While some may cringe thinking about bats, they serve an important role in the ecosystem. None of us like mosquitos — and guess who eats them in droves? Bats.
If you are a gardener, you probably don’t appreciate moths eating your vegetables. Bats will also help you with that. Even better, they will help you avoid using pesticides. Ceacy Henderson, a wildlife rehabilitator who lives in Colrain and specializes in bats, offered valuable information and resources to help both bats and our environment.
Henderson said she has had a farm raising livestock for over 40 years. She took a wildlife rehabilitation course at one point and ended up responding to a need for someone to rehab bats.
“Bats are not the least bit interested in you,” said Henderson, addressing the fear some have of bats attacking you. “They view us as predators. They are only trying to get at the insects that are around you,” she said.
That includes when bats accidentally get into your home.
“All they want to do is get out. They are not aggressive animals,” she said. Henderson also addressed the idea some have that bats are flying rodents. “Actually, they are more closely related to humans than rodents,” she noted, adding that bats only have one to two pups a year, which contributes to the specie’s fragility. “Bats are very sophisticated animals. They are the only mammal (that) has ever achieved true flight. There is no other animal like them on the planet.”
Often people worry about rabies in relation to bats. Henderson explained that contracting rabies from bats is rare, with less than one percent of the population infected at any given time. Also, by the time the animal is sick enough to infect another mammal, they are often grounded at that point.
“Not that people shouldn’t take rabies seriously, but it’s something to not be fearful of, but be respectful (of),” said Henderson.
Henderson also squashed any notion that bats “gave” anyone COVID-19. “There is no bat in North America that is going to give you COVID,” she said.
Also, of the 1,400 species of bats in the world, only six species live in New England. “While bats eat many things including fish, fruit and birds, all bats in New England are insectivores,” she said. Which means they eat bugs — lots of bugs.
“They are a night predator. It is believed moths evolved from butterflies to avoid being eaten by birds,” said Henderson. “Other species eat insects, but none of them fly at night,” she added. Henderson said it is estimated that over 23 billion dollars is spent on pesticides every year in the United States.
Bats not only can help reduce agricultural costs but can reduce the negative downstream effects on water, soil, fish, mammals, etc. that corrolate to pesticide use, she said.
While some think bats are a disease vector, the opposite is true. Bats can eat such a prodigious number of mosquitos that they help to reduce infection rates of many diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.
“Little brown bats are supreme mosquito eaters,” Henderson said.
So, if you already like bats or are ready to let go of some outdated ideas, what are some ways you can attract these important mammals? Henderson said bats are attracted to light because insects are as well.
To that end, you need to be careful in the placement of lights so that you aren’t going to inadvertently harm the bats or accidentally invite them into your home. Henderson stressed never to use glue traps outside for any reason.
“It’s a horrific death. I don’t think they should be used anywhere, but especially not outside,” she said. She also strongly suggests keeping cats indoors, and at the very least, not allowing them out at night. Cats are responsible for a high number of bat deaths, she said. When bats have pups, sometimes they fall out and are often prey to cats as well.
If you are interested in putting up a bat house, Henderson said you want to set them up on the south side of a building, about 30 feet up.
“You need to be able to see what’s going on in there. Sometimes, wasps move in,” she said. Henderson also said not to place a bat house in a tree as sometimes other creatures move in or attack hibernating bats in the winter.
“Raccoons prey on bats,” she said. You won’t see bats year-round as they sleep in the winter. “Bats are essentially looking for safety and stabilization.”
If you have a bat in your home, leave windows or a door open so they can find their way out. Stay calm and do not flap around them or wave objects such as brooms at them. If you find an injured bat, handle them as little as possible and wear gloves if you do need to handle them.
Call a state wildlife rehabilitator such as Henderson for advice and help. A list of rehabilitators is available on the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s website, or by emailing mass.wildlife@mass.gov.
It is important to note that bats are a protected species in Massachusetts. If you end up with bats in your home (likely an attic space), you will need to call on a professional for humane exclusion.
Not all pest removal services have trained employees that are approved to deal with bat removal. Humane exclusion means that the professional creates a way for the bat to get out, but not back in.
“For example, it is illegal to evict a colony of bats in the wintertime,” Henderson said.
Henderson went on to speak about how she has come to feel about bats and the hope that if you find an injured bat you will contact her.
“The more I learn about them, the more passionate I am about protecting them,” she said.
For more information or help with bat rehabilitation, call Henderson at 413-768-8928.
Cris Carl is an avid local gardener, licensed therapist and certified herbalist. She is an experienced journalist who has written for the Recorder for many years. She can be reached at cstormfox57@gmail.com.