West Nile Virus and Bats
By mari61960
@mari61960 (4893)
United States
March 10, 2007 9:12pm CST
One of our best allies in the war against West Nile virus may be one of nature's most misunderstood creatures -- the lowly bat.
A single Bat Can Eat 3,000 Mosquitoes A Night. If mosquitos are a problem in your area you may want to consicer putting up a bat house to attract bats to your area. Here is some excellent Bat information, alos bat house information.
http://www.batconservation.org/
4 people like this
9 responses
@AskAlly (3625)
• Canada
11 Mar 07
I know that bats are a good thing, but they just give me the creeps. Especiall since my husband actually was bitten by a rabid bat a couple of years ago. Since I had also touched the bat, we both had to go for rabies shots.
This is not the horrendous ordeal that it used to be. We each had 2 shots in the hips and then every tuesday and friday we had shots in the arm for 6 weeks.
It was just one of those freak accidents, but if we had not been pushed by a friend to see a doctor and bring the bat in for testing I would not be sitting here right now.
You have a window of 72 hours to get treatment or you will die from this disease.
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
12 Mar 07
Wow that's scary, did he pick it up or what? Good thing you had a quick thinking friend...lol Yikes we need details...lol Glad you both were ok. Anytime someone is bitten by a wild animal they should see a doctor and catch the animal if possible.. Better safe than sorry.
1 person likes this
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
12 Mar 07
OMG Ally, how did you come to be bitten by a bat? Please tell us so that we an be cautious! I sit outside at night and watch the bats in our neighborhood!
2 people like this
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
12 Mar 07
I love to watch bats! We get them at night in our neighborhood on occassion. I didn't know there was such a thing as a bat house! I will certainly look into that. We are run over by mosquitos as we live beside a large field with hay and one end has standing water. The health department won't force the owner to put in drains as the owner had it declared a 'wet lands.' A bat house it is. The biggest, baddest bat house I can find! I want extended families of them!
2 people like this
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
12 Mar 07
I can see the headlines now "Crazy Nurse goes batty...and builds the worlds largest bat house" ...lol I hate mosquitoes, I want a big one too...lots of them..lol
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169452)
• United States
12 Mar 07
We bought a bat house, but have not yet put it up. My husband thinks bats are really neat, and no, he is not a vampire. I like most living creatures, but I would be delighted to have a colony of bats munching on mosquitoes in my yard.
2 people like this
@WeenitsMom (492)
• United States
12 Mar 07
I don't really care what it is if it's gonna eat those little vampires!!
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
11 Mar 07
Another new thing I have learned from myLot discussions. So many people concerned and interested in bats it is quite amazing. Even as an adult I enjoyed reading the children's book Stellaluna. A friend of mine called her chihuahua "Stellaluna" because her puppy's face reminded her of the illustrations in the book.
2 people like this
@jeweledbluerose (3061)
• United States
12 Mar 07
Wow, thanks for the info. I'm not sure if there are bats in my area, cause I haven't seen any lately here. Most likely because I live on mostly flat land as far as the eye can see. I'll have to read up and see if there is a way to attract bats after putting out a bat house.
2 people like this
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
12 Mar 07
Birds and dragonflies also eat mosquitoes. You could put up some bird feeders to attract birds. A small garden pond will attract dragonflies. As long as the water has movement then mosquitoes won't use it to breed...Good luck
1 person likes this
@thyst07 (2079)
• United States
11 Mar 07
I want to have a bat house when I own a home. I really like bats. I think they're cute, and they are really helpful to the environment. They eat a lot of pesky bugs, including mosquitoes.
Did you know that some rainforest plants depend on bats for their survival? The bats eat the fruit of the plants, and expel the seeds in their waste on the ground. The seeds can then grow and make new plants.
I honestly don't understand why people are afraid of bats. I know the whole thing about them having rabies, but you're more likely to get bitten by a rabid dog than a rabid bat.
2 people like this
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
12 Mar 07
Bats do alot more good than harm. I think it's due to old wive's tails and myths that people fear bats so much.
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
23 Mar 07
I know that bats are very helpful with keeping the mosquito population down, but I still get freaked out over them. When I watch a show that is about bats, I get the willies when I see someone picking them up or walking in cave loaded with them.
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
23 Mar 07
Well I've always like watching the bats in my yard and at the zoo. But I don't know about going in a cave of them...lol I'm not quite that into them... I think I would be to freaked out myself to go into a cave full...hehe
@WeenitsMom (492)
• United States
11 Mar 07
I just love bats! The little ones are so cute and they are so fragile! We have bats around the house here and on occassion they get in the house. I like to sit outside at night and just watch them catch the bugs. I never could figure out why people are so afraid of them. I use to go to the zoo and my favorite exhibit was the rain forest. I would just sit and watch the flying foxes.
1 person likes this
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
11 Mar 07
Oh, that's one of my favorite exhibits at the zoo too. I also like to watch the gorillas. They can be quite entertainint...lol When I was a kid we would through rocks up in the air so the bats would swoop down.
1 person likes this
@Modestah (11177)
• United States
22 Mar 07
We get a small flock of bats, and we love watching them, and are so grateful for their help in controlling the mosquito population. I am not sure where "our bats" are residing, maybe in the garage eaves? So, if we build some bat houses do you think they will find them and utilize them?
I will definitely have to talk about this with my beloved.
One morning we were taking the clothes off the line and as we grabbed the towel we startled one of the little fellows who had decided to spend the night(day?) within it!
Gave me a start! poor thing.
1 person likes this
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
22 Mar 07
If there are already bats then most likely they will use it and it could attract more bats to your area. I bet you scared the poop out of the little guy...lol
Not all bat houses are built properly. Short and stout houses tend to have little chance of attracting bats, where longer, wider houses are working quite well.
Your house needs to be placed at least 15 feet up, the higher the better, and should face a south to southeasterly direction with at least 6 hours of sunlight daily. If your house is not getting at least 6 hours of sunlight you may want to paint it using a nontoxic black paint (never paint the inside of the house).
Houses can be mounted on poles, garages, barns, human houses, or trees, making sure there are no obstacles to prevent the bats from entering the bat house. Trees usually take longer to become occupied because bats find the houses by sight and if the leaves of the tree are covering the bat house, it is harder to find.
Here is a link to building your own bathouse.
http://www.batconservation.org/content/buildyourown.htm
1 person likes this
