one fits into its ecosystem a bit differently. The more people understand about how important bats are the more support we can gather for protecting them and their habitats.
It isn't easy being a bat. With Dracula, a few cases of rabies, their pointy teeth, and the fact that they hang upside down to sleep, bats inspire fear in many people. But as you'll see, bats are amazing creatures, even though they eat bugs . . . and sometimes blood.
