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The Effect of Emotional Support Animals on the Mood and Stress Response of a Person with PTSD

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A research article by Jessalyn Smith

*Trigger Warning: this article contains content related to domestic violence*

Abstract

An Emotional Support Animal serves to alleviate the effects of an emotional disability.  For someone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, the presence of such a companion can lead to a reduction of symptoms and a greater feeling of security.  As more people are prescribed Emotional Support Animals, it is important to test how these therapeutic tools could most effectively be utilized.  In this case study, I tested my mood and stress response before and after playing, walking, and cuddling with my emotional support animal and recorded my thoughts in a journal for each activity.  My moods, physical symptoms of stress, and thought processes were then analyzed to monitor the improvement across each category.  While all activities showed benefits to my mood, playing with the ESA showed the greatest improvement.  Additionally, there were no physical responses to stress noted after the playing sessions.  However, the changes in my writing characteristics and observations were consistent across all forms of activity.  Based on the data collected, active interactions with an ESA provided the most useful form of self-therapy for the subject.

The Effect of Emotional Support Animals on the Mood and Stress Response of a Person with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops after a “shocking, scary, or dangerous event” and can lead to flashbacks, difficulties sleeping, avoidance of triggers, and memory issues among several other debilitating symptoms (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, n.d.).  The Vietnam War is widely associated with the first identification of PTSD as a mental disorder, and the term “post-traumatic stress disorder” was published by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980 (Crocq, M. A., & Crocq, L., 2000).  However, this was not the first instance of PTSD as it likely went unidentified in trauma survivors long before its formal identification.  Although psychologists started studying the disorder as “shell shock” in combat veterans, the term has since changed and expanded to include victims of abuse, assault, neglect, and other traumatic experiences. 

Therapy can be useful in managing symptoms and addressing their underlying causes.  There is an abundance of mental health providers that specialize in their own unique styles of therapy along with physicians that can provide medications to help address the symptoms.  However, patients respond differently to the various methods of treatment available.  What might work well for one person can have absolutely no effect on another.

            Emotional support animals (ESAs), also referred to as “assistance animals,” provide a new method for treating patients with PTSD.  ESAs are not considered service animals, and there are no training or species requirements to qualify as an ESA under the Fair Housing Act.  Any animal, from a professionally-trained Labrador Retriever to a hamster from the local pet store, can be categorized as an assistance animal with the correct documentation from a qualified mental health professional. Because the treatment method is relatively new, there is no landmark study that has conclusively determined the effects of having an ESA. However, there are a few common themes seen across research papers on the subject.  The animals provided “emotional work” by alleviating feelings of worry and loneliness in addition to providing comfort, “practical work” by promoting physical activity and distracting from symptoms, and “emotional nourishment” by enabling social interaction (Brooks, et al., 2018).  A preliminary study of  an animal-assisted intervention program applied this technique to the treatment of children exposed to domestic violence, many of them exhibiting symptoms of PTSD and other clinical disorders before treatment.  During the program, the participant would perform structured activities with the animal, such as playing, grooming, or feeding, in conjunction with cognitive-behavioral therapy.  Even though there was no significant improvement in aggressive or unruly behavior that is associated with the externalization of symptoms, the researchers observed an overall decrease the symptoms of PTSD, as well as a decrease in the internalization of such symptoms in the form of anxiety or depression (Muela, et al.,  2019).  The benefit to the children’s’ emotional well-being demonstrated by this study shows the potential of assistance animals and the need for further research.

            Even though most studies report that participants experience mental health benefits, it is unclear whether the type of activity done with the ESA changes the level of improvement.  In order to optimize treatment plans, it is important to know what strategies would optimize the available time.  The categories compared for the purposes of this experiment were playing, walking, and cuddling.  This case study seeks to observe the effect of the activity performed with an ESA on the mood and low-level stress response of the participant. 

Materials and Methods

I monitored my own mood and responses over the course of the case study.  A therapist diagnosed me with PTSD within the past year due to my experience with domestic violence. Based on his recommendation, I was seeking treatment through talk-therapy and was prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors by a psychiatrist, which I continued to take over the course of this study.  The emotional support animal used was a 50-pound cattle dog/ kelpie mix, Theo, which I adopted approximately three weeks before the study.  Theo is a very calm, six-year-old dog who primarily spends his days napping on the couch or running outside.  He loves physical affection and treats but does not seem to be interested in dog toys of any kind.

