It's that time of year. Are they driving you batty?

Bats range in size from the world’s smallest mammal, the

batty

bumblebee bat, to the 6-foot wingspans of the flying fox. Our native bats in this area are small, most weighing about the same as a few pennies.

The thousands of insects they eat each night save farmers millions of dollars on insect control and crop damage. That makes bats the most organic form of insect control you can get. 

The US Wildlife service posted more info, video and photos at our blog today

The US Wildlife services want us to remember that bats are not to be feared, and that they are in danger die to White Nose Syndrome: 

bat

What should we fear this Halloween instead of bats? Their extinction. The deadly white-nose syndrome (WNS) disease is devastating our hibernating bats. Named for the white fungus that appears on bats, WNS has killed more than 5.7 million bats in eastern North America. It’s even led to a 99-percent drop in northern long-eared bats in the Northeast, which is why we proposed to protect them as endangered just earlier this month. (In fact, WNS was discovered in New York in 2006.)

• Bats in Canada are on the endangered list
• Bat disease is  spreading
• Bat issues: White Nose Syndrome

Here is the last bat I captured!

From August:
Bats in my belfry? Nope. Bedroom - just 1 bat
This one flew from the chimney opening downstairs, upstairs into the living room, and then into the bedroom, where it was circling the fan.
See the previous post for THAT video!



 .

 I'm happy to share it, since they featured Canada on their infograph map!!

Bedroom bat!

Bat in my bedroom part 2 - the rescue

Here is the last bat I captured!

Around and around she goes... the last one, on the fireplace brick, was a piece of cake! Buster had captured it in the bathroom, then it flew onto the brick. I've written lots about bats:

• Bats in Canada are on the endangered list
• Bat disease is  spreading
• Bat issues: White Nose Syndrome

This one flew from the chimney opening downstairs, upstairs into the living room, and then into the bedroom, where it was circling the fan.
See the previous post for THAT video!

It hunkered down behind the large painting leaving me wondering what to do next. A helpful Tweet from an acquaintance suggested gloves and a blanket, after putting the cats out. We have two bat houses outside, on 16 acres of land, and many trees with suitable holes, this one liked the cool chimney on a hot night.

1. Jennifer Jilks ‏@jennjilks1h

   @johnefrancis Good advice! Normally they land on the chimney bricks and are easily captured. Like this one. pic.twitter.com/ohokaqfoIA

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2. John Francis ‏@johnefrancis54m

   @jennjilks you need a bat house - These are nicely made - http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=70692&cat=2,51555 …

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3. Jennifer Jilks ‏@jennjilks46m

   @johnefrancis I think there are bats in one of them. Meantime, its back to circling the fan.

   Expand
4. John Francis ‏@johnefrancis31m

   @jennjilks quick, throw a blanket over it! Avoid using a net, will get all tangled.

I peeked at it, knowing I couldn't life the painting alone, when it flew back out and resumed the revolutions.

Batty was still going in circles when it collapsed falling behind the curtain. I managed to scooch it out into the Muskoka Room, with nice screens for holding on to.

Buster was supervising outside on the deck

What a relief! You can hear it chittering at me.

bat secured in Muskoka room from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I DID IT! It slipped down behind the curtain. I scooched it out into the Muskoka room. Poor wee thing. Buster watched from outside. It flew in more circles, hung off the screen, then fell to the ground. I popped the butterfly net over it. It has flown off to safety outside. WHEW!

Bats in Canada are on the endangered list

Bats are on the endangered list

A report was released last month by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).  It is due to the Whitenose syndrome. Such a shame.

A disease that's already killed a million bats in eastern North America has been found in a colony hibernating near Mattawa.

White nose syndrome, which isn't considered dangerous to humans, was found on five sample bats taken from the Purdy Mine Site in Mattawan Township, says the North Bay District Office of Ministry of Natural Resources.

The disease is a fungus that grows and is white on their nose. It causes them to wake from hibernation early and they can be seen in the daytime, and starve since the insects are dormant.


Bat killer moves into Ontario (Tor Star)
Mysterious fungus decimated U.S. bat populations
A lethal fungus that decimated populations of the winged critters in the Northeastern U.S. was discovered in Ontario last month, and researchers fear it will have the same devastating effect here.
 25,000 Indiana bats dead
400,000 dead bats in the US
The fungus gives them the appearance of a white nose, and wakes them early from hibernation. Of course, the bats cannot find the moths, fireflies, mosquitoes upon which they depend. They become dehydrated, underweight, fly about in daytime, trying to drink the snow, in extremely cold temperatures. It is very sad to watch.

Bat, Tri-colored  |  Perimyotis subflavus

Details

Status: Endangered
Last Examination and Change: February 2012 (New)
Canadian Occurrence: ON, QC, NB, NS

Other names previously used by COSEWIC or synonyms:

Other names (common name): Eastern Pipistrelle

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Myotis, Little Brown  |  Myotis lucifugus

Details

Status: Endangered
Last Examination and Change: February 2012 (New)
Canadian Occurrence: YT, NT, BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, PE, NS, NL

Other names previously used by COSEWIC or synonyms:

Other names (common name): Little Brown Bat

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Myotis, Northern  |  Myotis septentrionalis

Details

Status: Endangered
Last Examination and Change: February 2012 (New)
Canadian Occurrence: YT, NT, BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, PE, NS, NL

Other names previously used by COSEWIC or synonyms:

Other names (common name): Nothern Long-eared Bat

Bat disease spreading

Bat in our Bala carport - they'd visit every night

For anyone who follows bats, that means anyone in cottage country who knows that bats eat a ton of insects at night, this is very sad. I have written about it before.

Reflections from Cottage Country: Bat issues: White Nose Syndrome

Apr 10, 2010

Bats are a big deal in Muskoka. That proverbial cycle of life: bats eat night-flying bugs (800000 gm /summer),  a Muskoka scourge, and bring important nutrients to be accessed to similar cave dwellers, newts, endangered cave dwellers.

The fact that this disease has moved north is scary. They were first discovered in Canada in March, 2010. Now there is another report.

Area bats have white-nose syndrome

Disease isn’t considered dangerous to humans

By DAVE DALE The Nugget

Same bat? Same carport, old house!

Posted 15 hours ago

A disease that's already killed a million bats in eastern North America has been found in a colony hibernating near Mattawa.

White nose syndrome, which isn't considered dangerous to humans, was found on five sample bats taken from the Purdy Mine Site in Mattawan Township, says the North Bay District Office of Ministry of Natural Resources.

The disease is a fungus that grows and is white on their nose. It causes them to wake from hibernation early and they can be seen in the daytime, and starve since the insects are dormant.


400,000 dead bats in the US

The fungus gives them the appearance of a white nose, and wakes them early from hibernation. Of course, the bats cannot find the moths, fireflies, mosquitoes upon which they depend. They become dehydrated, underweight, fly about in daytime, trying to drink the snow, in extremely cold temperatures. It is very sad to watch. This video is very telling:

	White-Nose Syndrome in Bats 5 min - 17 Mar 2008  US Fish & Wildlife Service

While the MNR discourages civilians from handling live, dead or sick bats, the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre and Natural Resources Information Centre is collecting data on locations where bats hibernate and reports of the disease.