How bats see at night

Bats – they are most commonly known as creatures of the night particularly popular for their nocturnal senses and power of flight. Bats are also known for their sensitive auditory senses. It was known that bats travel through the dark with the help of their hearing and communication with fellow bats, and not their sense of sight.

It was not until the 1790s that this fact was discovered. Bats were experimented by a curious Lazzaro Spallanzani. Through his tests, it was discovered that bats do not navigate through the dark with their eyes, but with their ears. This was proven when the bats' ears were plugged; they failed to navigate correctly and kept crashing into walls and other obstructions.

In 1930s, Donald Griffin, a student at Harvard University, made his own tests with bats. It was through his research and tests that the mystery of how bats navigate flawlessly in the dark and hunt their prey was answered. Bats navigate through echolocation.

What exactly is echolocation and how does it work?

Every time a bat flies, it releases a series of high-pitched sounds in the frequency only bats can hear. These sounds echo around the bat, and every time a prey is around, this echo bounces back to the bat. This is how they locate their prey without the use of sight.  These echoes that bounce around the environment help bats determine whether there is an object or prey, how big it is, and how far or near it is.  Bats have a very developed sense of hearing.

Although this is a fact, it does not mean that bats don't see well in daylight. Truth is, bats have good eyesight in daylight, but they do hunting at night through echolocation. Not all bats can echolocate, although a majority of the bat species do.

Bats are always on the hunt at night, and because of constant hunting they get led to different places. If your home has an attic, then you probably should check it more often. Bats who find prey regularly around your property could just decide to inhabit your house because of the easy food opportunities nearby.  Since bats live in colonies, inhabiting your home could prove to be a serious problem in the future as the colony grows.

When you encounter a bat situation, handle this with care. It is best to call in professional Kitchener wildlife control. Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control Kitchener can help you keep the bats and other wildlife away with effective methods such as using a series of one-way doors to allow the bats and to exit the home while preventing their re-entry. In cases when you want to proactively seal your house from any kind of wildlife, Skedaddle wildlife control Kitchener technicians can assess your home and recommend exclusion.