Get a Bat House Instead of a Bird House
We hope we did our job by stopping you in your tracks after reading the title of this article. BATS?! Yes, bats! We’re here to break the vampire, blood-sucking reputation these animals have and shift it to something more positive. We promise you that after reading this, you’ll opt for a bat house over a bird house. Now, let’s tell you why —
they love insects, we don’t
Plain and simple, they eat the bugs we prefer to not have around. Not only can bats eat over 1,000 insects per hour, they eat around 70% of their body weight in insects. What does that mean? That means you have natural pest control! If one bat can eat that many insects, imagine what a handful can accomplish. What’s not to love about that?
Fun fact: Many homes that tend to have mosquito infestations, find immediate solutions after introducing bats into their yard.
they're pollinators!
This may surprise you, but bats take on the PM pollinator shifts. Just as bees are essential daytime pollinators within our ecosystem, bats exist as our essential night time nocturnal pollinators Throughout the night, they are hunting insects and consuming nectar, which then leaves pollen around your landscape. This will assist your yard remain abundant, healthy and beautiful!
seed distributors
Known as “accidental pollinators”, bats unintentionally spread seeds when eating fruit and nectar. How you may ask? Let’s break it down:
Bats eat fruit
Bats have wings and can fly
Bats poop mid-flight
Bat poop contains seeds
That seed-contaminated poop ends up in new places, all the time
Fun fact: Bat feces, aka “guano”, makes for a spectacular fertilizer that is highly coveted by gardeners. It encompasses a unique balance of bacteria and fungus that offers a plethora of nutrients for soil and plants. Maybe you know a bit too much about bat poop now…
most importantly, they need our help
As you can see, bats are essential creatures within our ecosystem. Although difficult to spot since they are nocturnal, they are just as necessary as some of our popular pollinators that we see out and about more often. Because of their significance and decrease in population, bat conservationists have risen. Thanks to them, they are helping keep our bat population alive and well, and are shifting the bat discourse from a negative one to a positive one. TRUST US - they’re not the stereotype that you see in the movies. Although that would be cool, they are really just friendly and peaceful mammals that want some yummy insects to feast on!
HAVE WE CONVINCED YOU YET?
If you’d like to play a part in keeping our bats safe, want natural mosquito repellant, looking for organic insect control, and/or want to utilize golden bat poop in your garden - install a bat house! Contact the GPL Team to get started!