If you're anything like most people, you probably feel like bats are just fiiiiine ... as long as they stay far away from you.
Besides, they have rabies, right? They swoop at your head, trying to bite you! They are ruthless attackers of humans. Oh! And then there’re the ones that suck your blood, the vampire bats. Rumor has it they sucked a whole herd of cattle dry once.
What, you didn’t hear that story?
Hm. Probably because it’s not true. None of it is. In fact, bats are some of the most beneficial creatures to have around.
Which is why you should buy them a house.
I know what you are thinking. Won’t a bat house just attract more of these ugly things to my yard?
Well, yes. But that is a good thing. A very good thing!
One bat eats up to 1,000 mosquitoes, moths, and flies every hour. Every hour!
And by the way, they don’t carry rabies. Or purposefully dive-bomb our heads. If a bat flies towards you, it’s most likely coming after an insect -- as advanced as their sonar systems are, do you really think they would fly at something big enough to kill them?
Putting a bat house in your yard provides shelter for them during the day -- which means they're no longer sheltering in your house. Bats are so docile and peaceful that hundreds will share the same house, even if they're different species -- how many of us could do that?
They also like to stick close to home when they go out at night to hunt, so you and your neighbors directly reap the benefits of the house you put up. Those bats will take down all kinds of bugs, but most importantly, the mosquitoes that have exploded in numbers -- and carry the West Nile virus.
Still not convinced? Try this one: without bats, there would be no agave plants. That means no tequila. No. Tequila. None.
No rabies, terrifically talented crop pollinators, and killing thousands of insects in just hours? Sounds pretty bad ass to me. Besides, harsh mosquito-killing chemicals are soooooo last year.
Image via Dano/Flickr
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Comments 20
We have several bat houses on our property, to tackle the mosquitos. They're cool!
How would one go about putting up a bat house? like what does it take? I love bats actually. I think they are super cute. Call me weird i guess. My neighbor used to have them living in her attic (maybe she still does i dunno) but once a whole swarm of them swooped by my head and it was so cool! And my highschool was host to tons of them as well and they would fly down the hall lol.
We just buy them pre-made and nail them to a tree, about 20 feet up or so. Bat houses are pretty popular around here (New Hampshire), and I picked up a couple of really cute ones at craft fairs. I'm pretty sure my bat houses are the most coveted ones in town, at least I hope all the bats appreciate it, since the house is too far up the trees for anything but a bat to appreciate (and my husband loves to remind me of how I spent twice the going rate on a high-end bat house). I'm sure you can find simple plans to build a bat house on the internet, too. They're not that different from bird houses.
Thanks :)
Addys_Mom, it's super simple to hang a bat house - just like putting up a birdhouse!
And here are a couple of links to plans for building a bat house, should you decide to get crafty. :)
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Education/TeacherResources/ColoradoWildlifeCompany/BatHouseCWCSpr1996.htm
http://www.fws.gov/Asheville/pdfs/beneficialbats.pdf
interesting ...i dont know about getting a bat tho....
I wouldn't purposely get a bat because I am terrified of them but we do have them that fly around here at night and that's one reason I don't like going out at night.
They are always flying around my parents pond...eek I dont like them.
Yeah, it would be nice to have less mosquitoes around, that's for sure! LOL
interesting. dd is allergic to mosquitos so it is something I will look into