New Hampshire Bats Are Our Secret Weapon Against the Most Dangerous Animal in the World

New Hampshire Fish and Game says bats are your friend. OK, maybe they didn't use those words exactly. However, bats are our friends here in New Hampshire.

Put your vampire nightmares away, my friend.

In fact, these winged creatures are our secret weapon against the most dangerous animal in the world.

They eat a ton of mosquitoes (along with other insects).

If you didn't know, according to BBC Science Focus, mosquitoes are the #1 most dangerous animal, killing 725,000 humans per year by spreading diseases.

So it's a good thing we've got bats to help out, right?

Bats Get a Bad Rap

Just because they look like tiny devils and screech like something from the depths of hell, people are afraid of bats.

According to Wildlife.nh.gov, bats are nocturnal, and go hunting for insects at night.  Bats can eat 50% of their own body weight every single night.

A recent analysis said that if bats were a pest control service, they would have provided $3.7 billion dollars a year for insect control.

Mosquitos Can Make You Sick

There are more than 40 species of mosquitoes here in New Hampshire, according to dhhs.nh.gov (to be honest, I thought there was only one type of mosquito).  Not every type can bite, and not all spread EEE and West Nile Virus. However, some do carry.  These diseases are no joke.

Symptoms of EEE

According to the CDC.gov, some of the symptoms of EEE include diarrhea, seizures, behavioral changes, and coma.  The center also notes that about 1/3 of all people with EEE die, and death comes about two to 10 days after the onset of symptoms.

Symptoms of West Nile Virus

Serious symptoms of West Nile virus, according to the CDC.gov, include inflammation of the brain or inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.  Geez Louise!

We Love Bats

Hopefully, after you've read this, you will have a new appreciation for bats.  They won't attack you or land on your head or anything like that.

Of course, if provoked, they will bite just like any other animal, according to getbatsout.com.

If you do get the occasional bat that has found its way into your house, chances are they are just trying to keep warm.

That's what happened to me in my house, but that's a story for another day.