SUCCESSFUL METHODS FOR USING BATS FOR PEST CONTROL
It’s important to maintain the environment in your garden as healthy and natural as possible while attempting to keep pests under control. As a result of the use of insecticides, hazardous chemicals may leak into the environment, pollute streams, and cause animals to become distressed.
Fortunately, there is another option for reducing the amount of pests in your yard that does not involve the use of chemical remedies – using bats for pest control in your backyard.
In this post, we’ll discuss the significance of bats, the types of pests that they may assist you in eliminating from your yard, and how to attract them to your backyard in order to begin the natural process of pest extermination.
Insects that Bats consume
To understand the “how” and “why” of using bats for pest management, let us first review the sorts of pests that are often devoured by bat species:
Mosquitoes \Moths \Beetles
Despite the fact that the insects listed above are the most frequent (and the ones that bother us the most – pun intended), bats will consume a wide range of other insects in addition to those mentioned above. Take, for instance,
Hornworms \Earworms
Grasshoppers
Bugs that smell bad
What are the benefits of using bats for pest management?
For further information on the previously stated argument that bats are a natural and useful element of ecosystems all over the world, let’s have a look at why you should utilize bats for pest management if you have the chance to do so.
A considerable number of insects are consumed by bats. Moreover, when we say “a great deal,” we mean a great deal. During a single hour, a single small brown bat may swallow around 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes or insects the size of mosquitoes.
During the course of a single night, they’ll consume between 6,000 and 8,000 bugs. Getting enough bats in your region can kill more bugs in an hour than a bug zapper would kill in days or weeks, assuming you had enough bats in your area to begin with.
You will also be contributing to a bigger good. Sadly, bat populations are dwindling and they are being forced to leave their native habitats as a result of widespread use of pesticides and the cultivation of their natural habitats.
It’s possible to provide bats a home, a location to hunt, and a way to increase their number by constructing a bat-friendly yard and allowing them to feast on your mosquitoes.
Finally, several species of bats are great pollinators of flowers and fruits. You will not only eliminate your mosquito issue and provide a safe haven for bats, but you may also be attracting increased pollination to your flower beds and the natural flora around your house as a result of your efforts.
In our book, that’s a win-win-win.
Tips For Getting Bats To Come To You
After providing you with the most compelling arguments for why you should welcome bats into your yard, we’ll go on to provide you with some tips on how to go about doing so in the next section.
In order to accommodate the demands of bats in your region, you must make changes to your landscaping. A safe haven, appropriate food supplies, and access to a water supply are all essential elements of survival. Each of them will be discussed in further detail below.
The Bat Boxes are a kind of enclosure used to house bats.
Specifically designed for bats, bat boxes are artificial structures. Birdhouses and bat boxes are similar in that they give bats with a nice, enclosed space to live in that is shielded from the outdoors. They are often constructed of wood, however they may also be found made of plastic and metal.
Most effective when constructed from dark wood or painted black (with non-toxic paint). The sun’s heat will be absorbed by the leaves throughout the day, providing the bats with their optimum living temperature.
If possible, suspend the box from poles, trees, or buildings 10 to 15 feet above the ground. As we indicated above, the box should be placed in a location that receives a significant quantity of sunshine throughout the day.
This kind of bat box can normally accommodate at least a dozen tiny bats at a time, providing them with a more convenient option to utilizing your attic as a breeding ground. And don’t be concerned if you don’t see any bats right away after putting your bat home out in the backyard. It may take a few of seasons for them to locate a suitable new house in which to reside.
Availability of a sufficient water supply
In the wild, bats like to congregate around water sources, such as caves and lakes, where they may be seen in large groups. A readily available water supply should be present while aiming to attract bats to your home. This might be in the shape of a fountain birdbath, a pond or water garden, an artificial waterfall and stream, or any other suitable structure.
If you want to install a man-made birdbath or waterfall, be certain that the water does not include any extra chemicals that have been added to it. The more natural and unspoiled your backyard is, the better it will be for our little bat buddies to hang out there.
Plant Flora with a Night-Scented Aroma
Moths are attracted to your yard by the scent of aromatic plants such as the Evening Primrose (pictured above), Petunias, and Honeysuckles, which in turn draws bats as they search for their natural food supply.
The fact that you’re growing fragrant flowers is that you’re helping to create a more balanced ecology that is hospitable to bats in general. This is fantastic news for a wide range of bat species, and it is also fantastic news for your mosquito issue.
Concluding Remarks
If you’re someone who appreciates nature and is concerned about keeping it clean and free of chemicals, utilizing bats for pest management is a no-brainer. Local ecosystems rely on bats for their survival, since they serve to keep insect populations under control and aid in pollination in certain instances.
When you install a bat box (or a few) on your property, you are providing bats with a safe haven at a time when their natural homes are diminishing.
We hope we were able to provide you with some insight into why bats are so essential and how they may assist you in keeping your yard free of pests!