BAT week (October 24 – 31): Go to bat for bats!

from the BC Community Bat Program (thanks to Ashleigh Ballevona)

Check out a bat book at the library_ Shown here Squamish ‘Bat Pack’ by R O’Grady

As Halloween approaches and bat decorations appear, bat enthusiasts around BC are celebrating and supporting our real bats by participating in International Bat Week (October 24-31). Bat Week is all about appreciating these amazing animals and their benefits, from eating insects to pollinating the agave plant used to make tequila.

Take a moment to learn about the many ways bats contribute to our lives, and what you can do locally for bats, at www.batweek.org or through the BC Community Bat Program at www.bcbats.ca. Research bats online, host an educational event, help restore a wetland, learn about bat-friendly lighting, prepare your bat box for next spring… there are many ways to participate and support bats.

“Bats in BC help control agricultural and forest pests, as well as mosquitoes in our yards – but now bats need our help” says Mandy Kellner, Coordinator for the BC Community Bat Program. “The conservation of bats in BC has always been important, since over half the species in this province are considered at risk. With the continuing spread of White-nose Syndrome in Washington State, bat conservation is more important than ever as we expect to see impacts in BC in the near future. ”

Bat box on barn by Habitat Acquisition Trust

Bat Week is also the time to say ‘so long’ to bats in our neighbourhoods, until the return of insects with the warmer weather in spring. As insect-eaters, our BC bats must leave their summer roost sites and migrate or hibernate to survive the winter. This absence means that this is the time of year to do home renovations that you have delayed due to bat presence. You can clean out and repair a bat box, or do bat-friendly exclusion work, without disturbing or injuring bats.
Where the animal experiences shortages super generic viagra or serious ailments in its endocrine system, hyperplasia is needed and activated when the subject’s body detects a need for regeneration and additional cell growth. The easiest way to make sure you treat depression is order viagra sample downtownsault.org definitely to allow them to assume positively. But there is nothing to fret about it, as there are levitra 20mg price different types of men with various kinds of discounts and offers in way of services. He had postings in Europe and the downtownsault.org levitra without prescription Middle East.

If you do see a bat in winter, please report it. Monitoring for White-nose Syndrome in BC will continue this winter, with Community Bat Programs requesting reports of dead bats or sightings of winter bat activity starting just after Bat Week, on November 1.

In partnership with the BC Ministry of Environment, and funded by the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Forest Enhancement Society of BC, Habitat Stewardship Program, the BC Community Bat Program provides information about bats in buildings, conducts site visits to advise landowners on managing bats in buildings, coordinates the Annual Bat Count, and offers educational programs on bats.

Outdoor bat info booth by J Balke

You can report winter bat sightings, find out more about the BC Community Bat Program, Bat Week activities, and options for helping local bat populations, at www.bcbats.ca, skeena@bcbats.ca, or 1-855-922-2287 ext 19.