Eco-Tip: How to Get Rid of Insects? Bats!
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 06. 9.05
Lets say you want to decrease the insect population around your house but don't want to touch any of the poisons that are sold for that purpose, not even with a ten foot pole. Here's a little "Nature vs. Nature" tip that was sent by one of our readers – did we mention how much we enjoy hearing from you? Keep 'em coming! What Ryan Freebern suggests is to "convince bats to do it for you." Simple, natural. We like it. "A single bat can eat thousands of insects in a night, so by installing a bat house somewhere on your property (you can buy one pre-made or build your own), you can encourage a small colony of bats to take up residence and keep you mosquito-free." Any of our readers has experience dealing with bats for that purpose? Please let us know how it turned out. (Post scriptum: the link below is just to show examples of what is available, but you could also build it yourself and get books from the library.)
::Bat Houses, Bat Boxes, Bat Condominums, Nursery Bat Houses
my favorite magazine, 'mother earth news', had an article last year about guineas that claimed they dramatically reduce tick populations (they eat them). plus you get an intruder alert, eggs, and if you want to eat them...
they also say that goats love eating poison ivy.
the articles are on their website.
According to Mother Earth News, bats and purple martins do little to help control the mosquito population. If you had to swoop and fly like they did, would you rather eat a tiny mosquito or a big juicy beetle or moth? The best ways to control mosquitos is to eliminate their breeding areas. There are several natural ways to do this. See the link I posted for more info.
However, this doesn't mean we shouldn't be attracting bats. They really need our help to combat habitat destruction and their negative public perception. And there's nothing more fun on a summer's evening than watching bats swoop and dive against the waning light.
bats with rabies may not be an issue where you reside but outside philadelphia and outside dc they can and do spread rabies. It was a bigger problem 8 years ago with a rabies surge
I recently realized that my parents have a few small bats living in their backyard trees.
watching them feast in the early evening is cool and their backyard is quite mosquito free =)
gooooOOO bats!
(we're in Toronto)
I think this is a wonderful idea! I did some searching and found a pretty cheap bathouse. $12 for one and $29.99 for three. The guy says he makes them himself out of pine board, and he used to make them out of "Popple, Basswood ... barn boards." His pine board probably isn't very Treehugger, but he means well and its helping private enterprise. Here's the URL: http://store.yahoo.com/billstackle/bathousfigwe.html
The tricky thing about bat houses is getting bats to take up residence. I have small colony of bats living under the eaves of my house. In an attempt to get them to move, I setup a bat house. However, it took several years and repositionings of the bat house before I could entice them to move in. Place it in as much direct sunlight as possible as the bats like to be kept warm in the day. You also need to have it in place before the bats migrate north, as it is very difficult to get them to move once they have taken up residence for the year.
Living inthe Maine woods, I am glad to use a natural "pesticide" like bats to help control an otherwise voracious bug population.
"my favorite magazine, 'mother earth news', had an article last year about guineas that claimed they dramatically reduce tick populations (they eat them). plus you get an intruder alert, eggs, and if you want to eat them...
they also say that goats love eating poison ivy."
They're right! I know someone who owns both of them and I would much rather have a flock of guineas to a bunch of bats...
Goats also enjoy eating kudzu, which is great were I live because it is practically everywhere.
We have bats in our chimeny. They are all the way down to the bottom. I've seen them on the screen. Are tteir dropping hazards to your health.How can we get rid of them? We need help!!!!! Thanks
I just bought a house in town and it's about 30yrs old and we have a serious bat problem! They are in the attic and refuse to leave and I have tried the bug bombs but they still there and they are coming down into the house itself and I have to get rid of them , how do I do that ? please help ! I have caught 12 already but the number is double that .
Made a bluebird house in early spring and finally got it up on a post in my backyard and raised 2 families of bluebirds this summer. When I went to clean it out a few days ago there were 4 bats happily snoozing --- clinging to the inside back of the nest box. My neighbors had asked why I wasn't bothered with mosquitos and I now know why. Got another bluebird house but won't put it up until I get a bigger bat house too. I did see in a search on the net for bluebird/bat houses the is someone who makes duplexes for bats and bluebirds. Cool but not cheap.