7 ways to help bats help us!
over 6 million bats in eastern North America have been killed since the fungus was introduced in 2006. In our region, the Little Brown Bat, Northern Long-Eared Bat, and Tricolored Bat are the species hardest hit by the disease. A study in Virginia found that, three years after the fungus was introduced to hibernacula, the population of little brown bats declined by 98 percent and the population of tricolored bats declined by 90 percent.
Sadly, many people still hold negative associations with bats. This is largely due to easily bustable myths: so let’ s bust some bat myths! People may fear that bats will fly in their hair( they won’ t), carry rabies( no more so than any other mammal), or suck their blood( no U. S. bats drink blood). Human / bat conflict can sometimes arise when bats take roost in abandoned buildings or attics. If you or someone you know has bats roosting in their attic, the Maryland Department of Wildlife Resources has guidance about how to resolve the conflict safely for both species.
7 ways to help bats help us!
n 1. plant native plants. If you have the ability to plant native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers, they will support native pollinators and attract the insects that bats need for food. Whether it’ s a garden, a yard, or pots on a balcony, every native plant helps support the intricate, interconnected web of Maryland biodiversity. Check out the Maryland Native Plant Society for resources and recommendations. n 2. Leave dead trees standing. Tree Bats in Maryland( such as the Eastern Red Bat, Hoary Bat, Silver-Haired Bat, and Evening Bat) shelter in tree cavities and under bark and may use tree cavities as maternity roosts. Dead snags are valuable sources of food and shelter— not just for bats, but for insects, woodpeckers, nuthatches, songbirds, reptiles, and fungi.
n 3. Avoid pesticide use. A bat that consumes poisoned insects is likely to become poisoned itself. Animals like bats that feed on thousands of insects each day are vulnerable to poisoning because they take in the cumulative toxins that all their insect prey were exposed to. Bats reproduce much more slowly than the insects they feed on; as years of pesticide exposure compound on each other, bat populations plummet and the natural pest reduction they offered disappears. Instead of pesticides, consider encouraging Maryland bats to roost near you by improving the quality of their habitat. Bats’ voracious appetites for insects are a non-toxic, living alternative!
n 4. Keep cats indoors. Domestic cats are a threat to native songbird, rodent, and bat populations alike. In the United States, it has been estimated that free-range cats kill over 4 billion birds and 23 million mammals( including bats) each year.
n 5. Install bat houses. Consider building a bat box or bat house to provide roosting habitat for neighborhood bats! The Department of Wildlife Resources and Bat Conservation International provide excellent resources for ensuring that the bat box you build or buy has the right dimensions, location, and safety features for a bat colony.
n 6. Spread the word. Tell people around you that bats are an important and beneficial part of Maryland’ s ecosystem and bust negative bat myths when you hear them. Nature Forward offers a variety of adult classes and field trips that explore natural history. We invite you to join us on an upcoming adventure! Topics range from birding, botany, geology, insects, reptiles and amphibians, fungi, ecology, and more. If you want to learn more about bats, Nature Forward will offer a ten-week Mammals of the Mid-Atlantic class with biologist and educator Kerry Wixted this fall. Come check us out!
n 7. Advocate for conservation and habitat protections. If you care about bats, native species, or conservation in general, make sure your representatives in county, state, and federal government know it’ s a priority to you!
As you have learned here, bats are beneficial— so when you see the silhouette of a bat acrobatically darting across the sky, consider it an encouraging sight!
Genevieve Wall is the Senior Naturalist at Nature Forward, where she leads guided nature walks and coordinates with knowledgeable naturalists across the greater D. C. area to help connect and educate adult learners about the natural world. Prior to working with Nature Forward, Genevieve worked in environmental education along the James River in Virginia.
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