A baseline assessment was conducted at the beginning of each activity.  The assessment consisted of a short journal entry of my thoughts and mood before and after being exposed to a photo and text conversation that typically triggers a minor emotional response due to traumatic associations; the photos were not graphic and were known to not cause an overwhelming response.  At the top of the page, I recorded a rating of my mood on a scale of one to ten.  The scale had no specific meanings associated with the values and was based on an intuitive response.  My writing primarily focused on physical sensations, such as chest pain and changes in breathing, as well as my thoughts and what I focused on during that time.

I categorized the activities into cuddling, walking, and running/playing.  The last category is combined because of the Theo’s lack of interest in dog toys and typical play activities.  Instead, we would play a game similar to tag where he would chase me as I ran.  The timing of each session varied due to Theo’s needs and tolerance of different activities.  Once we completed the activity, I exposed myself to the same image as the beginning of the session and scrolled through an old text conversation that was consistent for each session throughout the study.  I recorded my response in the same format as the initial journal entry.  Different photo stimulus was used for each trial, and a series of similar images was used so that declines in responsiveness would not be attributed to overexposure.

At the end of the study, I compiled the journal entries and analyzed the results, comparing my mood ratings and the physical nature of my stress responses as well as identifying key words and phrases.

Results

            My mood improved after each activity performed.  On average, playing showed the highest increase in my mood ratings, averaging an increase of 1.5.  Walking showed the next greatest improvement, averaging at 0.75, and cuddling closely followed with an average increase of 0.5.  These numbers do not provide any specific revelations about how the characteristics of my mood changed, but they do offer a comparative scale.  Both activities performed outdoors ranked higher than the activity performed indoors, possibly due to the benefits of being outside combined with the effects of my ESA.  Even though cuddling seems to only offer a small increase in mood, it offered a more meditative experience where I was able to reflect upon past trauma and remain calm.  The outdoor activities acted more as a distraction, not allowing me to dwell on old memories for too long before being pulled away to focus on Theo.

            I noted feeling physical symptoms of stress before every session, but the response was less severe after cuddling.  The common symptoms I noticed were changes in my breathing pattern, a pressure at the top of my chest, and an ache in my left forearm.  This set of responses was known to occur before the study and was not unique to this set of stressful situations.  After cuddling, I reported noticing a “hitch in my breath” when opening the messages app that quickly subsided and my breathing returned to normal.  However, before that specific cuddling session, I had noted a pressure in my chest and a subsiding pressure in my arm.  Before the final cuddling session, I felt pressure in my chest and arm, changes in breathing, as well as a “rising feeling of panic.”  However, afterwards, the extremity of the physical response was limited to a “slight change in breathing and chest sensation,” which was a significant improvement from the previous entry.  Additionally, I felt less of a physical response to typing or writing the abuser’s name after cuddling, which I typically refrain from writing unless absolutely necessary.  Even when I still noticed a response to the stimuli, the physical indicators suggest that the stress was less severe after cuddling.

Walking provided a greater reduction in physical stress responses than cuddling, and there were no noticeable stress-induced sensations after playing. After one walking session, I did report a localized ache in the outer portion of my left wrist, which is similar to a common stress indicator, but it did not cover the inside part of my forearm where the related response would usually occur.  This was the only recorded instance of a physical response after performing an outdoor activity with Theo.  In all my other entries for walking and playing, there were combinations of the various physical sensations before the activity,  but none were reported after.  Similar to cuddling, there was also a decreased response to writing the abuser’s name.  Since I usually use the monitored aches and abnormal sensations to determine my level of stress, the intervention of an ESA demonstrated significant improvement in the severity of my reaction to low-level triggers.

