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Will installing a bat house really help curb my mosquito problem?
Well, Yeah, bats will help, so will cleaning up any standing water.....AND..... put up hummingbird feeders on a few of your windows that do not get direct sunlight, or, hang a feeder in the shade, under a tree, anywhere out of the sun. Even in the shade you will need to change the sugar water (1 part sugar, three parts water) at least every three days. The sugar water is the energy source for hummers, mosquitos and gnats are their primary food source.
I would think bat houses would certainly help, if the majority of people installed them and they were subsequently inhabited by some bats. Otherwise, as someone else alluded, your yard is not sealed off from the rest of the region.
In some areas of the country there is a shortage of bats now, due to a disease called "White Nose Syndrome". I'm in Ct., and it's been estimated that we've lost up to 95% of our bats, and the disease is rampant in many other areas, too. So if you live in an area that has been hit hard by this disease, you might not be able to attract bats with a bat house anyway.
For all the 14 years we've lived in our home, we've had bats living under the eaves just under the roof-line. In the evening before it's dark we see them come out and chase insects, they don't just feed at night. We are surrounded by woods, and do have a high mosquito population here, so we've always been grateful to the bats for any insects they do eat. However, I haven't seen them yet this year---I'm worried we have lost them to the disease.
Bats also get Rabies. Just like dogs. And then they bite humans. I would rather battle mosquitoes than worry about the health of the bats living nearby.
Besides, bats feed in the cool of the evening and night. That leaves all the hot daylight hours for the Mosquitoes.
I'll take my chances with the bats. I was bit 11 times last night by skeeters, as we southerners call them. I told my husband I'd be lucky not to catch West Nile virus or something. Geez! I'm going to investigate the bat situation here in TN and see if that might be an option for us.
We put bat houses down by the water up at a house by lake chautauqua and it made a difference. Check your pump for leaks. Sometimes the rings will need replaced on your pump and water pools under/around the pump where you don't really see it. Look into cleaning and clearing the greenery and surrounding area. There are plants you can put around that repel the bugs a bit too.
Bats won't attack humans but you should teach your kids the danger of all animals they don't know. Kids like to run up to stray cats and everything else...yikes.
Use poisons last because they kill dragonflies as well. Dragonflies look really neat and eat the buggers too. In the long run making your problem worse and dependent on chemical control. I think natural control works if you do a little bit of this and that.
[quote=Padgett2;14658182]Bats also get Rabies. Just like dogs. And then they bite humans. I would rather battle mosquitoes than worry about the health of the bats living nearby.
Bats biting humans is probably rare.
When we were kids,we watched them flying over our street.
Some of em swooped down right over our heads.
They are pretty harmless,dont believe Hollywood & TV lol
We contracted with Mosquito Authority here in Hickory $49/3 wks 1st visit was free. The skeeters aren't completely gone but significantly reduced. We also have a big population of Asian Tiger mosquitos that have white striped legs and they are out ALL DAY LONG. They bite at 10am. OF course we have had TONS of rain so who knows how that affects the spray.
I picked up something called SUSPEND from Lesco/John Deere. Will be spraying it this weekend to see if there is any additional improvement. They are all just barrier sprays. It is also on a website called do my own pest control that offers free shipping. My parents use Cyonara and it has helped them but when we visited Memorial Wknd our kids/husband still got bitten.
It was so bad a few weeks ago the kids would have 3 skeeters swarming them as soon as we walked out to the driveway at 6pm.
'Round here the mosquitoes are out morning, noon, and night!
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