Fears about bats are flying in Utah County, particularly since 18-month-old Edward Plothow was bitten by a rabid silver-haired bat in front of his home in south Orem two weeks ago.
However, Shauna Haymond, a biological aide to the Uinta National Forest Service, says there is no reason to panic - or even worry unduly.Tom Sharpton, chief of pyrology at the state health lab, agrees. "We've had seven positive bats in the state this year. It's not unusual to go as high as 18," he said. One other was silver-haired, one was a big brown and three were pocketed free-tail bats.
The bat population in Utah County is basically healthy, said Haymond, who spends much of her time busting myths about the little creatures when she's not conducting actual research with them.
"I love bats. I think they're cute," said Haymond, who's worked with the Forest Service out of the Spanish Fork Ranger District the past two years. Haymond first fell in love with bats on a field trip for school. She's currently writing her master's thesis on the urban bat population and often traps bats late into the night with her husband.
She "volunteered" to undergo the rabies immunization series in order to be free to work with bats.
Haymond believes the bat that hurt the Plothow child was probably paralyzed from the disease, couldn't fly and bit only after it was picked up.
"Most of the species we have around here have such tiny jaws they can't break the skin," said Haymond. "And they won't attack. They only bite when they're antagonized or sick."
Haymond said bats, even those living in colonies in houses, don't easily spread contagious diseases. "Most people have a natural fear of bats, so there's not a lot of contact between humans and bats."
Just because one rabid bat was found in Orem is no reason to believe there are many in the area, she said. Only eight to 10 people are known to have ever died of bat bites.
In her lectures each summer to campers at Payson Lakes, Haymond teaches that bats are basically harmless and, in fact, beneficial to the area.
"They consume huge amounts of insects. A single bat can eat 600 mosquitoes in an hour, 2,000 in an evening. They are wonderful creatures for keeping down the insect population. They eat scorpions. They eat nectar, so they help in pollination. Some in South America eat frogs."
She usually brings along live bats to show - Mexican free-tail bats that she catches locally as well as a couple of large stuffedSouth American bats.
There are about 20 species locally, more than 900 worldwide. Fruit bats, like those in the Hogle Zoo display, are not native and are much larger than most Utah bats, she said.
Bats are not related to the rodent family, she said, even though they resemble mouselike creatures with wings.
All bats fly, said Haymond. All are nocturnal. And none are blind though many species have the ability to echo-locate using their oversize ears and sending signals through their nose and mouth in a kind of squeak.
They tend to congregate where there are bugs for dinner, over ponds and around lampposts, usually around 9:30 in the evenings. They have a musky smell, and their droppings are prized for nitrogen-rich fertilizer.
In Utah they live in trees, caves, abandoned mines, attics and barns.
"If you don't want bats, you only have to close up their access. They'll go on to your neighbors or down the street," said Haymond. "The most effective way to move them is to evict them.
"If you want them around, we have instructions we can give you for building a bat house."
Contact Haymond at 374-8419. She'll also come to talk with school classes or interested groups free of charge.