How Bats Affect Our Eco-System and How to Protect Them
If you are like most people, you have probably never stopped to consider just how beneficial bats are to the ecosystem. In fact, you probably never knew they were good for anything but roosting in your attics several months out of the year. Actually, although it isn’t exactly a pleasant thought, that is also beneficial in that they will roost to birth their young at a rate of one bat per year and they will hibernate throughout a winter living only on their stored body fats. Once you realise all the ways in which bats are beneficial to the ecology, you might even be happy to have a bat in your belfry!
Let’s Start with Protection
Before looking at the various ways in which bats benefit the ecosystem, let’s talk for a moment on ways to protect them. The first thing to do when you suspect that you may have bats living in your loft or in the trees on your property is to secure a professional bat survey. While there are rapid bat surveys, a more thorough and in-depth survey can indicate the type of bat living on your land so that you can begin understanding just how they may be benefitting you on a more personal level. It’s pretty hard to wish a creature ill that is benefitting you and/or your community on some level.
There are several ways of protecting this endangered species, but some suggestions include:
- Construct a bat box on your property
- Work toward a more natural habitat on your property
- Spread the word on the benefits of bats – be a bat ambassador
- Avoid the use of pesticides on your land
The last one leads us to the very first way in which bats benefit the ecosystem, so let’s start there.
Bats as Nature’s Pesticide
One of the things many people don’t know about nature’s only flying mammal is that many types of bats live primarily on eating insects! Therefore, if you spray your grounds with lethal chemical pesticides, you will be killing off your bat colonies as well. It doesn’t get any more natural than letting the bats take care of your insect problems for you. Not only will those chemicals used to kill insects also kill bats, but when the chemicals are washed into the water table, they are killing people as well. You could say, then, that bats are saving people from dangerous pesticides!
Biodiversity Indicators
This is an interesting way in which bats affect the ecosystem. Although some types of bats within the species are endangered, bats actually account for approximately one-third of mammal species within the United Kingdom. Their natural habitats include:
- Woodlands
- Wetlands
- Lands on farms
- Urban habitats such as in lofts
It only takes inspecting the plant life in any area to see just how bats can be beneficial. Since they feed on insects, you are less likely to see insect-caused blights in vegetation where bats are allowed to live freely. This is why it is suggested that you use the information gained in a bat survey to limit cutting down vegetation where colonies of bats are known to live. They need the insects feeding off plants because they need to feed off the insects!
With this in mind, it should be known that bats can be extremely susceptible to changes in land use which is one of the reasons why planning permissions for land use are strictly regulated. In other words, bats can indicate the health of a much broader array of wildlife in the UK because they point to the destruction or devastation of lands that keep other species alive and well.
Amazing Pollinators
When you think of pollinators, don’t you automatically think about bees and butterflies? Actually, bats are known to be prolific pollinators of over 500 different species of floral vegetation in the UK alone. The difference is that bats are nocturnal creatures, so they are more likely to be pollinators of plants that open up by the dark of night. Bees and butterflies, on the other hand, love the warm, bright sunshine so they do their work by day. Can you imagine if pollinating night blooming plants was left to bees? They aren’t nocturnal creatures as are bats. Those species of plants would soon be endangered!
Reforesters and Dispensers of Seeds
Here’s another bit of bat trivia that just might win you a game of Trivial Pursuit the next time you play with family and friends. Some types of bats are also known to dispense seeds they’ve eaten. Some bats eat fruits, and the seeds will stay intact until they are excreted in waste products. The fruit will be digested, but not the seeds.
Birds are not the only dispensers of seeds and reforesting winged creatures, as bats have proven to be just as effective in many parts of the world. According to research mentioned on the bats.org.uk website, a great deal of research in Central and South America indicates that even the smaller types of bats are effective in dispersing seeds throughout their regions.
Has the World Gone Batty?
Some of this information may have come as a slight shock to you if you never thought about more than the nuisance of bats roosing in your loft. While it may not be fun to clean up bat excrement, you might want to simply toss it out in your garden. Did you know that many farmers use bat guano as an amazingly effective natural fertiliser as it is high in phosphate, nitrogen and potassium? All are essential key nutrients for plants which is why many farmers seek out bat colonies to collect that effective and free fertiliser.
However, bat (and bird) guano can be a health hazard if inhaled so do wear those N95 masks you still have lying around post-covid if you are going to brave a cave to collect this natural fertiliser for your garden. Many areas of the world do just that, so perhaps the world really has gone batty. The benefits tell the story.
