The Bite:
Spring has arrived, and soon, so will the mosquitoes. To keep these pests at bay, skip pesticides and bug zappers and put a bat house in your yard.
Looking for a natural way to steer skeeters away?
04.06.2006
Submitted by idealbite on Thu, 04/06/2006 - 5:00pm.
The Benefits:
- Many species of these misunderstood mammals are nature’s best control measure for night-flying insects like mosquitos. The little brown myotis, common across North America, can eat 2,000 in a night.
- Electric "bug zappers" use more energy every month than two computers. Plus, these energy-suckers don’t catch a lot of blood-suckers: mostly they zap beneficial insects and harmless critters that would otherwise be food for birds, bats or fish.
- The pesticide malathion, often used in mosquito control, interferes with the normal function of the nervous system and is highly toxic to frogs, honeybees, and other wildlife.
- Dwindling habitats worldwide threatens bats’ survival, but bat houses can help. The odds of attracting bats with a well-built and mounted bat house are good - occupancy rates are up to 80%.
Personally Speaking:
Jen recently got a made-in-Montana bat house from Planet Natural, and she can’t wait for her new neighbors to move in - as long as they don’t fly too close to her head as the bats in her grandma’s barn did.
Wanna Try:
- Planet Natural - attractive cedar bat house attaches to walls or trees and can accommodate up to 40 bats ($40).
- Bat-chelor Pad - designed for cooler locations preferred by solitary males, but is suitable for a small nursing colony ($28).
- Build a Bat House - feeling batty and crafty? Build your own bat abode using these free plans.
- Bat Conservation International - learn about the 1,100 species of bats (1/4 of the world’s mammal species!), become a member, or support conservation by purchasing bat-themed gifts and bat houses.
Have a bat story to tell? Visit the Ideal Bite blog and share your ideas (or just read about Jen's harrowing "near-death" experiences with the little critters).
Cocktail Fact
Bats are the only mammals that can fly (without an airplane). Flying squirrels are mammals too, but they don't really fly.
Bang For The Bite
If 10,000 Biters each made a home for a small bat colony, the resulting bats could eat 800 million mosquitoes every night. More bats = less bug spray.
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