Bats-Do they really control mosquitoes?

16 years ago

My home is next to a nature preserve, a blessing except for the nightly swarms of mosquitoes. As I ran indoors tonight with mosquitoes covering my arms and legs, an idea popped into mind - why not control the mosquitoes with bats? I'm not alone - a group called batconservation.org promotes the use of bat houses to control insects. Have any Florida gardeners attracted bats to control mosquitoes and flying insects? Do these bat houses work? I'm desperate - these mosquitoes are driving me batty!

Gary in Palm City

Following from www.batconservation.org

Bats are extremely important. Yet due to years of unwarranted human fear and persecution, bats are in alarming decline. By putting up a bat house you are helping by giving them a home. You will also benefit from having fewer yard and garden pests, and will enjoy learning about bats and sharing your knowledge with friends and family.

As the primary predators of night-flying insects, bats play a vital role in maintaining the balance of nature. And, as consumers of vast numbers of pests, they rank among humanityÂs most valuable allies. A single little brown bat can catch hundreds of mosquito-sized insects an hour, and a typical colony of big brown bats can protect local farmers from the costly attacks of 18 million root-worms each summer.

Bats are not blind, and are actually very clean animals. They do not get caught in peoplesÂ hair or chew through the attic of your house. Bats will not interfere with feeding backyard birds, and they will not be disrupted by pets or children.

http://batconservation.org/content/Bathouseimportance.html

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Comments (10)

corar4gw
16 years ago
You can buy bat houses at most home improvement stores and I've seen them at Ace Hardware and several nursries. cora
butterflygardener
16 years ago
I would put one up in a heartbeat if I had the space. I say go for it! Of course there is not a 100% guarantee that you will get them. But I think it is worthy of the effort.
Kat
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bihai
16 years ago
We don't have a bat house, but we are fortunate to have a large population of bats living in the immediate area, and yes, they do eat a ton of mosquitoes. In addition, the University of FL has a huge bat house up on campus that houses one of the largest colonies of Mexican Freetails in the US. There are thousands of individuals in that colony and they estimate that their nightly range is over a 10 mile radius out from the campus.

They have already started for this Spring, if we are outside at dusk we see them flitting around the property eating bugs.

In summer when we are out late in the pool, it has happened several times that a bat has swooped down very low over the pool chasing a mosquito. One almost landed on my daughter's inflatable pool raft once, she was extremely surprised!

Unfortunately, even though they eat as many as they can, the mosquitoes seem to have the ability to regenerate the lost numbers almost immediately, it seems. We have been getting attacked. I use Cutter almost everytime I step out the door, and they seem to be immune to it unless you apply it all over, heavily. A little spritz isn't detering them.
SaintPFLA
16 years ago
Bats are very cool. In fact, I've seen one (or it's cousin) in my yard twice recently, chasing a bug up against the house. I've thought about putting up a bat house too. But, like anything else, it doesn't guarantee that you'll attract bats (or blue birds, or martins, etc).

If I lived where you do, I'd put up several bats houses just to see if it would attract bats.
msmarion
16 years ago
We haven't hung any here in FL but at our former home in NH we had a dozen of them all around the property. There were at least 6 in the cleared front yard (3 acres) the others were all around the other 15 acres and we did notice a difference.
naomilovesflipflops
16 years ago
Hey Gary-

I have heard more than 1 person report amazing things w/ using bats as a natural insect control. According to cleanairgardening.com one single bat can consume up to 600 mosquitoes in one HOUR. Whoa- sounds like it's worth a shot to me. Plus, on their site they have a special promotion that I've seen going on for a few years that if you buy their all natural wood bat house for $40 and then send them a pic of your bats once they have moved in- they'll send you a second one for free. Not a bad deal! I'll include the link below so you can check it out. They have a bunch of great info on proper placement of the house, etc to entice them to move in to the new abode.

Also wanted to mention that American Beautyberry is supposed to seriously repel mosquitoes. I think beautyberry is simply lovely. How about planting droves of it along with your new bat houses? Maybe throwing in a homemade garlic spray a few times a year all over the yard?

Good luck!

Naomi

Here is a link that might be useful: Buy One Get One Free Bat House!
split_zones
16 years ago
As I understand from friends in this country and in Costa Rica (gorgeous bats there), bats do not use "Bat Houses".

Bats live in crevases in tree bark, especially trees with shaggy bark.

We all know that the like eaves of buildings. Any place where they are protected from direct sun and from rain. However, they choose the warmest sides of buildings and trees for shelter.

Save your money. They are out there. You just do not see them.
floridajane
16 years ago
After going to the bat zoo (?) in Costa Rica we learned that the little guys do go for bat houses, but some designs work better than others and correct placement is key. We ordered our bat house from The Organization for Bat Conservation, which has a 100% guarantee on their houses. We're putting it up in a few weeks, and time will tell, but I think a good bat house is worth a shot. Bats are amazing creatures and so essential to our circle of life, it's worth a try to give them more habitat!

Jane
bihai
16 years ago
Yes, that's what all the info at the UF bat house says. The house has to be sited just so and built to certain specifications that they prefer, or they won't take up residence there.

The bat house here on campus is a tourist attraction. People congregate at dusk from about now to November to watch them all fly out en masse every night. WHen you drive down that road, you can small the bat guano (ugh) from a long way away, especially in the intense heat of summer. The bat house is located directly beside the community garden plots, LOL. But that's for a colony of bats that numbers in the ten thousands... a small colony in a small house shouldn't insult your nose.
manature
16 years ago
There are many species of bats out there, and some probably do not use houses, but many others WILL, if the houses are properly placed. I say go for it, but be informed first. Find out all you can about the bats likely to be in your area and what their housing requirements are. Things like the best places to locate the houses and the proper height to hang them will probably be important.

And those of us who have seen the bats come flying out of the huge house in Gainesville can attest to the fact that properly constructed and located, bat houses work.

What could be better than encouraging little animals to come out at night and eat every mosquito they see? It may not get rid of all of them, but...it couldn't HURT!

Marcia

Bats-Do they really control mosquitoes?

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corar4gw

butterflygardener

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