What Do Bats Do in the Summer?

Posted on July 27, 2022 by virginia

Bats are one of the most interesting and amazing creatures on the planet. Among a long and fascinating list of facts, bats are the only mammalian species that is capable of true flight! Other species can soar or float on wind current, but bats can actually fly like the wind. Bats are also ecologically important, as they help pollinate and protect some of our most valuable crops, plus boost our local economies.

We simply don’t have the time to go over all the incredible benefits we reap from our local and global bat populations, but we can discuss what bats are up to this summer in Virginia!

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Bat Activity and Behavior in the Summer

Family Time

Bats are just like us when it comes to spending the summer months. They focus their attention on their families! Bats use most of their time in the summer to raise their babies, called pups, in the roosts they’ve secured earlier in the season. Bats typically like to roost in natural settings like caverns, caves, cliffsides, and hollowed tree cavities, as well as urban settings like attics, chimneys, and bell towers.

Female bats generally give birth to a single pup, so that baby bat gets mom’s tender, love, and care all to itself! Of course, this also increases the bat’s chance of survival, which is critical to local bat preservation. Because baby bats cannot fly within the first few months of their lives, mother bats must leave them in their roosts during the dusk and evening hours to hunt for food and gather water. Mother bats must stay strong so they can continue to provide nutritious milk for their pups. Remember, bats are mammals!

Hunting

Summer is the perfect season for insect activity, which is exactly what bats are looking for when they head out of their roosts at dusk to hunt. Bats are insectivores that like to eat insects like mosquitos, moths, gnats, and similar flying bugs. Here in Virginia, bat species have built-in sonar known as echolocation that allows them to dive and dart for prey with acute precision.

Bats eat a lot of insects each night. In fact, one single bat can eat more than its own body weight in insects and a single evening. This is like nature’s pest control, making our backyard barbecues a much more comfortable experience! A bat’s diet also contributes to protecting our local crops, which in turn boosts the economy.

Nuisance Activity

Although bats are an incredible advantage to our world, sometimes they can get a little too close for comfort. Bats can enter into nuisance territory when they decide to roost inside your home or business. As mentioned earlier, bats typically choose dark and private places to roost, such as chimneys, attics, wall voids, and even under porches and along roofing. These places are shady and cool, which keeps them comfortable in the summer climate.

But bat roosts can create a lot of structural damage which can be costly and invasive to repair. Furthermore, bats leave behind. What a mess that can pose several health and safety risks to your loved ones and pets. If you suspect that you have bats in the attic or other area of your property, contact a licensed and insured Virginia bat removal company. They can provide safe and humane bat removal services if they discover bat roosts upon inspection.

Are you looking for a trusted Virginia critter control company to help you solve your nuisance bat problems? Contact Virginia Bat Pros at 804-729-9097 for professional Richmond bat removal and attic restoration services for bat infestations. We serve residential and commercial properties.

Can Bats See Without Using Echolocation?

Posted on July 21, 2022 by virginia

Have you ever used the adage, “blind as a bat?” If so, you may be disappointed to learn that you were incorrect. That is because bats are not actually blind. But don’t be ashamed if you always thought this; many people share the same misconception. The truth is that there are more than 1,100 bat species in the world, and not one of those species is blind. What’s even more interesting is that they actually have quite good vision, especially Megachiroptera species (fruit and old-world). This makes sense, as they are night-hunters. So, vision is important for darting and dashing for prey.

Continue reading to learn more interesting facts about bat vision, echolocation, and more.

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Not All Bats Have Echolocating Abilities

There are two main categories of bat species: Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera (also known as megabats and microbats). One of these bat groups have echolocating abilities, while the others do not.

Megachiroptera Bat Species

Megachiroptera are large bats that live in tropical and subtropical climates. They maintain a diet of fruits and nectar, but some species are also known to consume small amphibians and fish. As for vision, Megachiroptera have large eyes and pronounced visual cortex that allow them to see very well. They also have a good sense of smell. Some species, like Flying Foxes, actually see well during the day, and are dependent on their daytime vision to fly around on moonless nights. They can also see in color!

Microchiroptera Bats

Microchiroptera, or microbats, are different from Megabats in many ways; however, their vision is just as good. Despite their poorly developed small eyes, scientists have confirmed that microbats have both rods and cone photoreceptor cells in the retinas, giving them the ability to see in the day, in color, and at night. Furthermore, Microchiroptera (not all species, but most) have a built-in sonar system called echolocation, which emits high-frequency ultrasonic pulses into the air that bounce back and outline the surrounding environment. This is why many people believe these mammals are blind; but echolocation is simply a bonus attribute that allows microbats to hunt faster and better for insects like mosquitos, moths, flies, gnats, and more.

Nuisance Bat Problems

If you are experiencing nuisance bat problems in or around your property, you have safe and affordable options. Never attempt to catch, trap, touch, harm, or kill a bat. Not only are there possible laws against this, which could subject you to some hefty fines and other civil penalties, but bats also carry diseases, some of which are deadly. Always contact a licensed and insured bat removal and control company in Richmon d , VA for non-lethal, licensed assistance you can trust.

Are you looking for cheap and humane ways to get rid of a bat on your property? Contact Virginia Bat Pros at 804-729-9097 for fast and secure bat removal services in Virginia, including Richmond, Salem, Leesburg, and all surrounding areas. We serve residential and commercial clients.

Fantastic Bat Facts for Kids!

Posted on June 28, 2019 by virginia

Children shouldn’t be afraid of bats! Bats serve a highly valuable ecological importance in our surrounding environments, and positive contribution to our local economies. So, don’t let kids be afraid of bats; instead, help get them on the same team by eliminating their fears and anxieties forever.

Start with these fascinating bat facts just for kids!

