Give the night shift some credit
April 17 is National Bat Appreciation Day, timed to the season when bats emerge from hibernation across much of North America. Bats have a public-relations problem — centuries of spooky myths have done them no favors — but they are among the most useful animals sharing your sky. As the only mammals capable of true flight, they patrol the dark eating the insects the daytime birds miss. Spend today trading a little fear for a little appreciation.
The unpaid pest control
A single bat can eat a startling number of insects in one night, including many of the mosquitoes and moths that bother you and the pests that chew through crops. Multiply that across a colony and bats save farmers real money and spare the rest of us a lot of bites. A single small brown bat can snap up hundreds of mosquito-sized insects in an hour, which adds up to an enormous, unpaid pest-control operation over a summer. In warmer regions they are also important pollinators and seed-spreaders. When you appreciate a bat, you are really appreciating quieter evenings and healthier gardens.
Roll out the welcome mat
If you want bats around — and for insect control, you do — give them somewhere to roost. A well-built bat house mounted high on a pole or the sunny side of a building can host a small colony through the warm months. Cut back on outdoor lighting and heavy pesticide use, both of which make the neighborhood less bat-friendly. Then, on a warm evening, sit outside near dusk and watch the flyout as they pour into the sky to hunt.
The mosquitoes not biting you tonight are a gift from an animal you will probably never see clearly.
Appreciate from a respectful distance
One firm rule makes the day a good one: never handle a bat, especially one you find on the ground in daylight, since that can be a sign of illness. Admire them in flight, not in hand, and keep pets away from any grounded bat. Bats face real pressures, including a fungal disease that has devastated some hibernating colonies, so the appreciation matters. Reporting a struggling roost to a wildlife group is a small thing that can help researchers track that disease. Put up a bat house, dim the lights, and let these small, maligned, deeply beneficial animals do their quiet work overhead.
How to celebrate
- 1Rethink the fear
Trade a little spookiness for a little appreciation by reading up on what bats actually do. As the only truly flying mammals, they quietly run the night shift overhead. Most of the scary reputation is myth rather than fact.
- 2Put up a bat house
Mount a well-built bat house high on a pole or a sunny wall to invite a small colony for the warm months. It gives them a safe roost and gives you natural pest control. Choose a design sized for your region.
- 3Watch the evening flyout
On a warm evening, sit outside near dusk and watch bats pour into the sky to hunt. It is a genuinely cool spectacle once you know what you are seeing. A known roost or bridge nearby makes it even better.
- 4Make the yard bat-friendly
Cut back on bright outdoor lighting and heavy pesticide use, both of which make an area less welcoming to bats. A healthier insect population means better hunting. Small changes help the whole colony thrive.
- 5Never handle a bat
Admire bats in flight, not in hand, and never pick up one found on the ground in daylight, since that can signal illness. Keep pets away from any grounded bat. Respect and distance keep everyone safe.