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How Do Bats Help Farmers?

How Do Bats Help Farmers? thumbnail
Bats provide a variety of valuable services to farmers.

Bats are valuable allies for farmers, potentially saving them time and money. Many bats prey on insects, providing natural pest control and eliminating the need for chemical pesticides. Other species feed on nectar and serve as cross-pollinators for flowering plants. In addition, bat droppings (guano) have multiple benefits; they are a nutrient-rich, organic fertilizer; can serve as a natural fungicide; and can absorb toxic chemicals in soil.

  1. Insect Control

    • Most species of bats--including the vast majority of those that live in the United States--feed on insects. They eat bugs that damage crops, such as rootworms and grasshoppers, and those that pester humans and livestock, such as mosquitoes. And because every bat consumes thousands of insects each night, a colony can keep the local insect population in check. So bats help farmers by providing natural, organic pest control.

    Pollination

    • Other bat species feed on nectar, and in traveling from flower to flower, they provide cross-pollination. Farmers who grow flowering crops, such as bananas, peaches, cashews, and many other fruits and vegetables, profit from the pollinating activities of bats.

    Fertilizer

    • Bat guano serves as a potent organic fertilizer for crops and gardens. Guano contains both quick- and slow-release nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, according to Basic-Info-4-Organic-Fertilizers.com.

    Fungicide

    • Applied directly to leaves, guano can help prevent and kill fungi that grow on plants. Farmers in humid areas or regions with unusually high rainfall can purchase bat guano to spray on leaves if there isn't a resident bat colony on or near their property.

    Absorbent for Toxic Chemicals

    • Bat guano also contains microbes that aid in bioremediation, according to Basic-Info-4-Organic-Fertilizers.com. Bioremediation is the process of naturally breaking down toxins and contaminants through microorganisms, according to Virginia Tech's Groundwater Pollution Primer. Farmers whose soil has been contaminated by oil leaks from machinery or other chemical spills can apply bat guano to the affected areas for an organic solution.

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