If you have a bat roost on your property, the Indiana DNR needs volunteers to help them study these creatures.

Spooky Little Pollinators

Bats get a bad rap, but did you know these spooky little dudes play a crucial role in our ecosystem?  Not only do bats eat bugs and other pests, but bats are also excellent pollinators.  And did you know that Indiana is the only state with a bat named after it?  The Indiana Bat was discovered in 1928 in Wyandotte Cave.

The Indiana DNR explains that many of the myths about bats are often sensationalized.

Long-held myths about bats are difficult to dispel, but most are unfounded.  A popular misconception is that a bat will get caught in your hair.Bats are incredibly agile, however, and their use of echolocation allows them to quickly and accurately navigate through the environment. Most likely the bat is targeting an insect flying near you. Although bats can contract rabies, the infection rate is extremely low (less than 2 percent). Bats do far more good than harm. All bats in Indiana eat insects, many of which are agricultural and forest pests. It is estimated that without bats, the agricultural industry in the United States would spend an additional $3 billion annually on pest control.

 

 

Indiana DNR Bat Monitoring Project

Do you have a bat roost on your property?  If so the Indiana DNR needs help.  They have a Bat Monitoring Project and they need volunteers to participate.

In a post to Facebook, Indiana DNR says: 

WILDLIFE MONITORING PROJECTS - BATS: With approximately 95% of Indiana designated as private lands, Hoosiers have play a crucial role to play in fish and wildlife conservation.

Are you a private landowner with a known bat roost on your property, interested in contributing data to support healthy wildlife, and available to record counts at dusk (8p-midnight)-12 nights from May 17 – July 15?

If so, we invite you to team up with family, friends, and neighbors to join DNR’s summer bat roost monitoring project. You can join today by signing up at on.IN.gov/wildlife-monitoring or email questions to helpbats@dnr.IN.gov.

Interested in more ways to support wildlife as a private landowner? Visit on.IN.gov/landowner-and-habitat-assistance to learn about DNR’s landowner and wildlife habitat assistance programs.