🦇Please see the References and Attributions page for all sources
🦇Check out the NWCO Page to see the contact information of Metro Atlanta NWCOs.
[Begin Transcript:
It’s past the midday point, so let’s begin.
Welcome to my second week of demystiflying bats.
My name is Cassandra—yes, like that Cassandra—and welcome to the Crazy Abat You Cave.
Thank you so much for flying in and hanging out with me. Week by week, I will go through one or more different bat species here in the state of Georgia and provide some information about them, such as where they can be found, what to do if you come across certain bats, and what you can do to help bat populations here in Georgia and elsewhere. For this episode, I will be sharing some information on four of the nine bat species local to Metro-Atlanta. I will also be discussing what bat houses are and how they help bats and researchers alike.
Come roost with me as we begin with the Big Brown Bat. Fun fact: the squeaks you hear at the very beginning and end of each episode are the sound of the Big Brown Bat’s call. The Big Brown Bat is one of our most abundant bats here in the U.S. and in Georgia. Oftentimes, if you find a cluster of bats in your attic, they are likely the Big Brown Bat. This bat can be identified by its glossy medium brown coat that blends into a honey brown towards its head and melts into a cotton white in the front of its body. It has deep dark brown[. . .]near black wings that spread into a 12-16 inch wingspan, and it has [a] similarly colored snout and ears to match. It and the Evening Bat, another common attic-dwelling bat, are quite similar in appearance. The difference, though, is that the Big Brown Bat has [a] much larger frame.
Squeaking of the Evening Bat, it can be identified by its solid deep brown coat and wide muzzle. This beauty is a true tree dweller and finds refuge in hollow trees and behind tree bark. It also may find its way into your home, so if you ever hear squeaking in your attic, don’t freak out. You can actually remove a bat or a colony of bats yourself by waiting till nighttime when they go feast, double-checking that no bats remain, and installing a barrier to entry. Please do note that during April through July, because bat pups are so young, it is ill-advised to remove bats as these pups could potentially die. If you do have an urgent need to remove bats during this season, please contact an NWCO: A Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator. If you look below this recording, you’ll see a chart detailing the contact information of Metro-Atlanta NWCOs approved by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. And if you don’t want to kick them completely out, you can build them a roost right outside your house! This is called a bat house. While not as luxurious as Wayne Manor, yes, a bat house can be a great addition to your backyard and can help keep bat populations high and healthy. I’ll detail more about bat houses later, but for now, let’s discuss the Red Bat.
The Eastern Red Bat is a deep rusty red with bursts of sunset orange around its face and neck. It is quite small, with a frame of a little over 4 inches. They are migratory bats that, like the Evening Bat, reside in forestry areas with a bias for coniferous trees—your evergreens.
Moving on, the Northern Long-eared Bat is a warm ash. . .brown-gray color and is quite small with a 10-inch wingspan. Like all the previously mentioned bats, these bats are insectivorous and have an inclination towards wooded environments. On that note about habitats, let’s conclude this episode with discussing bat houses and why you should establish one in your backyard.
A bat-house or bat-box is a wooden construct designed to allow bats to hang inside and roost. Here in the state of Georgia, Bat Conservation International recommends that your bat-house be a medium gray color in order to keep the temperature stable all throughout. With that in mind, another great tip for installing a bat box is to actually place it at the eaves of the roof—essentially, the little undercarriage of where your roof points meet. This is also a great place to because it is both high enough from the ground and far away enough from trees to allow the bats safety from tree-dwelling birds of prey and allows them the chance to drop before flight. Bats, unlike birds, cannot fly directly out of their habitats. They need to drop first before take-off. If you don’t want them near the house, you can also perch them on a 12-20 foot pole; that is, the bat-house, not the bats. Please don’t touch the bats. *laughs*
Another thing you can do, especially if you’re like me and love cats, is to keep your felines indoors as much as possible. Bats and birds alike have domesticated cats as their natural enemies, and we’re trying to keep these batty beauties alive, aren’t we? Attracting bats to your bat-house can be difficult and take some time, so try to be patient and make sure to plant some native flora around. These will not only add biodiversity to your area but also attract common bat prey like moths. For my pups in the ATL region, your best bet is to plant some of the following: wild onion, bellflower, winterberry, and false aloe. I don’t know about you but as a kid, I remember picking wild onion and marveling at its odor and how similar it is to the spring onion we’d buy at the grocery store. There are many more plants that you can put into your garden, but I listed some of the ones I’ve personally seen in the metro area. As with any gardening endeavor, make sure you do ample research in your specific conditions and find flora that best works for you, your family, and your environment. After all, learning to care about the environment should be a community gesture. And who knows? You may even encourage your neighbors to plant native flora!
That’s all I have for you today. Join me next week as I discuss more of our Metro-Atlanta bats and some important information about diseases that you should know.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll catch you pups next time at dusk.
End Transcript]
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