Please research the subject of placing bat houses in Orion Township parks further before this item is approved. The most important thing to remember is once bats are encouraged to roost and mate in an area, it’s very difficult and expensive to attempt to exterminate them.
Bats will not be confined to bat houses. The township will spend much more than the $1,000 cost of the bat houses for extermination.
BATS DON’T STAY IN BAT HOUSES IN MICHIGAN WINTERS. They would die of cold.
They migrate to the nearest heat source and roost there. The nearest source would be our public buildings and/or the homes of our tax paying residents.
In addition, please consider the following problems with bats in urban areas (reference Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station).
• Bat droppings and urine yield a HIGHLY undesirable odor that is persistent and will ATTRACT other bats to the area if not properly cleaned.
• Bat droppings carry disease like histoplasmosis and rabies.
• Numerous bats create substantial noise that can be disturbing to humans.
• Bats can crawl through an opening as small as 3/8 inch diameter.
I think our treasurer Jim Marleau was correct in asking about the liability of the township when it distributes bat houses.
If I were a homeowner around these parks and my home became infested with bats, I would look to the township to pay for the extermination.
Home values can go down significantly because most people don’t like to live around bat colonies. Again, I urge more research by our citizens and township on this issue.
JoAnne Flynn