            Another beneficial change that occurred across all activities was a shift in what I focused on in the stimuli. When I opened the last text conversation with the abuser before each activity, I primarily focused on his insults and vulgar profanity.  My eyes were drawn to reading what was being said, and I almost felt like I was being verbally attacked all over again.  In contrast, I focused more on my responses to his statements after each activity, regardless of which category the activity fell into.  I was no longer feeling vulnerable; instead, I felt justified in my assertions and irritated at his attempts at manipulation.  When I wrote about his messages in my journal entries after the sessions, my responses demonstrated a greater sense of annoyance or apathy compared to the stress I felt beforehand. 

            After the activity, regardless of which category it fell into, my journal entries showed a greater attention to the background of the pictures as well as a few less serious descriptions of the abuser’s appearance.  Even though I noticed a few objects in the background when I initially looked at the photos, I was more observant and able to determine the context of the photo, such as a Halloween or dojo party.  In the original entries, I would glance at the images, but paid little attention to why certain objects or people were there and mostly focused on how they juxtaposed the abuser’s face.  Often, this contrast would make him appear “like a cardboard cutout” that felt like it was “staring at me” and did not fit in with the other lively subjects in the photos.  While I continued to harshly comment the photos after my activities with Theo, I also wrote some comments that were a little more absurd and less stressed.  In response to his yellow sweatshirt, I wrote “Banana or lemon. Rotten on the inside.”  This statement made me want to continue writing a journal in a more poetic style to help vent some of my frustration and turn it into a less serious form of art.  The most notably cheerful statement came after I spent time playing with Theo.  I audibly laughed and wrote “he kind of looks like a worm.”  This observation still brings a bit of amusement, even though I have to picture the image again.  After the activities, my improved mood seemed to provide a buffer against the uncomfortable images and decrease the emotional toll of the associations.

            My time spent with Theo also showed signs of mental improvement that were not directly related to mood or stress response.  One trial was omitted from the mood average because of the large deviation from the regularly performed activities, but it did provide important insights to how Theo has improved my emotional well-being.  During the first play session, I was approached by a photographer associated with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) who was interested in taking photos of Theo and me.  Even though I would normally be self-conscious about my appearance after quickly throwing my hair up in a messy bun and running around on the grass, I happily agreed to be photographed.  This unusual occurrence significantly boosted my mood and the presence of Theo encouraged me to do something that I would have once considered to be far outside of my comfort zone.

Discussion and Conclusions

            Playing with my ESA provided the greatest improvement in mood and the fewest physical signs of stress response after the activity.  These results suggest that more active interactions with an ESA would provide the greatest benefits to an individual.  However, since play activities were performed outside, it is important to expand future studies to analyze how the environment impacted the results by testing the activity in different location.  Either way, this method provides a therapeutic benefit that an individual can achieve with their ESA.

            There are also some notable benefits to cuddling with an ESA, despite the activity showing the least significant improvement in mood.  While walking and playing provided a distraction from intrusive thoughts and stressors, cuddling allowed my mind to wander and think about traumatic memories without the typical feeling of being overwhelmed.  In this case, it may be useful to combine the act of touching or cuddling an emotional support animal with some form of talk-based therapy with a licensed mental health professional.  In this controlled setting, it may help the patient address the underlying issues without becoming overwhelmed by an emotional response that would normally come from having a conversation about one’s traumatic experiences.  This potential benefit might not be as effective when performing more active activities where the individual is more distracted than meditative.

            Because I tested myself, the results may have been influenced by what I expected to happen or what I observed after first few sessions.  For this reason, it is important to have a larger group of subjects and to perform a double-blind experiment, where the experimenters are unaware of which journal entry they are analyzing, and the subjects do not know what the expected results are.  Some other potential factors that influenced the results were the different environments and levels of social interaction.  Even though the walk and playing took place in the same outdoor space, the cuddling sessions were performed inside, which may have influenced the results.  The different amounts of social interaction that occurred when outside may have also affected the results, which would have been amplified by the effects of quarantine.   In order to improve upon this case study,  these external factors should be accounted for and standardized.

            Further research is needed to understand the effects of different species of ESAs and the personalities of the assistance animal and its owner.  Since this study only included one animal, it is unclear whether the benefits would be consistent across different species.  Would the hamster from the pet store provide the same benefits as thee professionally-trained Labrador Retriever?  It is also important to test how the personality of the animal and how it corresponds with the owner’s personality and preferences since animals differ greatly in their levels of playfulness and affection.  While I am highly fond of animals, especially dogs, this is not the case for all people.  The compatibility of the animal and the owner could potentially impact the therapeutic benefits.

