About Bats

Bats are one of the most misunderstood and persecuted native wild animals. They are also the animals most immediately beneficial to humans.

In the United States there are 44 species of bats. Unlike the bats you've seen in horror movies, native bats are tiny. They range in weight from 3 grams to 35 grams. Thirty-five grams is equal to 1¼ ounces. Some species, like the red bat (Lasiurus borealis) and the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), prefer to live alone in trees. Other species, like the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), and the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida barziliensis), live in groups called colonies. Colonial bats are more likely to inhabit a bat house.

Bats are very shy creatures. Like most wild animals, they avoid contact with humans and go about the business of eating, reproducing, and avoiding predators. Bats are nocturnal, resting during the day and hunting insects at night.

Nearly all bats that live in the United States feed on insects. They eat night-flying insects that destroy our crops, and those that make our lives miserable by biting us. One bat can eat up to 600 mosquito- and gnat-sized insects in one hour. Bats are a natural alternative to toxic chemicals which endanger our personal and environmental well-being.

Bats are the only true flying mammals. They give birth from mid-May through July, and they nurse their pups in the same way other mammals do.

Bats either migrate or hibernate during the winter. Although bats are "warm-blooded", they have the ability to lower their body temperatures to the temperature of their surroundings: this is called torpor. In the winter, bats go into a deep, extended torpor called hibernation. It is very important not to disturb hibernating bats because they can lose valuable energy reserves and die.

Myths about bats…

Bats are blind.

Wrong! All bats can see. Bats also have a second "sight" mechanism called echolocation. It is a very sophisticated sonar system inaudible to the human ear. The bat emits signals that go in waves. When the sound-waves strike an object, they return to the bat's ear as echoes.

Bats suck our blood.

Wrong! There are only three species of bats that feed on blood. Vampire bats live in Mexico and Central and South America. There are no vampire bats in the United States. Vampire bats weigh approximately 1¼ ounces. They lap, not suck, small amounts of blood from tiny wounds they make in wild and farm animals. They rarely attempt to feed on humans because human blood is not palatable to them.

Bats get entangled in our hair.

Wrong! Bats do not get entangled in human hair. A bat's echolocation is so fine-tuned it can detect the difference between a strand of hair and a gnat! They may, however, fly close to a person when in pursuit of an insect, particularly near water.

Bats carry rabies.

Wrong! Like all mammals, bats can contract rabies, but they are not asymptomatic carriers of the virus. When a bat gets rabies, it usually dies.

The frequency of rabies in bats is very low. Scientific studies have shown that less than one-half of one percent of bats contract rabies. Infected bats rarely become aggressive; usually, they gradually weaken and die. In some states, there are more rabies-infected cows than bats!

Nevertheless, rabies is a serious disease, and left untreated, it is always fatal. Bat rabies is also avoidable. Just do not pick up a bat! All wild animals will bite to protect themselves. If you find a live bat on the ground, it is probably sick or injured. The fact that the bat is grounded does not mean it has rabies, but you should assume it does for your own protection. If you feel you must pick it up, wear leather gloves. Even a bat that appears dead may merely be in torpor and may bite in self-defense when touched.