They are Not as Scary as They Seem: Interesting Facts About Bats

Bats are simply fascinating creatures. There are numerous in Florida with our year round climate, abundance of food (read, insects), and rural areas with partial structures. Our state is home to 13 different species. From the provocative big brown bat to the furry and mysterious Southeastern myotis, local bats run an interesting gamut. And although some are spooked by the evening appearance of a bat, especially in the fall around Halloween, one shouldn’t be. They are actually very beneficial to have around. Bats can eat up to 600 insects an hour, and our friend from above, the Southeastern myotis, counts mosquitoes as its main meal. Bats are, quite literally, nature’s pest control. What some more quick hit bat facts? The Orlando pest control experts at Apex  thought you’d never ask:

• Over the course of a year, a smallish colony of bats can eat one ton of insects.
• Vampire bats can tell humans apart by their breathing patterns (all right, maybe we shouldn’t have included that one).
• In Florida, Vampire bats are only found in zoos (that’s better).
• Bats have been around for nearly 100 million years and used to spend their time fluttering around dinosaurs.
• Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Except us, kind of.
• Incredibly, bats make up 20% of all known mammal species on the planet.
• In Europe and North America, bats are often associated with spooky things and the occult. But in China and Japan, they are in fact a symbol of happiness.
• Bats use echolocation to identify insect prey, and they are so precise with it that they have detection ability for objects as thin as a human hair.
• Notable stars that have played Batman on the silver screen: Christian Bale, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and, sigh, Ben Affleck.
• Bats have larger brains than birds (for their size), and they hang upside when sleeping to escape predators more quickly. Pretty smart indeed.

Those are just some quick facts we found interesting about these winged creatures of the night. Another thing to remember about bats is that many of them have become endangered over the years due to habitat loss. There are restrictions on the handling of some species, but even if there weren’t it’s never a good idea to handle bats on your own. The best idea, if you have an issue, is to contact the Orlando pest control experts with Apex pest control at (866) 675-4070. We have all the information needed as well as years of experience in non-lethal bat removal services.