Bats in Arizona: Things to know about these pollinators, and what to do if you find one

There is speculation that bats are involved in the origins of the new coronavirus in humans in China, but the true source of the outbreak is still being studied. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an explanation of the source and spread of the virus at cdc.gov/coronavirus.

Arizona has 28 species of bats, second only to Texas in the U.S, but bats in Arizona are unlikely to do anything more than eat bugs and pollinate plants. Bats are protected by law in Arizona.

To learn more about bats here, The Republic spoke with Angie McIntire, the Arizona Game and Fish Department's bat project coordinator, and we studied the Game and Fish website’s bat page and the Bat Conservation International website.

Those websites are a good resource for anyone with questions about bats, such as what to do if they encounter a bat on the ground or in a home.

McIntire, who has worked with the bat project for about 17 years, said bats are  fascinating animals that don't pose much of a threat to humans. She said bats could even have a positive impact at this challenging time.

“It’s always good for people for people to appreciate nature,” McIntire said. “Given the virus and many of us are sequestered in our homes, one thing we can still do is get out and go for walks and appreciate nature. It’s one thing that will help keep us all sane.”

What’s the connection between bats and the new coronavirus?

According to the Bat Conservation International website, a live wildlife market in Wuhan, China, is believed to be the source of the outbreak. Bats are among the many varieties of wildlife sold at that market. Chinese researchers at Wuhan Institute of Virology have shown that the virus now known as COVID-19 shares 96% of its genome with SARS-like coronaviruses. Bats, specifically horseshoe bats in China, are the natural wildlife reservoirs for SARS-like coronaviruses.

How did the virus jump from animals to humans?

That’s not clear, according to batcon.org. It is unknown whether the crossover to humans happened at the market with contact with a bat or another animal sold there or if the crossover happened outside the market and was brought there by an infected person.

Do bats normally spread disease to humans?

Bats carrying coronaviruses in the wild that are undisturbed by people are not a threat to human health, batcon.org said.

Are bats in Arizona likely to spread disease?

“It’s not anything I worry about,” McIntire said. “Bats don’t attack people and they don’t normally transmit any type of disease. But when you get into those heightened situations (such as the Chinese wildlife markets), that’s where the real problem lives.”

Do Arizona bats carry diseases?

According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s bat web page, less than 1% of wild bats are likely to have rabies at a given time. Other animals such as foxes, skunks, coyotes or, technically, any mammal, can also carry rabies.

Bat droppings can enrich soil to fertilize a fungus (histoplasma capsulatum) that can causes histoplasmosis in humans. Most histoplasmosis cases in humans have no symptoms or flu-like symptoms. A few people can become seriously ill if they inhale large amounts of spore-laden dust.

Why are bats so often associated with rabies?

"I think people are more likely to encounter a bat if it’s sick with something,” McIntire said. “The hundreds of thousands that fly around in our night sky on a given night are healthy. The one that winds up on a sidewalk where people could encounter it, it may have rabies or it could just be dehydrated or something. Most bats don’t have rabies.”

Are bats beneficial?

According to Game and Fish, bats are the primary predators of many insect pests, saving farmers and foresters billions of dollars annually and helping to control insect-spread human diseases. For example, large colonies of Mexican free-tailed bats eat hundreds of tons of moths each week, especially moths that prey on cotton crops. Many bats eat insects in flight and can eat more than 1,000 bugs in an hour, including mosquitoes.

Bats are protected by state law and disturbing colonies where there are babies can result in large fines.

How many species of bats are in Arizona?

“There are 28 different kinds in Arizona,” McIntire said. "There are 1,400 kinds worldwide. They all do very different things from one another. They’re long-lived. Some live over 40 years. We probably would have more things to say about them, but they’re extremely hard to study. What we do know is there are many species, and they are really fascinating."

What type of bat is most common in Phoenix?

“The Mexican free-tailed is one of the most common species,” McIntire said. “When you hear about caves in Texas like the Austin bridge, with groups in the millions, it’s usually that species. Most bats don’t congregate in such huge numbers. There are several bridges in the Phoenix area that have that species. The Gilbert Road bridge where Gilbert Road crosses the Salt River has approximately 30,000.”

What other bat species does Arizona have?

There are nine different myotis species of bats in Arizona. Arizona also has canyon bats, the smallest species in the U.S. She said they are about the size of butterflies.

Where are large colonies of bats in Arizona?

About 1,500 bats live in a part of Kartchner Caverns in southern Arizona. A maternity colony of a species known as cave myotis lives there from approximately May through mid-September. They return to the cave each year to give birth and rear the young bats, and the state park closes that part of the cave to public tours to protect that process.

More:You can watch bats take flight from a Phoenix tunnel

Do bats often return to the same place each year?

McIntire said she received a call from a woman who said the same bat showed up on her patio for a couple of weeks each year. She said the woman wasn’t complaining, she just wanted to know what type of bat it was. McIntire said it wasn’t possible to determine if it was the same bat each time without marking the creature, but it was likely that it was.

“They’re kind of like us. For example, when I go to San Diego every year I tend to stay at same place,” she said. “Bats will stay in the same cave.”

What if a bat gets in my house?

A bat inside a building is probably just lost, according to Game and Fish. To help it find its way out, close interior doors to confine the animal to one room or section of the house after making sure pets and children are out of the area.

After dark, turn off inside lights and open doors and windows to let the bat fly out. If the bat does not leave on its own within a few hours, put on leather gloves and then place a box, coffee can or glass jar over the bat when it is on a wall. Slide a lid or piece of stiff paper over the opening and release the bat outside while it is still dark. Hold the container up high to allow the bat to fly away, or place it on the edge of a fence or tree branch. Many bats have difficulty flying up from the ground.

Handle bats gently to avoid injury to the bat, and never handle bats with your bare hands.

If the bat doesn't leave on its own or can't be let out, call a wildlife control business.

What if I find a bat on the ground?

According to Game and Fish, a bat on the ground that acts sick or unable to move may have rabies.

If you encounter such a bat, leave it alone, keep pets and children away, and contact the county health department immediately.

Most bats cannot fly up from ground level. If a bat has been knocked down during a storm and does not seem sick or injured, then use a stick to gently raise it to a tree limb. It will probably fly away after dark.

If a bat is injured or a baby bat is on the ground, contact the local Arizona Game and Fish Department office for instructions. Never handle a bat with bare hands.

Reach the reporter at weldon.johnson@arizonarepublic.com. Or follow him on Twitter at @weldonjohnson.

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