Troop 673

Creating a Safe Habitat for Bats

The world would look very different without bats — and not for the better.

There are more than 1,400 species of bats worldwide - each of which plays a substantial ecological role in the health of our ecosystem and even impact our overall economy!

Below are just a few reasons why bats are important:

• They pollinate, disperse, and protect valuable crops - most notably are bananas, guava, durians, cashews, dates, figs, cacao, sugar, corn, cotton, and agave (the kind we need to make tequila!)
• Fruit-eating bats in the tropics disperse seeds that are critical to restoring cleared or damaged rainforests. So they help restore what humans have negatively impacted. 
• Bat droppings, known as guano, is a  natural fertilizer 

With their natural habitats growing smaller due to human encroachment, bat populations are in danger. But we can help by giving them a home. 

Installing a bat house on your property can provide a safe environment for bats, while protecting your yard from pest insects, like mosquitoes, moths, and beetles. Bat houses give females a safe, warm place to raise their young. Since most female bats only have one pup each year, bat populations grow very slowly.

For information on how to make your own bat box: Click Here!