Tadarida brasiliensis
Brazilian free-tailed bat

Mexican Free-tailed bats are found mostly in Texas and Mexico. The largest colony of these bats is located in central Texas. Mexican Free-tails can also be seen in western North America and western to southern South America.

(Davis and Schmidly 1994)

Mexican Free-tails roost in caves, under bridges, or in buildings. They prefer undisturbed habitats. These bats roost near water. This allows them to drink while on their long foraging flights, and water attracts insects which they then eat.

(McCracken 1996, Tuttle 1994)

Mexican Free-tails are medium in size. The fur color of these bats is reddish to dark brown or can also be grey. Mexican Free-tailed bats have broad, black ears and the wrinkled lips that are characteristic of this family. The terminal half of the tail is not connected to the bat's body. These bats are monomorphic.

(Tuttle 1994)

Mexican Free-tailed bats are social organisms. They roost in colonies that can contain millions of bats. At sundown every night these bats emerge from their roosts to forage. They use echolocation to avoid collisions and find prey. Mexican Free-tails fly farther to forage than most bat species. This may be due to the competition that is created from such large colonies. These bats are migratory. They arrive in Texas from Mexico in late February, mate, the females raise their young, and then return to Mexico in late October to early November.

(Davis & Schmidly 1994, Neuweiler 1984, Tuttle 1994)

Mexican Free-tailed bats are insectivorous. They feed on flying insects such as mosquitoes, flies, beetles and moths. Bats use echolocation to find their prey items. Mexican Free-tails consume their body weight in food each night. With roosts possibly containing millions of bats, it is estimated that 250 tons of insects can be consumed every night by these bats. While female bats are nursing their young they consume twice the amount of food that a non-lactating bat will consume.

(Kuntz, et al 1995, Long, et al 1998, McCracken 1996, Neuweiler 1984)

Mexican Free-tailed bats are known carriers of rabies. They are the second most reported bat to the Texas Department of Health. These bats have the highest incidence of rabies of any other bat species in Texas. However, when compared to the total number of bats in Texas, the proportion who are carriers of the disease is very small.

(Davis & Schmidly 1994)

Mexican Free-tailed bats are one of the most successful natural predators of insects. They contribute to agricultural success by controling the pest level. Farmers actually build bat houses around their crops to attract bats. The large amounts of guano that is created from thier large colonies are used by farmers as fertilizer in their field. Mexican Free-tails are also used in many studies for new vaccines. They are also used in space exploration studies to determine the stress experienced when in enviromental extremes.

(Dine 1997, California Agriculture 1998, Jones 1976, Long, et al 1998, Tuttle 1994)

Many bat populations are declining due to the actions of humans. The stereotype that all bats are vampires causes people to kill bats unneccessarily. This is due to a lack of education about bats. There are simple, and humane methods to rid a house of a bat that may be living there.

(Jones 1976)