It is day two of the A-Z Challenge and hence we have the letter “B”. I feel like the Count on Sesame Street. “Can we have a ‘B’?”
A creature who has been much maligned is the bat. They have been classified as dangerous in many books and movies, purported to attack people and carry rabies, yet they are some of the most harmless creatures in the world. While they can carry rabies, like any mammal, the incidence of rabies among bats is not nearly as high as once thought.
My author friend, Dee Stuart, whom I mentioned yesterday, wrote a book Bats: Mysterious Flyers of the Night, and that was my first introduction to the truth about these creatures. They do not attack people. They are frightened when people enter a cave or other dark area where the bats are roosting and they will then fly out in a crazy cacophony of wings. That may appear to be an attack, but it is not. Bats also exit their lair en-mass at dusk to find feeding grounds, and that wild exit can appear threatening.
Bats can be very beneficial when it comes to controlling mosquitoes and other insects. Some cities have started using bat houses to encourage bats to roost and feed in specific areas. That sounds like a better solution than spraying more chemicals into the air and poisoning our environment.
So let’s try to be friends with the bat. Shall we?
Nice post!
We see a lot of bats here in the summer dusk but in my last house pippistrelle bats decided to take up residence in the attic and of course, because bats are protected in the UK, we had to let them. Not that it bothered us.
In the heat of the summer days you could hear them squeaking as they all jostled for space on the rafters. I actually miss them.
Came across this on Facebook and since I’m on the A-Z challenge, too, I’ll share it.
Many years ago, I used to walk to work and my path took me through a short tunnel under a railway line. It was often dark (early morning) and I coiuld hear bats in the tunnel, but they never troubled me, and needless to say, I disturbed them as little as possible.
Great post.
Thanks for stopping by Denise and DW96, and I’m glad you liked the post. Also glad that you understand that bats are harmless.
We had a bat living behind our front shutters last summer. He scared the crap out of me the first day but after that we loved checking on him each night, especially my daughter the animal-lover.
We’re all bat fans here! They roost in the attic ventilation windows. Every so often, one turns up in the house, and we sneak up on it and slip a paper bag over it and put it on a balcony so it can dive off and take flight. They’re so cool! 🙂
Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes
I bet getting the bag on the bat is a bit harder than you make it sound, Marian. I can just imagine chasing it all over the house. I would just leave the door open and hope it went out. LOL
I like bats, but my mom is deathly afraid of them! She doesn’t like mice either.
Hi … I am enjoying you A-Z posts. I actually like bats.
Kathy M.
Thanks Kathy, glad you have been enjoying the posts.
Bats are kind of creepy but they are essential to the ecosystem. And they are pretty amazing.
Lee
Places I Remember
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog