Page 14 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - February '22

Page 14, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens
Northern Notes

Going Batty in insects each night, which self-defense and transmit a disease. Never handle a wild bat
means up to 3,000 insects in with your bare hands and make sure your pet’s vaccinations
By Katie Roundtree, just one night! are current. Never handle or play with any wild animals,
Director of Finance and There are many myths and including bats. They are wild and meant to be left alone.
Administration, Northern misconceptions regarding Bats are disappearing at alarming rates. Disturbance or
Palm Beach County bats. Bats are not blind. They destruction of roost sites due to development and vandalism
Improvement District have the same five senses we is the greatest threat to the world’s bats. Most bats living in
Florida is home to do: smelling, hearing, tasting, Florida prefer to roost in mature or dead trees or in caves.
approximately 13 species seeing and feeling. Some However, many bats are squeezed out of urban areas due to
of bats year-round. These bats, however, have highly loss of habitat or take up residence in buildings and become
flying mammals are a developed sonar capabilities, the targets for abuse. Public education and preservation
critical part of Florida’s called “echolocation.” Bats of roost sites are the keys to maintaining Florida’s native
natural ecosystem. They are produce echolocation by bat populations. You can help bats by learning more about
extraordinary animals that emitting high frequency Source: UF Florida Wildlife them and sharing bat information with others. Fear and
are misunderstood by many. sound pulses through their Extension misunderstanding are some of the worst enemies of bats. This
Bats are unique animals and are not flying rodents. Although mouth or nose and listening is why education is so important. Bat houses are also a perfect
some mammals can glide, bats are the only mammal that can to the echo. With this echo, the bat can determine the way to get involved in conservation. A bat house in your
truly fly. Scientists have classified bats into a unique group or size, shape and texture of objects in its environment. Bat backyard will provide bats with a much needed, safe place to
order called “Chiroptera,” which means “hand wing.” Bats echolocation is so sophisticated that these animals can detect live. They will also do you the return favor of eating insects
literally fly with their hands! Their wings are much like our an object the width of a human hair. around the area. You can also help by supporting conservation
hands, but with longer fingers and a thin, but tough, membrane Bats do not attack people just for spite. They are generally groups that protect wildlife habitats and preserve natural lands.
(skin) between the fingers. Worldwide there are over 1,000 timid animals and prefer to stay away from humans. Vampire For more information go to The Florida Bat Conservancy’s
species of bats. From the fossil records we have learned that bats do not live in the United States. They are only found in website at www.floridabats.org or the University of Florida’s
bats existed over 65 million years ago. Today, they inhabit all southern Mexico, Central and South America. Florida Wildlife Extension at www.wec.ufl.edu/extension.
areas of the globe except Antarctica and the extreme desert The most common misconception that people have is that NPDES tip: Planting a rain garden with native plants
regions, but most bat species live in the tropics. The most all bats are rabid. This is not true. Studies have shown that somewhere around your home helps lock rainwater in the
common bats in south Florida include the Brazilian free-tailed less than 1 percent of bats contract rabies and when they do, ground, reducing the flow of pollutants and poisons into the
bat, big brown bat, Seminole bat and the evening bat. they usually die within three or four days. Although they drains. Using organic fertilizers and pesticides in your garden
Bats eat a variety of things, including insects, fruit, nectar, do not become aggressive, they can end up on the ground further protects and brings health to your yard and all the
fish and small vertebrates, but only three species feed on or someplace they do not belong and if handled may bite in species living there.
blood. Bats also come in many different colors, shapes and
sizes. The largest bat in the world is the Malayan flying “Service is our number one priority”
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and agriculture. Insectivorous bats can eat their body weight

It’s The Law!

Did You Know That, In

Florida…

By Adam S. Gumson, Esq.
Whether or not probate
will be necessary, Florida
law requires that anyone Expires 2/28/22.
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Guardianship can provide certain protections for a
special needs ward, but is not always the best option.
It can be expensive, involve the court making decisions
which are better left to the family, and sometimes
results in designating a guardian whom the parents 10%
might not have chosen.
More than 13 million parents are separated or
divorced in households where children are under the
age of 21 with the vast majority of custodial parents OFF
being the mother. Sadly, less than one-half of those
awarded child support actually collect the full amount.
A contract may have different contingencies Tues.
that allow a buyer to cancel it, including financing
or inspection contingencies. So, if you are a seller, New clients only
you should pay particular attention to the deadlines
associated with each contingency as it is possible that
the deal is not as solid as originally contemplated. Susan
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