Bats have suffered from bad press for years. These poorly misunderstood creatures are frequent victims of myths and misconceptions. As Halloween draws near, it's a fine time to set the record straight about these muchmaligned creatures.

Contrary to popular belief, bats are neither blind nor primary carriers

of the rabies virus. Another myth is that bats get tangled in human hair. If they appear to be moving toward your head it's only because they occasionally fly near people while hunting for insects. In fact, they may even be doing you a favour! Humans exhale carbon dioxide that attracts mosquitoes - a favourite bat snack.

Bats are actually very interesting little creatures: they're the only mammals that can fly, they've existed since the dinosaur age, they live in almost every kind of habitat throughout the world, they eat a wide variety of food and they come in all shapes and sizes. They are also an excellent natural way of controlling insect populations; one little brown bat - the most common bat in Canada -can eat about 600 insects an hour! Using echolocation, bats can detect even the tiniest insect in total darkness. Their helpfulness as a primary predator of moths, beetles, mosquitoes and other night-flying insects makes them the perfect backyard guest.

There are nearly 1,000 species of bats in the world. Of these, 19 species exist in Canada, all of which are insect-eaters. Bats in the wild are certainly not as frightening as you may have been led to believe.

Once you learn more about these fascinating animals, you might want to attract them to your own backyard. Find out how by visiting the Canadian Wildlife Federation's Wild About Gardening website at www. wildaboutgardening. org. And if you would like to order our free and fabulous bat poster featuring all the bats of Canada, call 1-800- 563-WILD (9453) or e-mail info@cwf-fcf.org.

For more information, visit www.cwf-fcf.org .