Why would you want bats on your property?

Installing a bat house on your property can provide a safe environment for bats, while protecting your yard from pest insects, like mosquitoes, moths, and beetles. Bat houses give females a safe, warm place to raise their young. Since most female bats only have one pup each year, bat populations grow very slowly.

Are bats good to have on your property?

Bats can greatly reduce the population of mosquitoes and other bothersome insects that ruin your backyard activities, such as moths, wasps, beetles, gnats, midges, and mayflies. A single bat can consume more than 1,200 mosquito-sized insects per hour, usually eating 6,000 to 8,000 bugs each night!

Why are bats good for your yard?

Bats pay back their rent by controlling mosquito and garden pest populations in your yard. They convert their meals into bat guano, which makes for a fantastic natural fertilizer!

What are the pros and cons of bats?

What are negative things about bats?

Bats are associated with diseases, including rabies. In addition, their droppings, called “guano,” can contaminate soil with a fungus that causes Histoplasmosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Because of this, you don't want bats setting up roost in your home.

FAQ - Why would I want bats around my house?

What are bad things about bats?

Bats can carry viruses that are deadly to other mammals without themselves showing serious symptoms. In fact, bats are natural reservoirs for viruses that have some of the highest fatality rates of any viruses that people acquire from wild animals – including rabies , Ebola and the SARS coronavirus.

Do bats serve any purpose?

The importance of bats

Bats play an essential role in pest control, pollinating plants and dispersing seeds. Recent studies estimate that bats eat enough pests to save more than $1 billion per year in crop damage and pesticide costs in the United States corn industry alone.

Do bats help control mosquitoes?

As unnerving as it may be to have bats flying around your yard, they are mosquito-killing machines. Despite their less-than-desirable reputation, bats possess a remarkable ability to control insects, especially disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Why do bats fly towards you?

If a bat flies near or toward your head, it is probably hunting insects that have been attracted by your body heat.

Where is the best place to put a bat house in your yard?

Choose a sunny location on the East or South facing side of your house. Bat houses work best with at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight (if only partial day sun is available- morning sun is preferable). Bat houses should not be lit by bright lights, so installing near porch or security lights is generally a bad idea.

Do bats affect house prices?

Will having bats cause your house to drop in value? As we mentioned earlier, if the bat colony is small, they most likely won't make noise or smell and the number of droppings will be small therefore they shouldn't cause too much damage to the price tag.

Should I remove bats?

Bats are a critical part of the ecosystem, controlling the insect population. It's impractical, inhumane, and probably illegal to kill them, so you have to go through a live exclusion. If the infestation is large or has been recurrent over years, call in a pro for both exclusion and cleanup.

Why shouldn't you touch bats?

Bats play key roles in ecosystems around the globe. They also can carry diseases, including rabies. The best way to protect yourself and bats is to stay away from them and get medical care if you come in contact with them.

What happens if a bat touches you?

Anyone who touched or had contact with the bat or its saliva could be at risk of getting rabies, which is almost always fatal once symptoms begin. Fortunately, rabies can be prevented if treatment is given before symptoms appear, so quickly identifying anyone who has had contact is important.

Do bats like humans?

Bats always try to avoid contact with humans and other animals. A bat found outside may be injured, grounded by a storm or pesticides, or ill. In these cases, a bat rehabilitator or wildlife rehabilitator should be contacted for help.

How long do bats live?

Most small mammals have very short lives (often only 1 year), but bats are the exception and have relatively long lives. One study showed that bats live on average about 4 years, while another study showed bats may live about 16 years on average. The maximum lifespan reported for bats in the wild is more than 30 years.

Where do bats go in the winter?

Bats choose places like caves, mines, rock crevices, and other structures with ideal temperature and humidity for hibernation. Places where bats hibernate are called hibernacula.

Do bats eat mice?

Some of the large bats known as flying foxes such as those living in Indonesia have wingspans up to 6 feet. Flying foxes live only in tropical and subtropical areas including Australia and eat primarily fruit and nectar. Other species of bats are carnivorous, preying on fish, frogs, mice, and birds.

How are bats beneficial?

Bats that eat insects are called "insectivorous." They feast on insects each night, adding up to more than $3.7 billion worth of pest control each year in the U.S. When bats are around to eat insects, there are fewer insect pests causing damage to crops, and farmers don't have to invest as much in pesticides.

What is the value of bats?

By eating insects, bats save U.S. agriculture billions of dollars per year in pest control. Some studies have estimated that service to be worth over 3.7 billion dollars per year, and possibly as much as 53 billion dollars per year.

Will a bat land on a person?

Bats will fly into your hair and get stuck: False

They may fly close to you in search of insects but their amazing use of echolocation will prevent them from landing on you.

Are bats good or bad to have around?

Bats are important to our ecosystem because they feast on pests that would otherwise ruin crops. Plus they eat mosquitoes. On the other hand, while most bats don't have rabies, one could give you that deadly virus if it's infected. So don't handle bats, even if they look healthy.

Is bat urine harmful to humans?

Leptospirosis (Opens in new window) is a bacterial disease transmitted via the urine of infected animals. In very rare cases, leptospirosis can be fatal to humans. Although rodents and cattle are the main carriers of this disease, bats may also be infected.

Why do bats swoop at your head?

Foraging bats often swoop over people's heads at night, but they are in search of insect prey, not hair. The rapid, seemingly erratic movements of echolocating bats in hot pursuit of insects, who are making similar moves to avoid the bats, often cause people to think they are being attacked.

Will bats swoop down at you?

Bats do swoop close to the ground in flight and may come close to people, but do not be alarmed and move away if you feel uncomfortable. Bats do not attack people. If you encounter them flying around, they are probably swooping towards insects or fruits on the trees near you and mean you no harm!