References

Brooks, H. L., Rushton, K., Lovell, K., Bee, P., Walker, L., Grant, L., & Rogers, A. (2018). The power of support from companion animals for people living with mental health problems: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence. BMC Psychiatry, 18(1). doi: 10.1186/s12888-018-1613-2

Crocq, M. A., & Crocq, L. (2000). From shell shock and war neurosis to posttraumatic stress disorder: a history of psychotraumatology. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 2(1), 47–55.

Muela, A., Azpiroz, J., Calzada, N., Soroa, G., & Aritzeta, A. (2019). Leaving A Mark, An Animal-Assisted Intervention Programme for Children Who Have Been Exposed to Gender-Based Violence: A Pilot Study. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(21), 4084. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16214084

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml

Beauty of Science, Public Science, student work

The mutually Toxic Relationship Between Mexican Free-Tailed Bats and Humans

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A public science essay written and illustrated by Jessalyn Smith

The Mexican free-tailed bat looks like a gargoyle.  There is no sugar-coating it, this species pales in comparison to the puppy-like fruit bat or the world’s smallest mammal, the bumblebee bat.  However, they do not have the startling ears of Townsend’s big-eared bat or the reputation of the vampire bat that makes them stand out among the scientific order of gargoyles.  Their fur is typically on the muddy end of brown, and their lips are wrinkled like the ridges of a pecan.  Their large ears are stubby and rounded.  The tail that gives them their name extends past the tail membrane and almost looks like a third leg; the only thing it’s missing is a foot.  But despite all these unappealing features, they come together in an “it’s so ugly it’s cute” kind of way.  The fluffy gargoyles of the sky won’t win any beauty competitions, but they certainly make up for their looks in the talent portion.                                                 

Fig. 1. Taubert, Bruce D. n.d. Photograph. Arizona Highways.

This species of bat is an insectivore, meaning they eat the wasps and other bugs you would rather pretend don’t exist.  Their diet varies by region but primarily includes airborne insects due to their method of travel.  However, they will stray from their typical diet if necessary, like in cases of high competition.  Competing for food drives the Mexican free-tailed bat to fly at least 50 miles away from its home (also referred to as a “roost”) in order to find food (Tuttle, 1994).  Since they fly at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour and altitudes over 10,000 feet, the Mexican free-tailed bat can be difficult to track and watch their every move, but it is known that an individual bat can eat its two-thirds of its own body weight (about 12.5 grams) in bugs over the course of one night (Tuttle 1994).  Alone this may seem unimpressive but considering the Bracken Cave colony consists of about 20 million bats, the number of bugs eaten in one night really starts to add up.

Fig. 2. From left to right: Fruit Bat, Bumblebee Bat, Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat, Vampire Bat

            The appetite of a Mexican free-tailed bat colony is worth approximately $741,000 per year due to the consumption of agricultural pests.  The monetary value was calculated by looking at the profits lost due to crop consumption and the cost of alternative forms of pesticide that would be necessary over a 10,000 acre agricultural region (Cleveland et al. 2006).  The most notorious agricultural pest in the studied region is the cotton bollworm, a moth whose larvae can destroy cotton, tomato, and corn crops and whose population is difficult to control.  The bollworm lays its eggs on the leaves or near the fruit of a plant, and the hatched larvae will burrow inside and mine the plant, ruining the crop (“Cotton Insects” 2013).  By eating the adult moths, bats prevent the adults from laying more eggs and continuing to bolster the population of ravenous larvae.  According to an article published in the “Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment,” an average bat’s consumption of 1.5 bollworms in one night prevents five eggs

from being laid (Cleveland et al. 2006).  The Mexican free-tailed bat can provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in pest control services based on the cost of lost crops and the price of pesticides that would be needed without the presence of bats.

