Bats may be one of the most misunderstood creatures in the animal kingdom. They are used as props in horror movies to create a spooky atmosphere and are believed widely to be bloodsucking carriers of rabies. The reasons that people fear and hate bats are largely unfounded. Yes, a few species feed on blood, but you won’t find them unless you travel to Mexico or South America. Yes, bats can harbor zoonotic diseases that can spread to humans, including rabies, but bat-borne diseases in humans are very rare. Yes, bat removal is necessary if you find them roosting in your home, but bats are endangered creatures that need our help to survive.

Bats are fascinating and even helpful animals. Here are some reasons to love them.

1. Natural Pest Extermination

Most bats feed on insects and have been documented eating bugs that attack food crops, such as beans, rice, corn, sugarcane, and coffee. They also eat insects that attack cotton crops. Each bat can eat thousands of insects in a single night, significantly helping to keep the pest population under control. Because of bats, farmers do not have to use as many chemical pesticides on their crops. Savings on pest control due to bats have been estimated between $3.7 billion and $54 billion per year. Less pesticide use also means fewer chemicals polluting the environment, which is good for the planet and every living thing on it.

2. Echolocation

Bats’ big ears and turned-up noses can be off-putting to some people, but their ugly-cute appearance actually serves a very valuable purpose. Contrary to folklore, bats are not blind, but because they are nocturnal, they rely on their ears more than their eyes to navigate and find food in the dark. Bats use a technique called echolocation, which is sort of like natural sonar. They generate extremely high-pitched noises, most of which are beyond the normal human hearing range. The sound waves bounce off objects and echo back to the bat. Bats’ unique facial features help them to perceive the sound waves, and the information they receive gives them the exact location of the food they are trying to catch or the obstacles they are trying to avoid.

3. Pollination

Without bats, some of the plants we rely on for important food crops, such as avocados, figs, dates, mangoes, and bananas, would have difficulty surviving in the wild. The reason is that some species of bats feed on the nectar of the flowers of these plants. As they fly from flower to flower, they spread pollen that allows the plants to produce seeds and flowers. Without bats, these plants would be in danger of dying off due to an inability to reproduce.

4. Fertilization

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are all valuable nutrients that help plants to grow. Phosphorus helps the roots and flowers to develop, potassium helps the plants’ overall health, and nitrogen helps them grow greener faster. All three elements are present in bat feces, also known as guano, making it an excellent natural fertilizer for gardens. Bat guano has very little odor and works quickly to fertilize plants.

In addition to fertilizer, bat guano has other uses in the garden. It can be used on compost to help it decompose more quickly. It can also be used to kill fungus and nematodes in the soil that can harm plants by feeding parasitically on them.

Choose Skedaddle for Bat Removal

While bats are more lovable than you might have realized, they are still wild animals that do not belong in human habitations. Because bats are endangered, it is against the law to harm them. As a provider of wildlife control in Milwaukee, Skedaddle is committed to the humane treatment of not only bats but all the animals we work with. Find out more about the services we offer in Milwaukee.