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Owls eat bats.
Senior Member
Owls eat bats.
stjames1_53 (01-09-2018)
Senior Member
got a few owls around here...............must have bats.Originally Posted by waltky
Got a boatload of retail hawks down here, and a slim rabbit population............
For waltky: http://quakes.globalincidentmap.com/
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waltky (01-10-2018)
Advisor
Most bats live on insects, so if the bats in your area are insect eaters, then bat houses will keep down your mosquito population.
In quoting my post, you affirm and agree that you have not been goaded, provoked, emotionally manipulated or otherwise coerced into responding.
"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Senior Member
But they do carry rabies, and I have never had a hoot owl screech by my head the way I have had bats do it. I a germaphobe when it comes to fatal infections and all that....
Advisor
Well...you aren't a mouse. LOL. Bats make noise because they are echo locating. No bats = tons of mosquitoes. However that's your choice ultimately. You can put up owl houses, but if there are not enough vermin to feed on, you will have vacancies.
In quoting my post, you affirm and agree that you have not been goaded, provoked, emotionally manipulated or otherwise coerced into responding.
"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Senior Member
I probably have enough vermin to support a confirmed-bachelor/LGBTQ owl, and I have enough cans of misc. paints sitting about I can rainbow it up just to be safe.
Advisor
Don't forget that those skeeters carry lime disease and malaria, both of which, left untreated can kill you.
In quoting my post, you affirm and agree that you have not been goaded, provoked, emotionally manipulated or otherwise coerced into responding.
"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Peter1469 (01-10-2018)
Senior Member
Ticks carry Lyme disease among a few other nasty things in our area. Never heard of it with mosquitoes. As for Malaria, I am fairly sure I have never ever heard of a case of that anywhere near me. Obviously you are a fan of the bat. Tractor supply has a little bathouse for $29.99 here so you might want to check yours for one. Basically looks about like two washboards with the legs cut of one nailed together with about an inch gap for the little rabies factories to hide in.Don't forget that those skeeters carry lime disease and malaria, both of which, left untreated can kill you.
We had some turkey vultures after the cold was replaced by a warm day. I think I would need more varmints and a pretty big house to host those fellows full time. They were scavenging all the frozen canned cat foot I tossed out to make room for the not frozen kind during the subfreezing weather at the cat feeding posts around the property. I went out and shooed them away a couple times. While they allegedly don't eat live cats, it was making me nervous seeing a lot of them and some pip squeak cats kind of in the center of the flock.
Advisor
I believe that your fear of bats with rabies exceeds the danger by a huge margin. Only one or two people per year contract rabies from bats and only 6% of the bat population has rabies. So your odds of contracting rabies from a bat is about one in about 150 odd million. Your odds of getting killed in a car accident, developing cancer, having a fatal heart attack or getting shot is much higher ( https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/bats/education/index.html) whereas your odds of contracting disease from mosquitoes has greater odds. I apologize for saying lime disease as you are correct - it is carried by ticks. I had a brain fart - what I meant was West Nile virus, which is really sneaky and hard to diagnose. Usually, the first sign is a lot of dead crows. You are really better off taking care of the excess mosquito population, from a preventative disease standpoint.
Bat houses are really extremely simple structures - like an upside down mailbox with interior perch to hang from. $30 is a shocking price. You could build one from scrap wood for nothing. Find an industrial pallet or some discarded fence boards and Bob's your uncle. You don't even have to be good at woodworking. Just hang them where cats can't gain access or make them deep enough that cat paws can't reach the bat. I think the bats would prefer a higher location. The internet is replete with specifications. It's really pretty interesting to watch bats as the sun goes down feasting on insects - especially mosquitoes. Imagine echo locating something as small as a mosquito!
In quoting my post, you affirm and agree that you have not been goaded, provoked, emotionally manipulated or otherwise coerced into responding.
"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Senior Member
There have only been 13 reported cases of West nile, and 1 death in my state thus far. I am guessing my chances of dying of cancer or a heat attack are much larger there as well. My issue with bats are two fold--1 I have had one collide with me in the last few years, but several years ago, when they clear cut a couple hundred acres next to where I lived, leaving the flying rabies factories no place to shelter, they were absolutely everywhere at our house for the rest of that season. It was not unusual to find them hiding in clothes that were hanging out on the line, etc. Seemed like you could do nothing outside without ending up with an unexpected bat encounter and sometimes inadvertently brought them inside. I also as a teen had the unenviable task of ridding my bosses attic of bats and he had a proper colony set up in there--hundreds of the nasty things. Surprisingly no pest control company in town would deal with them.
Anyway, mosquitoes are not really a problem for me. I am vigilant about keeping no standing water about in the warm months. I flush out the birdbaths every day, check for places that may have accumulated standing water after rains. keep buckets upside down when not in use, etc. I have also removed several trees around my house to open up the air circulation to make this place not as inviting for them. I also encourage other animals that assist in this mission like toads.
Yes bat houses are easy to build for free. I was just pointing it out for you in case you wanted to be friendly and buy one. They should be mounted at least 10 feet in the air, preferable higher and in relatively shaded spots.
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