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? There are over 1000 different bat species.

? Bats are mammals.

? Bats are the only mammal that can fly. Other mammals just soar, float, or drift on air currents.

? Bats are nocturnal, which means they are awake and active between sunset and sunrise, while you are asleep.

? Bats can to be 20 year old and older.

? The smallest species of bat is called the Kitti’s Hog-Nosed bat, and it is about the size of a bumblebee!

? The largest species of bat are called Flying Foxes, and they can get as big as a bicycle!

? Bats are not blind! But they do use a sonar skill called echolocation to improve their flying and hunting accuracy.

? Mother bats give birth to one single baby each year. Baby bats are called pups.

? Bats are insectivores, which means they eat bugs; mostly flying ones like mosquitoes, gnats, and moths.

? A single bat can eat more than its own body weight in insects each night. That’s around 1,000 mosquitoes!

? Bats are nature’s pest control because they eat so many mosquitoes.

? Bats live in caves, hollowed trees, abandoned mines, and inside large rock crevices.

? Most bats live in large colonies. Some colonies have hundreds of thousands of bats!

? There are 3 species of bat that eat blood, but they only target cows, horses, and pigs.

Admire Bats at a Distance

Although bats are incredible and important animals, it is very important to NEVER attempt to touch, trap, harm, or kill a bat under any circumstances. Not only might they have diseases and parasites that can be harmful to you, the interaction can be harmful to them too. Always admire bats at a distance, and never get too close. See our blog, “How to Safely Support Local Bat Colonies” to learn how to do your part without jeopardizing your safety or theirs.

Where to Get Safe, Non-Lethal Bat Control Service

Call Virginia Bat Pros at 804-729-9097 for safe and humane bat removal and control assistance in Old Dominion. We serve all of Virginia with 24 hour bat removal, as well as, numerous residential and commercial bat exclusion services, such as bat cleanup and restorations for bat damages. We even provide insurance work! Contact us at 804-729-9097 to request a free estimate, anytime.

5 Educational Facts About Bats

Posted on February 11, 2019 by virginia

Bats are mostly known as a scary threat, or a neighborhood nuisance; but bats are much more than that. In fact, they are a greatly misunderstood species that deserve a better reputation. Continue reading to review 5 interesting and educational facts about bats, and better understand their importance in our world.

❶ Bats Serve a Vital Ecological and Economical Role

Bats feed heavily on our local insect populations every night, allowing us to have more comfortable backyard living areas, more enjoyable outdoor fun and activity, and less spread of disease and crop mutilation. Bats also support local economies among farmers, vendors, and consumers because the prevent crop mutilation. Farmers have also been known to use bat droppings, or “guano”, to fertilize their land. In fact, guano mining is a significant enterprise in the agricultural industry, worldwide.

Furthermore, Megabats, found in tropical and subtropical regions, primarily feed on pollen and nectar of fruits and flowers. This diet behavior provides a significant benefit ecologically and agriculturally by means of pollination, seed dispersal, which promotes cross-fertilization. We can thank Megabats for crops like bananas, avocados, mangoes, nuts, figs and cacao. Also, vampire bat species are an important focus in the medical research industry because their saliva contains an anticoagulant protein called “Desmoteplase” that researchers speculate can be used as medicine for stroke patients and blood clot prevention in humans.

❷ There are More Than 1,300 Species of Bat Around the World

Bats are a mammal that are native to almost every region of the world. And although there are more than 1,300 known species of bat, it is suspected that thousands more exist. Differences in features, behaviors, diet, size, and more, are what separate the known bat colonies, worldwide. Here in Virginia, the most common bat species found include the Little Brown bat, the Big Brown bat, Eastern Small-footed bat, Northern Long-eared bat, Eastern Pipistrelle bat, Silver-haired Bat, Eastern Red bat, Hoary bat, Seminole bat, American Long-Eared bat, Lump-Nosed bat, Evening bat, Ozark Big-Eared bat, Townsend’s Big-Eared bat, and the Northern Myotis. Endangered species are local to Virginia as well, including the Indiana bat, the Gray bat, and the Southeastern Big-eared Bat (also known as Rafinesque’s Big-Eared bat).

❸ Some Species of Bat Do Not Hibernate for the Winter

It is assumed by many that all bats hibernate for the winter. The truth is, some species hibernate and others do not. Some species of bat migrate instead of hibernate, and travel south to warmer areas for the cold season. Such species include the Spotted bat, Mexican free-tailed bat, and the lesser long-nose bat. Other species of bat do hibernate, thus entering into a state of torpor, or low metabolic activity. Bats cycle through periods of torpor and periods of moderate arousal, for the duration of winter. Bats generally prefer to hibernate in hollowed trees, rock crevices, caves, abandoned mines, and even residential and commercial buildings.

❹ Bats Do Not Have Very Many Natural Predators

You would think an animal as tiny as a bat would be at the top of something’s diet sheet, but really, they have very few natural predators. In fact, the biggest threat to bat survival is the threat of disease. For instance, a fungal diseases known as White Nose Syndrome, has killed millions of bat populations throughout the world. Read our blog, “Facts About White-Nose Syndrome and Bats” to learn more about this devastating bat disease. Mostly, predatory wildlife such as owls, hawks, and snakes will eat bats, but rarely go out of their way for them.

❺ Bats are the Only Mammal That Can Truly Fly!

Sure, you’ve heard of Flying Squirrels and other animals that seem to fly; but they are really just soaring, floating, or drifting on air currents. Bats, on the other hand, are capable of true flight, which means they can take off, maintain flight, and land, on demand. They can fly just the same as a bird, but they are a mammal. And they are the ONLY mammal that can do that! Not only can they fly, they are fast, with some species achieving speeds of 100 miles per hour!

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