They\u2019re around our buildings and in our back yards, some as small as walnuts: as the weather warms up, bats become more active.<\/p>\n
Australia is home to more than 90 bat species, and for many, spring marks the start of bat baby season \u2013 when mothers need more food to support themselves and their pups.<\/p>\n
Most people associate bats in the city with flying foxes, also known as fruit bats, which often roost in large camps in urban environments, says Dr Shannon Currie, an ecophysiologist at the University of Melbourne, who studies how animals survive and adapt to their environments.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there is also a whole slew of different tiny little bats, which Australians call microbats,\u201d she says. They eat insects and roost under tree bark, in hollows, caves and even some buildings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re in your back yard, they\u2019re around your workplace. You just can\u2019t see them because they\u2019re tiny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some, like the little forest bat, can be as small as a walnut, while the wingspan of grey-headed flying foxes can reach more than 1 metre.<\/p>\n
For our nocturnal neighbours, small changes can make a big difference \u2013 here\u2019s how you can help.<\/p>\n
Turn off and tone down outdoor lights<\/p>\n
If you live in any capital city in Australia, you\u2019re coexisting with microbats \u2013 \u201cfascinating, cool little animals that not many people know exist,\u201d says urban wildlife ecologist, Dr Kaori Yokochi of Deakin University.<\/p>\n
Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n But if you pay close enough attention, she says, you might see them doing acrobatics at dusk, or find them sleeping under the cover of an outdoor umbrella.<\/p>\n All bats are nocturnal, waking at dusk. Bright lights at night can mean less time and fewer places to feed, and also affect navigation and roosting.<\/p>\n Some bats will avoid lit areas, especially if they aren\u2019t fast flyers, because it puts them at risk of becoming prey, Yokochi says. Artificial light acts as a \u201cdouble whammy\u201d for those species \u2013 drawing insects to lit areas, and reducing the darker spaces available for foraging.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re small flying mammals; they actually need to eat a lot,\u201d she says. \u201cThey can eat up to 40-50% of their body weight a night.\u201d<\/p>\n But small changes can make a positive difference, Yokochi says. \u201cIf you\u2019re using light indoors at night, close the curtains so the light is not spilling outside the house,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n A grey-headed flying fox eating flower nectar, with its head covered in yellow pollen. Flying foxes can traverse the entire coast of Australia. Photograph: Andrew Mercer\/Wikimedia<\/p>\n Limit outdoor lighting to only what is needed, so it\u2019s not encroaching on other areas \u2013 have it just around the doorway, not all throughout your garden, for example.<\/p>\n Choose globes with lower lux levels and warmer colours \u2013 orange or red is better than cool white or blue. Install lights at low levels, facing downwards.<\/p>\n Bats are our neighbours, Yokochi says, and we should be mindful of them. A lot of festive dates like Halloween, Christmas and New Year in Australia fall during warmer months, when microbats are more active \u2013 so instead of outdoor fairy lights, consider another type of decoration.<\/p>\n Native gardens support biodiversity, including bats<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that is most beneficial is to have diverse native gardens,\u201d Currie says. Planting a variety of native species, especially those local to the area, will help insects as well as bats, birds<\/a> and other wildlife.<\/p>\n Improving our relationship with insects can also be helpful, says Currie. Diversity is critical to insect-eating microbats, which rely on different kinds of insects depending on the season \u2013 when they\u2019re having pups, or fattening up for winter.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n A bee hotel \u2013 in a garden, on a windowsill, or balcony \u2013 can provide a resting or nesting place for local invertebrates and native bees, and help boost local insect populations. Make your own<\/a> by drilling holes into native hardwood, or bundle up hollow reeds.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re lucky enough to have any mature trees in your back yard, please retain them,\u201d says Yokochi.<\/p>\n Many Australian bat species nest in tree bark or hollows. Flowering gums provide food for flying foxes, while trees and shrubs support flying insects and sometimes have hollows for roosting.<\/p>\n If you need to use netting for fruit trees, Yokochi says, make sure it\u2019s safe for wildlife. Bats, particularly flying foxes, can get tangled in netting and die. \u201cIf you can poke your finger through your netting, that is not safe. Smaller mesh \u2013 less than 5mm \u2013 is best.\u201d<\/p>\n Flying foxes have really good eyesight, she says, so white netting is preferable to black or green, because it is more visible.<\/p>\n If you find a sick, injured or orphaned bat, never try to touch or rescue it yourself. Instead, contact your nearest wildlife rescue organisation.<\/p>\n Where can I learn more?<\/p>\n For those who want to learn more, the Australasian Bat Society organises events and bat nights<\/a> across the country.<\/p>\n Landowners in New South Wales can volunteer to install bat detectors<\/a> on their properties for collecting data on the habitat and range of threatened bats, or volunteer to count flying foxes<\/a>.<\/p>\n While some species, like the white-striped freetail bat, make noises we can hear, most bat calls are too high frequency for humans to detect. Bat detectors that can be plugged into your smartphone are also becoming readily available and more affordable, which can help identify the species in your back yard \u2013 even if you can\u2019t hear or see them.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re amazingly intelligent creatures,\u201d Currie says. \u201cThey can fly crazy distances \u2013 they know how to get home from hundreds of kilometres away.\u201d<\/p>\n