What bats eat

Bats have been misunderstood for as long as we can remember. Bats are nocturnal animals who hunt during the night, but what they hunt isn’t human blood as most scary stories imply. Bats are actually insectivores.

The bat population is comprised of 70% insectivores, and the rest feed on fruits and smaller animals like fish, birds and lizards. Contrary to common belief, only 3 species of bats are vampire bats: these bats are those which feed on blood. But even then, they aren’t after human blood. These vampire bats are found in South America.

Most bats feed on insects like beetles, mosquitoes, moths and other garden pests. This helps immensely in pest control since a single bat can eat more than a hundred insects in one night.  Some bats may also feed on nectar, while some are carnivorous and eat smaller animals like birds and lizards.

Even the bloodsucking bats aren’t that menacing as they are described in children’s’ scare stories. Bats do not suck human blood, but feed on cattle or horses. Even then, they don’t suck the blood out. They make a small wound on the prey’s skin and they fan out the blood so they can drink it. The bat’s claws have an anesthetic that makes the victim unable to feel any pain. It is also good knowledge to be shared that bats can only take up to two tablespoons of blood per day, so they aren’t really killing animals like most myths suggest.

There is also some bat species that feed on nectar, like the Pallas’ long-tongued bat. They have developed their maneuvering skills so they can fly over flowers and drink nectar through their long tongues. This helps in pollination, while also providing a good source of food for bats.

Fruit bats can grow pretty huge and live in trees. They feed on fruits, probably because they lack echolocation abilities unlike their insectivorous counterparts.  They can travel for up to 70 kilometers searching for fruit, because of their wide wings and strong physique.
Bats best thrive in the wild, since it is heir natural habitat. It is where their instincts and skills show best. Human settlement has expanded vastly, and because of this, some bats may resort to living with people in their houses. Bats may be nocturnal and passive, but a whole colony living in your house could do some serious damage. Help these bats find their way back to the wild with the help of a trusted wildlife control Waterloo company like Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control. Skedaddle’s wildlife control Waterloo technicians are trained to assess the infestation and employ effective yet humane measures so that these bats are removed safely and allowed to continue to fulfill their role in the ecosystem.