            After a long night of eating bugs and protecting crops, what goes in must come out.  The bat guano industry is not commonly thought about, but it’s incredibly bountiful.  The most obvious use for bat droppings is as a natural fertilizer, similar to the use of cow manure. Guano is high in nutrients and contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are nutrients that are useful for improving plant growth and strong stems.  The guano can even help improve the texture of soils that are too loose or too dense due to the presence of beneficial microbes in the droppings that improve the water-holding capacity and presence of air-holes (Koski 2015).   Additionally, guano can be used as a fungicide and to control nematodes.  These agricultural services are possible due to the abundance of bacteria and microorganisms in the droppings that break down the unwanted garden intruders through decomposition and the production of enzymes.  Even though tons of guano are available due to the size of bat colonies, farmers don’t use as much because of its ability to persist in the soil after application (Koski 2015).  Guano is more difficult to wash away than the typical inorganic gardening products, meaning the multitude of benefits are not easily lost during a rainstorm or poisoning the runoff that enters nearby water sources.  Guano is safer than chemical-based agricultural products and provides services that would normally require multiple inorganic products.

Bats should be a farmer’s best friend, but they aren’t treated that way.  Instead, humans have poisoned the bats through the use of pesticides, which has been connected to population decline in bats.  Organochlorine (OC) pesticides, including the infamous and widely discontinued insecticide DDT, have been shown to accumulate in organisms due to their incorporation into the living tissues after consumption, also known as bioaccumulation (Clark 2001).  OC content increases as you go further up the food chain since the predators have to eat more organisms that contain pesticide residue in order to sustain themselves.  This process is also referred to as biomagnification.  This class of pesticides is also very resistant to degradation and evidence of its usage can still be found decades after the last application.  Scientists have found DDT in the fat stores of mammals, such as the Mexican free-tailed bat. 

Even if the initial exposure does not prove to be fatal, breaking down fats during the migration process can lead to toxins entering the nervous system.  It once again accumulates in the living tissue of the brain since it is not able to pass back through the blood-brain barrier, a membrane that selectively protects the brain tissue from solutes in the bloodstream.  This buildup of toxins can lead to potential neurological effects, such as spontaneous neuron firing and spasms (Thies, Thies, and McBee 1995).  The barrier is similar to the wasp traps where the insects can enter but are unable to find the exit due to the structure of the container.  Without a usable outlet, the wasps begin to pile up inside the trap and make it unable to properly function.  Female bats are able to rid themselves of the toxins through lactation, which are then passed on to the offspring, adding to the number of individuals affected (Thies, Thies, and McBee 1995).  Males do not have the luxury of breastfeeding a child and are left with continuously increasing levels of toxins in their bodies.  Man-made mistakes are proving to be costly to the Mexican free-tailed bat, even though their presence has actively been saving the agricultural industry money.

            Even though the Mexican free-tailed bat is the last thing on people’s minds when applying dangerous chemicals, their presence is widely noted when a city can economically benefit from them through ecotourism.  People line the Congress Avenue Bridge and the nearby banks of the Lady Bird Lake in Austin to watch the 1.5 million bats fly out at sunset (Bat Conservation International n.d.).  Boat tours profit from this spectacle, and national parks containing bats make money off ticket sales.   Not to mention, the local economy is supported by the travel expenses incurred by tourists.  Most bat activities occur during the evening, making it more convenient to stay in a hotel if you don’t live nearby.  Of course, there’s always the need for food and transportation or gas if you’re on a long trip.  From personal experience, I know that some cavern-based attractions embody the “ride ends in the gift shop” mentality, which encourages people to spend even more money.  The consumer surplus due all these expenditures brought about by bats was estimated to be about $6.5 million in the southwestern United States (Bagstad and Wiederholt 2013).  Even if a business is not directly related to the ecotourism of the Mexican free-tailed bats, they can still benefit due to the influx of outside spending.

            If you are interested in spotting these beautiful creatures, Mexican free-tailed bats primarily make their roosts in the southwestern region of North America through Central America and partially into northern South America.  Most of these individuals are migratory, but a few will remain in their summer home through the winter in the western United States (Tuttle 1994).  Their ideal roosting locations include caves and hollow trees, as well as buildings, bridges and abandoned mines.  Nursery colonies can contain millions of bats in a single location.  There can be 400 pups per square foot on average, looking more like a swarm of bees than roosting bats (Tuttle 1994). With such dense populations, colonies emerging from caves or structures look like thick plumes of smoke, signaling the locations of even the lesser-known sites to people nearby.  In contrast, the bachelor colonies are much smaller, consisting of a few dozen to a few hundred individuals (Tuttle 1994).  Even though they are seemingly less impressive in scale, watching each bat dive from their lofted home into the open air is just as breathtaking as the flurry of wings of larger colonies. 

