New York Bats Need Us! Leave ’em Hanging & Help Protect Them

It is Bat Week in New York State (through October 31st) and the Department of Environmental Conservation wants to remind you that bats are a very important part of our environment. Instead of being afraid, let's help protect them.

How Are Bats Beneficial to New York State?

According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, bats are like nature's pest control. Their diet consists of eating a lot of insects which helps plants grow. This spreads the seeds and pollinates flowers. It also helps to keep crops and forests safe from insects that harm them which saves New York farms and forests. Studies show that just one bat can eat insects equivalent to its own weight.

Here's How You Can Do Your Part

As the weather gets colder, bats look for warm places to spend the winter. Caves and mines are perfect, cozy spots. But, if people visit these places in the winter, it can hurt the bats, especially because of a disease called white-nose syndrome that has been very harmful to them.

Bats in New York mostly have babies in the fall, and when it gets colder and the bugs are scarce, they either sleep through the winter or fly somewhere warmer. They come back in spring, around mid-April.

So, this Halloween, as you see bats flying around, remember that they need our help. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation wants us to avoid caves and mines in the fall and winter to keep bats safe.

Which Bats Live In New York State?

There are two types of bats in New York that are protected by the law. One is the Indiana bat, and the other is the northern long-eared bat.