Bats are not a pest you hear often discussed and yet it is an animal that is universally recognized and known by all thanks in part to comic books, the famous Adam West led Batman TV series from the late 60’s and all subsequent movies. Bats always appear to be associated with eerie night scenes in movies or comic books, dark and creepy caves (remember Batman’s bat cave?) and any Dracula / vampire story (Vampire bats do actually exist in Central and South America!).
In fact bats lend their names and their image to a range of modern products and sayings. Example: Louisville Bats, a minor league baseball team; the logo for the spirits firm Bacardi; the title of Meat Loaf’s famous album Bat Out of Hell released in 1977 and one of the best-selling albums of all time; not forgetting the saying ‘like a bat out of hell’ meaning to go very fast or indeed ‘blind as a bat’.
The former saying is fairly accurate as some species of bats (there are over a thousand worldwide) can fly as fast as 50km/h and others are much slower, depending on the size of bat in question.
The latter saying is false as bats are not completely blind as mentioned in previous blog post, but it is true they are more reliant on their unique sensitivity to sound to be able to see their environment.
The lyrics of the song “Bat out of Hell” are fairly accurate as bats are nocturnal mammals:
“Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone when the morning comes
When the night is over
Like a bat out of hell I’ll be gone gone gone”
I bet some homeowners who have a problem with bats roosting in their attic or under the eaves of their home would argue that sadly the bats are not a 24hour problem, once they take up residence they are happy to stay even when the morning comes.
Many bat species are threatened with extinction, so it is encouraging to hear that although pest control companies offer bat control services and advice on how to get rid of bats, the aim of bat removal is to carry out the job safely and humanely without any harm to the animal.
Exclusion and funnelling are widely used as part of a bat removal program for businesses and homes allowing exterminators to be able to release bats back into their natural habitat.
Although bats are not protected on a Federal level, in recognition of their benefit to our ecosystem, special permits are required for all professionals to ensure a humane and safe approach to bat control.
Now armed with this knowledge, we can all help to ensure that bats are handled sensitively and removed from our property without harm.
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