What Bats Eat and How this Affects Us.
Michael Koski
Commercial Bat Removal ● Nationwide Bat Control Services ● If you have a Bat Problem - I Can Provide the References
Did you know that the feeding habits of bats directly benefit humans? They contribute to the balance of our ecosystem and make it possible for us to eat the foods we love!?
How is that possible, and what do bats eat and drink?
There are 1400 species of bats worldwide, and these species do not all have the same diet. Around 70 percent of bats are insectivorous (feeding mainly on insects), but others feed on pollen, nectar, and fruit. All of these bats help us out in different ways.
Bats that feed on nectar and pollen are significant pollinators of over 500 species of plants! When the bats feed, pollen sticks to their bodies and gets carried to other flowers. The fruits we enjoy also exist because of frugivorous bats, such as Flying Fox bats, found in Asia, Australia, and some Tropical Islands. When they feed, the seeds pass through the bat's digestive system and then are dispersed. It would be impossible for farmers to carry out this seed dispersal manually on the same scale. Without this pollination and seed dispersal, we wouldn’t have foods such as mangoes, bananas, guavas, or avocados!?
In addition, insectivorous bats keep our ecosystem balanced, consuming thousands of insects each night. In doing so, they eliminate insects that would otherwise damage crops. As a result, it’s estimated that bats actually save the US agriculture industry billions of dollars each year!?
The three most common bats in the US are insectivorous:
Big Brown Bat -Beetles are their preferred food, but they also feed on bugs, moths, cockroaches, and flies.?
Little Brown Bat? - Feed on mosquitos, beetles, ants, moths, and wasps.?
Mexican Free-Tailed Bat - Mainly eat moths but may feed on ants, wasps, beetles, and dragonflies.
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So, if most bats feed off insects, fruit, or nectar, why are there so many stories about bats drinking blood? This is likely due to the one species that do feed on blood; vampire bats. Contrary to horror stories, these bats do not drink human blood. Instead, they feed on blood from animals such as cows or horses. As a result, they do not cause injury, and often the animal will not feel that a vampire bat has fed from them. Vampire bats are only found in Mexico and Central and South America.
If you find bats in or near your workplace or home, you should avoid direct contact with them. However, if you are concerned that a bat may be sick and unable to feed itself, you should call wildlife control.?
Although we don’t want bats co-habiting with us, we can be incredibly grateful for their role in keeping our ecosystem balanced. If you have children or are a teacher, why not consider bats as a topic for an educational project? There’s a wealth of fascinating information to be found about these amazing mammals!
Sources:?
Owner at Skye LLC. Property Management
2 年I like how even though your business is removal of bats from our environment your appreciation and love for them shines through. Grateful for your approach.