Why are bats so important?

Very often bats are seen as disgusting, horrifying creatures that will get caught in your hair and suck out your blood.  The great thing is-none of that is true! Bats are such great flyers that there is no chance they will end up on a persons head, let alone tangled in your hair.  Only 4 species of bats drink blood and none of these species are found in the United States.  Bats are actually quite shy and very good mothers.  So, why are people so afraid of them? Is it because they are rarely seen and even less understood?  Bats are very beneficial to the environment and, as mentioned in the previous video, they even help stimulate the economy.  Here are some ways that bats work to help improve their environment. 

• Many types of bats are insect-eating and keep pests under control. It is estimated that bats save farmers over 3.7 billion dollars every years by eating crop-killing insects. Some types of bats can eat over 1,000 insects per hour!

• Among birds, bees, and other insects, bats are also pollinators and help to pollinate many important plants.

• Fruit-eating bats spread plant seeds when they eat fruits. This helps that type of plant grow more plants.

 Without bats, the country would have to spend billions of dollars to maintain the pest control that bats perform at no cost! Due to White Nose Syndrome, habitat destruction, and pest control measures bats are seeing a dramatic decline in population numbers.  There are plenty of things that can be done to encourage bats to live in harmony with human populations.  Here are a few things that you can do! 

• Purchase a bat house and put in outside your home
• Become a member of Bat Conservation International, or donate to them at www.batcon.org
• Teach others about bats and why they are so important
• Visit local caves and parks but make sure to be respectful of rules and regulations for bat species.  Waking them up during the winter can throw off their internal clock and cause damage to their bodies.  
• Encourage local parks to have "Bat Awareness Days" to help change the mindset that bats are disgusting and something to be feared