Living With Bats
Arizona is home to 28 species of bats, more than almost any other state. Bats are the only true flying mammals and are valuable human allies. Worldwide, they are primary predators of vast numbers of insect pests,
Living With Bats
Arizona is home to 28 species of bats, more than almost any other state. Bats are the only true flying mammals and are valuable human allies. Worldwide, they are primary predators of vast numbers of insect pests, saving farmers and foresters billions of dollars annually and helping to control insect-spread human diseases. For example, large colonies of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) eat hundreds of tons of moths each week, especially the moths that prey on cotton crops.
Although bats play key roles in keeping insect populations in balance, they are North America’s most rapidly declining land mammals. Declines are often caused by human fear and persecution, and each of us can help by learning how to live with these animals.
Description and Habits
- Fist-sized or smaller, with short fur and thin wings, many have large ears
- Brown, gray, yellow, red, some with frost-tipped fur, spots or dark eye mask
- Similar eyesight to humans
- Many eat insects in flight and can eat more than 1,000 insects in an hour, including mosquitoes
- Some species drink nectar and can drain a hummingbird feeder overnight
- Use echolocation, emitting sound to locate solid objects
- Hang upside-down to rest in dark, secluded “roosts” during daytime; leave roost to forage for food at night and may temporarily roost to digest food and groom
- Some hibernate during winter (October through April), and some stay active year-round
- Most have one or two live young each year, usually between May and July
- Females nurse offspring and form maternity roosts that can contain hundreds or thousands of bats
Potential Conflicts with Humans and Pets
While some people appreciate bats and the ways they benefit us, others fear bats because a small percentage of them can expose humans and pets to rabies. Bats should always be kept out of places where people live indoors. Bat guano (feces) can present disease and odor problems. However, bats are generally harmless to humans and are extremely beneficial for controlling insects and mosquitoes and pollinating some plants. Bats are vulnerable to disturbances by people because of their roosting habits and slow reproductive rate.
What Attracts Them?
If bats are in an area, it is probably because they are finding food, water or shelter.
Food can include insects that congregate in areas near lights, agricultural or playing fields, ponds or other water sources. Nectar-feeding bats may be attracted to flowering agaves and hummingbird feeders.
Water sources can include any pool, pond or lake with a long flying corridor that bats can skim.
Shelter can include rough surfaces for hanging. A bump of only 1/16 inch is enough. Bats can squeeze into holes as small as 3/8 inch and are attracted to spaces inside buildings and attics, under bridges, in culverts, behind siding on buildings, in palm trees, and under eaves and porch or patio awnings.
What Should I Do?
Bats should never be allowed to remain in human living areas. However, bats roosting on the porch, in the yard, or in a bat house are far more beneficial than harmful, and the small amount of guano can be cleaned up or used as fertilizer, in exchange for the reduction in flying insects and mosquitoes. The following ideas can help you coexist with bats or exclude them if necessary.
In an emergency:
- If a person or pet is bitten by a bat, immediately wash the wound, attempt to capture the animal while wearing leather gloves, and contact your local county health department right away. The bat may have rabies and must be tested to determine whether the bite victim needs rabies shots.
- If a bat is in human possession, please call your local Arizona Game and Fish Department regional office during weekday business hours. After hours and weekends, call the Arizona Game and Fish Department radio dispatcher at (623) 236-7201.
Solutions to common problems:
Bat inside a building
A bat inside a building is probably just lost.
- Close the interior doors to confine the animal to one room or section of the building (making sure all pets and children are out of the area).
- After dark, open all doors and windows to let the bat fly outside on its own.
- Turn inside lights off to help bats find open windows and doors.
- If the bat does not leave on its own after several hours, put on leather gloves, and then place a box, coffee can or glass jar over the bat when it is on a wall. Slide a lid or piece of stiff paper over the top; then release the bat outside while it is still dark.
- Hold the bat up high to allow it to fly away, or place it on the edge of a tall building, fence or tree branch (otherwise it may not be able to fly up from the ground).
- Handle bats gently to avoid injury to the bat, and never handle bats with your bare hands.
- If a bat cannot leave an indoor space on its own or be let out easily, please call a wildlife control business.
Bat on a building during the day
Migrating bats may roost temporarily 