I read Ms. Flynn’s letter and decided to take her up on her suggestion of “doing my homework” on bat houses in our community.
Let me first say bats are valuable allies to us. We do coexist with them whether you want to or not. You just may not realize it yet.
Will bats completely rid us of our mosquito problem? No, they will not. However, we should let nature and common sense guide us first before using wide scale chemical spraying.
While Flynn brought up some valid concerns, I’m afraid she has used fear tactics of these mammals to try and make a point.
In Michigan and in Lake Orion we have predominantly small and large brown bats. These are the bats that will take up residence in our bat houses. These are the bats that will eat mosquitoes (and other nocturnal insects).
If a bat roosts in a bat house, that is one less bat in all our houses (and you thought you had a squirrel in your attic!). I hate to say this, but there are probably hundreds of bats living in Lake Orion homes. Give them a place to live outside and they would take that first.
If you do have a bat in your house, it’s very easy to “exclude” them (see www.batcon.org).
Contrary to popular belief, brown bats can handle freezing temperatures. They can enter a physiological state called “torpor” shallow breathing, reduced heart rate and body heat.
Scientists will tell you they aren’t exactly sure where the large brown bats actually winter at or in what conditions. There have been studies of small brown bats that have flown south for the winter.
Here are other points Flynn made and I have added to…
Bat dropping and urine odor is no more or less than a cat’s.
Bats create substantial noise — no more than a cicada’s or frog’s.
Bat droppings don’t carry Histoplasmosis. Histoplasmosis is a FUNGUS that lives in bird or bat dropping and is RARE in cool northern climates. The vast majority of cases are asymptomatic or no more than flu-like systems.
It’s true that bats can enter a very small crawl space, but can easily be remedied by (gasp!) actually sealing your house up or by putting up a bat house.
Rabies is almost always transmitted by being bitten by an animal. Less than 1 percent of Michigan’s bats have rabies. There has never been a documented case of anyone contracting rabies from little brown bats.
There have only been three cases in US history of people contracting rabies from large brown bats. You have a better chance of a fatality from being bit by a bee.
So while bats and bat boxes may not be the only way to remove mosquitoes, it’s an important piece of the puzzle in the war against West Nile Virus and shouldn’t be overlooked or placed aside because of fear and misunderstanding.
Now if you really want to be scared, you should read the Center for Disease Control Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (Re: Acute Insecticide-Related Illnesses with Mosquito-Control Efforts.
It will talk about how many illness and deaths are happening because of pesticides and insecticides. Could be interesting reading for certain Orion Township officials.
All information obtained from Michigan DNR, Ohio DNR, West North Carolina Nature Center, Center for Disease Control and Bat Conservation International and US Dept. of Health and Human Services.
Koula Christi, President
Long Lake Woods Homeowner’s Ass.