Bats are amazing creatures, and they need our help! Bat Week is an annual, international celebration created to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation.
Bats are vital to the health of our natural world and economy. Even though we may not always see them, bats are working hard all around the world every night, eating tons of insects, pollinating flowers, and spreading seeds that grow new plants and trees.
Why Bats Matter
Humans need bats. There are more than 1,400 species of bats in the world — that’s almost one-fifth of all mammal species! Bats live almost everywhere on Earth except the most extreme desert and polar regions. So, no matter where you live, it is almost guaranteed that there are bats living near you. A single bat can eat up to its body weight in insects each night, helping to protect our food crops and forests from insect pests, and saving farmers and forest managers billions of dollars each year.
The Big Brown Bat, Colorado's most common bat.
Fun and Fascinating Colorado Bat Facts
- There are 19 species of bats living in Colorado.
- Bats can be found everywhere from forests to farmland to urban areas in Colorado.
- The big brown bat is the most common bat seen in Colorado.
- Bats in Colorado are exclusively insect eaters, so no need to worry about being attacked!
- Bats in Colorado face numerous threats, including habitat loss, energy development, white-nose syndrome (WNS), and pesticides.
- "Studies have shown that less than 1% of the bat population in Colorado carries a communicable disease, so it’s reasonable to assume that the chance of catching a disease from an infected bat is very, very low. As long as you don’t go around poking your fingers into bat roosts, picking up wounded bats off the side of the road, or allowing your dog to root around in caves, wood piles, and rock formations, you’ll be completely safe." (Colorado Pest Management)
Find out more fun facts about bats living in Colorado on the Colorado Bat Watch website.
A baby Pipistrellus Bat, also found in Colorado.
How YOU Can Help Bats
Bat Week is a great time to do something positive for bats, and helping can be super easy. Be creative! Get involved! Be a Bat Hero!
- Start a bat club
- Become a bat advocate and help raise awareness in your community through fundraising, volunteering, working with local media, or educating your family and friends
- Take an urban bat walk and learn about the bats local to your area
- Join Project Noah and document your bat sightings
- Build bat roosting boxes
- Pull weeds out of bat habitats
- Plant native vegetation that attracts bats
- Create bat art
- Ask your governor to proclaim your state’s Bat Week to help bats
- Host a Bat Week Party or other special event to get others excited about bats. You can feature bat-themed games, foods and drinks that are made possible by bats, and/or costume contests – anything that highlights our amazing bats!
- Spread the word! Use your voice on social media (#BatWeek) and help bats get great attention at a time of year that they are often seen as scary, not super!
Celebrate #BatWeek with your very own bat!
With a few everyday materials and inexpensive crafts supplies, we transformed a paper tube into a super cute bat. A very quick and simple decoration and/or treat holder for Halloween.
What you need:
- Paper tube
- Scissors
- Craft glue
- Black marker
- Black paper
- A small piece of white paper for the eyes and the teeth
- Black paint and a brush
How you do it:
- Trim the tube if using a paper towel roll.
- Paint the tube black.
- Fold in the two ends of the tube.
- Draw and cut the wings and then glue them to the tube.
- Cut two circles out of the white paper, draw a black dot in the middle of each one, and glue the eyes on the tube.
- Cut two tiny triangles out of the white paper and glue the teeth below the eyes.
Check out the Bat Week website for more information, details about ways to help bats, and fun activities. Connect with Bat Week on Facebook and Instagram, and by using the #BatWeek hashtag.
