I had never heard of Bat Week until the NYS DEC sent out the press release. It happens every year from October 24-31 and it’s a pretty big thing, not just nationwide here in the U.S., but in Canada also.

Government agencies, like the DEC and the PA Game Commission, work with various conservation groups to host Bat Week. The purpose is to raise awareness of these often maligned but truly beneficial creatures. 

Bats need our help. Regular readers of this column may recall that I recently wrote about White Nose Syndrome (WNS) in Little Brown Bats. It’s an invasive fungus that has killed off about 90 percent of them statewide.

WNS isn’t the only problem that our endangered and threatened bats face. Cutting trees at the wrong time of the year can wipe out roosts and maternity colonies (where groups of female bats will get together to collectively raise their pups in trees).

There are nine species of bats found in NY. Six of them are classified as cave bats and stay here to hibernate during the Winter. The other three are migratory. Bat Week was created to raise awareness of hibernating bats and the need for the public to leave caves and mines undisturbed during the late Fall and Winter months.

There are laws in place to protect bats, and anyone entering a listed bat hibernation site from October 1 through April 30 is in violation. Even if a site is not listed, folks should quietly and quickly leave if bats are discovered. The reason we all need to take this seriously is because bats can and do die if they are disturbed from hibernation and deplete their precious fat reserves.

Why should we care about a bunch of icky, scary bats? We should care because those little guys are voracious insect-eating machines. They often consume more than their body weight in flying bugs every day while storing fat before hibernation. Think of all of the tractor-trailer loads of hazardous chemicals we would have to spray if bats didn’t control insect populations for us. Now that’s scary. 

Both the Northern Long-Eared Bat and the Indiana Bat are listed as endangered in NY and Federally. The Tri-Colored Bat is also being considered for listing as endangered due to recent huge population declines from WNS.

So what can we do to help these little flying mammals survive? First, in honor of Bat Week, we can limit our spelunking to late Spring through early Fall and stay out of caves and mines when bats are hibernating. Second, we can build bat boxes and put them up, providing safe roosting places that are protected from predators. 

Third, we can create pollinator gardens. And last, we can call Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators to safely remove and relocate bats that have entered our homes instead of just killing them.

Obviously, Bat Week was created to coincide with one of my favorite holidays. This year the last day falls on the date of publication of this column. I’ve always enjoyed Batman, since I was a child. I can’t close without letting everyone know that my favorite portrayal of the Caped Crusader was done by Michael Keaton. Happy Halloween!

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.