PHOENIX – Over the last few weeks, there has been a mosquito explosion in the Valley. But days before Halloween, a hunt was on for one of the only true predators of mosquitoes: the bats.
Local perspective:
Along a trail in Peoria, inside, and sometimes outside, bats can be seen flying around. They’re nature’s most misunderstood flying mammal, but they’re a big help right now when we need them most.
The Halloween decorations aren’t the spookiest part of Jay Soni’s home in Phoenix.
“Thousands of bats. It’s fun, especially now with Halloween,” Soni said. When asked if he knew what it would be like when he moved there, he replied, “No, no. We had no idea.”
Soni lives next to the Phoenix Bat Cave.
“They come every evening,” he said.
This cave, which is really just a Maricopa County Flood Control District canal, has been known for decades as one of the best bat viewing sites in the country.
Big picture view:
Around 5,000 to 10,0000 Mexican free-tailed bats live in the canal near Camelback and 40th Street. So many of them, the National Weather Service picked them up on radar last year.
Most have migrated to Mexico for the winter, but a few stuck around for what’s been dubbed “Bat Week.”
“They’re not something to be afraid of,” said Angie McIntire of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
The timing makes sense; Halloween and bats go together.
“Their little faces are all just very different,” McIntire said. “They’re not necessarily what a person expects. A lot of bats have big ears or big eyes, and so a lot of times just that alone is kind of fascinating.”
Dig deeper:
But there’s another reason to highlight our upside-down friends: mosquitoes.
“Some of them eat beetles, others are moth specialists, but certainly there are smaller species of bats that go after those mosquitoes and midges and things like that,” McIntire explained.
The ones in the Phoenix Bat Cave likely prefer larger prey, so the search tracked down the species that targets bloodsuckers. The mosquito population exploded after a wet start to October.
Up a trail in North Peoria, there’s a grate on an abandoned mine. A spotlight welded onto the spot is the only true marker of what hangs below. Inside are several dozen California leaf-nosed bats.
McIntire said that while the bats are amazing, they are often misunderstood.
“They’re really inspiring,” she said. “They’re just so interesting, they’re beautiful. They’re hard to know. They’re talented in that, you know, their echolocation abilities are just kind of mind-boggling.”
What you can do:
The abandoned mine is on a trail north of Happy Valley Road and 91st Avenue for those hoping to see them.
The Source: This information was gathered by FOX 10’s Steve Nielsen, who spoke with an employee at the Arizona Game and Fish Department and a Valley homeowner living next to the Phoenix Bat Cave.