Northern California bat population declining amid drought conditions

Drought conditions are impacting the population of bats in Yolo County in Northern California. (Fox 40)

A rescue organization says it is receiving an unusually high number of reports of dead or dying bats at this time of year as drought conditions grip Northern California.

“Many of the insects the bats will eat are aquatic or they spend part of their life in the water,” Northern California Bats founder Corky Quirk told Fox 40.

Because of drought conditions in Yolo County, Quirk said fewer agricultural fields are being flooded or irrigated.

Fewer bats means populations of agricultural pests – such as worms or larvae insects that the bats feast on – could expand.

Research has shown one bat can save a walnut grower $6 worth of pesticides a year by eating moth larvae, according to Rachael Long, who works with works with pest management with the University of California Cooperative Extension in Woodland.

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