Let’s celebrate bats today!! No, we are not going batty. We just think that bats deserve a little respect. There are many varieties of bats, some as small as your thumb. Counter to what horror movies lead us to believe, these night flyers won’t bother you, if you don’t bother them. However, if you’ve got bats in your belfry, that’s a different matter altogether. So, head on outdoors after dark on this April 17 holiday, and enjoy Bat Appreciation Day.

Bats can be your friend. Bats are nocturnal flyers, emerging after dark, from caves, steeples, and the attics of old buildings. These flying mammals are attracted to areas where there are plenty of nighttime insects, along with a good source of water. They use a form of radar to seek their favorite food source of mosquitos and other insects. A single bat can consume up to 1,000 mosquitoes a day (or night). Gardeners certainly appreciate bats. Bat guano is among the best manures you can use, in your home garden.

When we think about bats, we often think of them as scary Halloween Bats, a symbol of the Halloween holiday. But these nocturnal mammals aren’t really scary to most people once they get used to them flying around at night in search of an insect meal.

So, let’s use today to better understand, and appreciate our fine feathered friend, the Bat.