The Rodney Dangerfield of the animal kingdom

Bats just don¹t get any respect.

The ultimate creepy crawly, they are an unloved, misunderstood, and maligned group of animals.

In reality, bats are fascinating creatures that provide great services to the ecosystem in terms of pollination, seed dispersal, fertilizer/nutrient flow and, especially, insect control. One bat can eat 600 mosquitoes an hour—that¹s more than 3000 insects in one night.

Bats are mammals. They have hair, nurse their young, and produce body heat internally. They are the only mammals that can actually fly. Bats are long-lived (up to 30 years for some species) and reproduce slowly; generally only one offspring per year.

Throughout the world, there are nearly 1,000 species of bats. About 70% feed on insects while the others have a variety of food specializations that include fruit, nectar, flowers, pollen, blood, and small animals like fish, frogs, birds, and other mammals.

Because of their high metabolic rate, bats require a lot of food. They forage for insects at night, resting between foraging runs in night roosts. Many species augment their night vision with sonar abilities known as echolocation. Sound waves are bounced off objects like flying insects. This ability is so refined that bats are able to tell one type of moth from another.

Bats require different habitat depending on the activity, time of day, season, and life stage. They need foraging habitat for food and night roosts for resting. During the day they sleep in day roosts. To save energy during the winter, they hibernate in winter hibernacula. And the females raise their young in special maternity colonies.

Of the 27 species of bats found in California, all are insect eaters except for one species that feeds on the nectar, pollen, and fruit of desert plants.

Bats can be found in a number of different habitats including caves (and mines), on cliffs and other rocky areas, in human structures likes buildings and bridges, and in forests.

Forest bats
Our knowledge of forest bats is limited. What is known of these species is that they often live in snags where they roost under bark, in woodpecker holes, and in other cavities. They favor large-diameter, tall trees that rise above the forest canopy and are in an early stage of decay. In redwood forests, bats use fire-scar cavities and the base of redwood trees as maternity, day, and night roosts. Other roosting sites include logs, stumps, and even rock crevices on the ground. Surprisingly, bats do not stay with one site but switch roosts often.

Bats are important predators of insects and may be significant in the control of forest insect pests. Forest bats prefer to forage along forest edges, in clearings, and in forest gaps, however, they avoid the middle of clearcuts. They also feed over bodies of water where nocturnal insects are abundant, preferring forested parts of streams.

Management
Bats play an important role in the forest and their presence is one indicator of forest health. What can you do to encourage bats on your property?

• Maintain and manage snags to increase the availability of natural roosts.
• Ensure foraging habitat by protecting permanent water sources such as ponds, marshes, and streams.
• Use pesticides sparingly.
• Build artificial roosts where natural habitat is limited.
• Share the news that bats are beneficial animals.

Bat Myths

• Bats are rodents. Bats are not rodents—they are more closely related to humans than they are to mice and rats. Their presence is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem.
• Bats are blind. Bats can see better than we do at night and also have echolocation to improve their night ³vision.²
• Bats get tangled in your hair. Bats tend to avoid people. They may swoop close to your face while catching insects but are not interested in your hair. Their ability to echolocate is so acute they can avoid obstacles no wider than a piece of thread.
• Bats will suck your blood. There are three species of vampire bats in Mexico and Central and South America. These don¹t suck blood, rather, they make a small cut in the skin of sleeping animals—birds, horse, and cattle—then lap up the blood as it flows from the wound. The bats¹ saliva contains an anticoagulant to prevent clotting during the meal as well as an anesthetic so that the animal doesn¹t feel the prick. There are no vampire bat species in California.
• All bats have rabies. Like any mammal, bats can contract rabies, however, less than one half of 1% carry the virus. Unlike dogs, rabid bats become subdued and separate themselves from the colony, often resting on the ground. Avoid touching bats as well as any other wild animals.