Bats so crucial to the life we lead
- John Lorson: The Rail Trail Naturalist
- September 16, 2024
- 173
In my last column, I talked a bit about the world’s only mammal capable of true flight, our friend the bat. I’m certain some readers may recoil immediately at the notion of a cozy relationship with any members of the 11 bat species that call Ohio home, but trust me, a world without bats would be one vastly different for humans as well. Bats are regarded as a keystone species, or one upon which an ecosystem crucially depends for services rendered. Lose the keystone and the entire system comes crashing down.
Childhood lessons have taught us that most bats eat insects, but we may not realize they are the primary source of population control for night-flying insects. Additionally, bats also are crucial to the pollination of many different types of wild and cultivated plants including bananas, avocados, cashews, cocoa and agave — the primary ingredient of tequila.
The economic impact of bats rings in at a benefit of nearly $23 billion annually for North American agriculture and pest control. Despite its outsized accomplishments, our friend the bat maintains a presence that is in most cases unobtrusive. With their work beginning near sunset and ending near dawn, many of us are unaware of their presence until one shows up clinging to the curtains in your living room.
Bats are not bent on invasion of your home. They are most often simply looking for shelter where they can remain undisturbed. Shadowy soffits, eves and chimneys provide protection from the elements and offer a space where humans seldom tread. An open gap as small as a three-eighths by seven-eighths of an inch — think the end of your thumb — is large enough to let the diminutive creatures into your attic. While they are unlikely to disturb or destroy anything, bats may become disoriented indoors. That’s how they end up on your wall.
Of key importance — especially in the coming month of October when bats will be looking for cool, dark, seldom-traveled spaces in which to hibernate — is bats can be vectors of disease. Because of an incredibly complex immune response that has evolved alongside the animal’s ability to fly, they can carry diseases like rabies and a host of other ailments without ever falling ill to the pathogens. These zoonotic diseases — or ones that can be spread between people and animals — can make their way to us, even without our own direct contact with the animal, by way of an encounter with unvaccinated indoor pets. This is a reminder that even if Whiskers never goes outside, it’s still important to keep him current on his vaccinations.
If a bat wanders into your home and you have no reason to suspect that a person or pet has been exposed, it may be captured and released. Wait until the bat lands, place a container over the animal, slide a piece of cardboard under the container and then release it outside. If the bat has been captured, injured or killed by a pet, it should be collected and tested. Contact your local health department for details.
No matter what the encounter, don’t forget about the importance of bats to our own existence. We’d be in a world of hurt without them.
If you have comments on this column or questions about the natural world, write The Rail Trail Naturalist, P.O. Box 170, Fredericksburg, OH 44627, or email jlorson@alonovus.com. You also can follow along on Instagram @railtrailnaturalist.