Beneficial Bats

Enhancing Pest Control and Bat Conservation

The value of insectivorous bats to agriculture is well understood in many regions; and management strategies have been proposed for enhancing bat pest control services. Yet, empirical evidence for the effectiveness of strategies for increasing bat pest control is largely lacking. Furthermore, concerns for the impact of pesticides on bat health are not often adequately addressed. Australia is a world leader in biodiversity decline and extinction, and has only just begun to investigate the agricultural pest control services of bats. Australia is also heavily reliant on pesticides and the agricultural sector faces many challenges of pesticide resistance. We are addressing these research needs through exploring the global state of research on bat pest control services, and evaluating the current state of knowledge on effectiveness and feasibility of management strategies, through collaborations across 12 countries. From these we are bringing together learnings from across the globe to inform priorities for Australia’s shift towards farming with greater biodiversity, productivity and health outcomes. We led a symposium and workshop on this topic at the International Bat Research Conference in 2025 and look forward to building on these collaborations into the future.

 

We have active research projects investigating the role bats are playing in vegetable crops and Macadamia orchards in Queensland.