We Love Bats!
It’s mango season again so with the tree in our backyard, we are inundated with bats. The bats in Puerto Vallarta are fruit bats and we love them because while they eat the fruit before it falls and rots on the ground, they also devour up to 1000 mosquitoes in a single hour. Imagine if we didn’t have bats! We’d be eaten alive by skeeters! Most species of bats live a long time; decades. Though some think bats are rodents with wings, they are more closely related to humans and other primates.
Some people freak out if a bat flies through a window but chances are they will turn around and fly right back out after they have what they came for, which could have been a gigantic mosquito about to feast on you.
It’s illegal to kill a bat in Puerto Vallarta, as in all of Mexico, so it you really are frightened, call someone for help if you have a flying friend visit your home and you don’t know what to do. While awaiting rescue, turn on all the lights; bats are nocturnal and avoid bright areas. Open all the windows and doors to give the creature a chance to escape. She is probably a lot more frightened than you. Be careful with brooms, poles or anything that could damage the bat’s delicate wing structure. If you have the courage, use a large bowl or jar, and once the bat has exhausted itself, trap it and cap the lid. Outside, remove the cover and step aside. The bat won’t bite you unless you grab at it and you’re not likely to do that. Don’t use a blanket to catch a bat either. You could easily suffocate the poor little thing or injure it so that it won’t be able to fend for itself. If you have a cat, put her in another room where she can’t get to the bat. Same goes for the family dog. He may think he needs to protect you but it’s the bat that needs your help.
Puerto Vallarta has a lot of bats. There are huge fig trees growing on public streets and during the day, bats sleep in them, undetected, safe and sound. Bats are harmless. They eat spiders, mosquitoes and fruit; it’s a myth that they will get caught in your hair and they are one of the best friends we have in the sky.
Que es cómo es.
