Bats in the belfry...

I have one fruit bat roosting in our gum tree in O’Connor right now. Middle of winter…what is going on?

I have fruit bats in my backyard in Dickson in the middle of July! This is clearly not autumn anymore so why are they here? They’ve been coming in to feed in one tree over the last week or 2, roosting somewhere else.

Bats are eating my grapes in Wanniassa in my first currawong free season. Thanks for the information about the black urine, Russ. I was eating the grapes while I was reading your post, so I wasn’t happy initially, but believe me it’s best to know. I have found them easy to scare, but the sight of me wandering out in my nightie and slippers, wondering what the noise is about, scares most mortal things.

I don’t think that they are much worse than birds that poop as they eat or possums that have huge territorial disputes over your fruit. It’s just that Canberra boasts such a huge selection of living things other than humans and their companion animals. All of these creatures, from the humble ant to the majestic kangaroo, think that your fruit, fish pond, vegies, chickens, house and fittings are theirs rather than yours.

This is my first bat year. I suppose this means my residence will be on the bat touring map from now on, particularly as commercial growers are sensibly netting most of their fruit. Between you and me, I blame the expansion of the winery belt around Canberra, not global warming, as the source of this new scourge. However, as I love Canberra wines, I will have to learn to take the rough with the smooth.

Russ–sorry to hear about your woes at Pialligo.

I first noticed them when I was riding home the other night and nearly fell off me treadly with surprise when I was crossing the lake and looked up to see thousands of bats above me. I watched them for about five minutes, and they still kept coming. Amazing.

As an orchardist in Pialligo, they’ve been devastating. They were also very bad in 2008, causing one orchard to shut down while they work out what to do. Another who has lost a lot of fruit to cockatoos so far this season is now quickly losing the rest of their crop to bats, and plans to pick what’s left and will be closed by Easter (the apple season usually goes until June).

They start arriving at 8pm, they’re almost impossible to scare off – gas guns and birdfrite shells do little to deter them – we drive down the rows and scare them off, but they’re back within 20 minutes.

They’re also the most appalling creatures – they urinate as they feed, covering the apples in horrible black muck, and they also urinate as they fly – particularly if scared, making it particularly gross to go down the rows when they’re around.

One orchard has already begun the very expensive exercise of netting their orchard, and it looks like we’ll have to do the same – it seems nothing else works.

yep, like everything and anything, it’s global warming.

No doubt.

I think I’ll start eating them on a kerbab.

Do not tell KFC or Maccas,I can see the add now…Yum!!!97% fat free,bat on stick.

The bats were making themselves known to everyone sitting up the back at Tropfest.

Look up in the sky pretty much anywhere in suburbia a little after dark and you’ll see a few flying around.

Also, over the last couple of years I’ve had a couple of them crash into me whilst I was riding at Majura Pines at dusk. It seems their sonar isn’t actually that great!

I want one as a pet.

Dazzlar said :

Ugh, bats.

Annoying, screeching, fruit stealing guano machines!

GET RID OF THEM NOW!

There are no bats.

DeadlySchnauzer said :

They have appeared seasonally in canberra every now and then for a while now, although if they take up permanent residence then its a sure sign that global warming is taking hold (fruit bats hate cold weather).

I think they are definitely bigger in numbers this year. There have also been unusla reportings in Tumut and the Snowy Mountains. Looks like the apple centre (Batlow) may be eaten out by the bats! Global warming and habitat destruction is a possibility for their larger numbers.