It’s no secret that humans have been displacing animals through deforestation and other forms of ecological intervention, and the Mexican free-tailed bats are no exception.  The reduction of natural roosting sites has forced the bats into man-made structures.  Some colonies would roost in abandoned mines, but as these structures are destroyed, killing the bats trapped inside and preventing future colonies from developing there, the bats have moved to urban areas (Bellwood and Waugh 1991). 

Bats tend to favor human-free buildings in low-income neighborhoods, likely due to the lack of visitation and maintenance that would make the building inaccessible to the flying mammals or remove the colony directly.  The stereotype of an abandoned, tall building  being filled with bats is not totally inaccurate.  Structural damage can make the building more accessible for roosting, and the height of the ceilings can make it more difficult to remove the colony (Li and Kenneth 2015).  Resources are also an important factor in choosing a roosting site.  The Mexican free-tailed bats prefer buildings that are close to water and free of obstructing vegetation.  The lights of the city can even help provide a food source as bugs gather around the brighter spaces (Li and Kenneth 2015).  However, these sites are not entirely safe.  With the enactment of more urban renovation projects, many roosts are being removed and potential homes being demolished (Li and Kenneth 2015).  While these projects aren’t necessarily a bad thing, it is important that we create alternative homes for the displaced Mexican free-tailed bats and don’t leave them with a dwindling number of suitable habitats.

As the Mexican free-tailed bats start to intermingle with humans more often, it is reasonable to be concerned about the potential disease transfer that can occur.  Bats are commonly viewed as vectors for devastating viruses such as rabies and various coronaviruses.  The impact of such viruses when transferred to humans can be worsened due to the heightened immune system of their bat hosts, making  it more memorable when bats are  identified as the source of an outbreak.  Their defense systems cause the virus to adapt more quickly, while the host remains asymptomatic or minimally affected (Cottier 2020).  The protein responsible for signalling cells to fortify against an imminent attack, called interferon-alpha, is basically the Paul Revere of the immune system.  It is abundant in the bats’ immune system, leaving viruses to remain in the host without causing major health issues.  However, there are some side effects that typically limit the amount of the protein found in other mammals.  Interferon-alpha causes inflammation as it passes through the body, which can become dangerous in high amounts.  However, the way the bat’s immune system evolved minimizes inflammation, allowing the protein to flood the body and fortify the immune system at a high level (Cottier 2020).  While this is beneficial for the bat host, it causes some serious damage when passed on to a different species.  The human encroachment on bats and their habitat causes the bats to excrete more virus-containing waste, putting people at a higher risk (Cottier 2020).  Humans amplify the problem.  Why should the bats take all the blame?  It’s like poking a sleeping bear and acting surprised when it chases you.

It would be naive to think that habitat destruction is only affecting the human immune system.  White Nose Syndrome is a fungus that affects multiple species of bats and is connected to large-scale population decline.  The Mexican free-tailed bats remain asymptomatic, but they can spread the disease to other species as they share roosts.  Hibernating bats are the most vulnerable(“Bats Affected by WNS” n.d.).  The fungus is associated with individuals waking up during hibernation, severely depleting their energy stores that were supposed to last through the winter, and many infected bats die from starvation or dehydration.  As more roosting sites are destroyed, bat colonies are forced to find homes closer together, increasing the transmission of White Nose Syndrome (Meierhofer et al. 2018).  Important pest-controlling and pollinating bats will be unable to perform their ecological jobs as the fungus spreads further across the United

States into more colonies, causing ecosystems as we know them to change beyond recognition.

