MORGANTOWN — Mike Gray, of ABC Humane Animal Removal, captured about 20 bats from a home in western Monongalia County.
He brought them by The Dominion Post in Sabraton Monday afternoon before heading out to release them again.
Gray said 20 is not that many bats. He’s removed hundreds of bats from a home before.
He catches them using a trap, which is attached to a hose that runs to the bats’ point of entry. When a bat attempts to leave for the night, it is captured.
Bats are the only mammal the Division of Natural Resources allows to be released rather than destroyed, Gray said.
“We never ever destroy a bat,” he said. “Unless there’s a possibility it bit someone.”
These bats were to be released Monday night.
Bats are removed during “bat season,” which runs April-30 and July 15 to the end of October, Gray said. He explained that bats first come out of hibernation in April. From May to July the bats breed, and the pups are given time to mature and fly.
Removing the parents before the pup can fly orphans the pup, he said.
According to birdsandblooms.com, bats can be beneficial for a number of reasons:
- Some bat species eat an incredible number of night-flying insects, including mosquitoes.
- Other bats are critical pollinators of seeds and fruits.
- Fruit-eating bats are important for the dispersal of seeds.
- Bat droppings (guano) are an effective fertilizer.
- Bats can be a tourist attraction. An estimated 100,000 people annually visit a bridge in Austin, Texas, to see the thousands of bats that live under the bridge come out to feed each night.