            The Mexican free-tailed bats are our friends.  However, it is best to maintain a safe distance from bats, especially if an individual is active during the day and likely diseased.  Animal control services can be called to properly remove an infected bat from the area without putting people nearby in danger.  If you want to attract bats, instead of get rid of them, building a bat box can be an effective way to bring the fascinating creatures to your own backyard.  You can even see a nightly show of the bats swooping through the air, almost too fast to see, and hear their reassuring chirps that tell you that your garden will be protected throughout the night.  If you really want to help the bats and keep yourself safe from potential disease, there is one crucial piece of advice to follow based on historical events.  DON’T. EAT. THE. BATS!

References

Bagstad, Kenneth  J. and Ruscena Wiederholt 2013. Tourism Values for Mexican Free-Tailed Bat Viewing, Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 18:4, 307-311, DOI: 10.1080/10871209.2013.789573

“Bats Affected by WNS.” n.d. White-Nose Syndrome Response Team. Accessed June 6. https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/static-page/bats-affected-by-wns.

Bellwood, Jacqueline J., and Rachel J. Waugh. 1991. “Bats and Mines: Abandoned Does Not Always Mean Empty.” BATS Magazine Article: Bats and Mines: Abandoned Does Not Always Mean Empty. Bats Conservation International. http://www.batcon.org/resources/media-education/bats-magazine/bat_article/493

Clark, D. R. 2001. “DDT and the Decline of Free-Tailed Bats ( Tadarida Brasiliensis ) at Carlsbad Cavern, New Mexico.” Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 40 (4): 537–43. doi:10.1007/s002440010207.

Cleveland, Cutler J., Margrit Betke, Paula Federico, Jeff D. Frank, Thomas G. Hallam, Jason Horn, Juan D. López, et al. 2006. “Economic Value of the Pest Control Service Provided by Brazilian Free-Tailed Bats in South-Central Texas.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4 (5): 238–43. doi:10.1890/1540-9295(2006)004[0238:evotpc]2.0.co;2.

“Congress Avenue Bridge.” 2020. Congress Avenue Bridge. Bat Conservation International. Accessed June 6. http://www.batcon.org/index.php/our-work/regions/usa-canada/protect-mega-populations/cab-intro#:~:text=Every summer night, hundreds of,a better place to live.

Cottier, Cody. 2020. “Why Bats Are Breeding Grounds for Deadly Diseases Like Ebola and SARS.” Discover Magazine. Discover Magazine. February 28. https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/why-bats-are-breeding-grounds-for-deadly-diseases-like-ebola-and-sars.

“Cotton Insects.” 2013. Department of Entomology. Kansas State University. https://entomology.k-state.edu/extension/insect-information/crop-pests/cotton/bollworm.html.

Koski, Michael. 2015. “Bat Poop, Possibly the World’s Best Fertilizer.” Get Bats Out. November 10. https://www.getbatsout.com/bat-poop-possibly-the-worlds-best-fertilizer/.

Li, Han, and Kenneth T. Wilkins. 2015. “Selection of Building Roosts by Mexican Free-Tailed Bats (Tadarida Brasiliensis) in an Urban Area.” Acta Chiropterologica 17 (2): 321–30. doi:10.3161/15081109acc2015.17.2.007.

Meierhofer, Melissa B., Hsiao-Hsuan Wang, William E. Grant, John H. Young, Lauren H. Johnston, Lilianna K. Wolf, Jonah W. Evans, Brian L. Pierce, Joseph M. Szewczak, and Michael L. Morrison. 2018. “Use of Box-Beam Bridges as Day Roosts by Mexican Free-Tailed Bats (Tadarida Brasiliensis) in Texas.” Southeastern Naturalist 17 (4): 605. doi:10.1656/058.017.0410.

Thies, M.L., K, Thies and K. McBee. 1995. “Organochlorine Pesticide Accumulation and Genotoxicity in Mexican Free-Tailed Bats from Oklahoma and New Mexico” Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 30: 178-187. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF00215796.pdf

Tuttle, Merlin D. 1994. “The Lives of Mexican Free-Tailed Bats.” BATS Magazine Article: THE LIVES OF Mexican Free-Tailed Bats. Bat Conservation International. http://www.batcon.org/resources/media-education/bats-magazine/bat_article/656#:~:text=Mexican free-tails typically live,of droppings that they produce.