Get rid of BATS??????

[Lynette Helgeson <helgeson@lansford.ndak.net>]

Maggie Mieske wrote:
> 
> I haven't read all but enough about the posts concerning rabbies and
> possums and bats, etc. to get really nervous.  Quite honestly I didn't want
> to think about it!  Unbeknownst to us, when we purchased this house, we
> also inherited a bat colony (a HUGE one) with it.  We have fought the good
> fight for the last 3 summers with some success but not enough.  We have
> found a company who says they can rid us of them for quite a big price tag.
>  Anyway, if anyone has any ideas (like someone wants to do a project and
> relocate some bats...I don't mind bats, I just don't want to LIVE WITH
> them!), please e-mail me privately so as not to clutter the list.  THANK
> YOU!

I had the same problem when we bought our
ranch. The place had set empty
for 5 years prior to our purchase and the
barn was full of bats. I went
to the county agent and asked how we could
get rid of them. She asked me
why I would want to? Then she handed me
some good information about bats
and after I was educated about bats,
instead of believing stupid myths,
I came to the conclusion that I really
liked the bats. They were not only
beneficial and ate lots of mosquitoes, but
they did not bother me and 
crap all over my hay. In the last couple
of years our bats have moved 
out and pigeons have moved in. I would
much rather have the bats. Tell you
what I will trade you some pigeons for
some bats!!! Besides I do not know
of one documented case when livestock,
including horses have contacted
rabies from bats. Here are some of the
things that I learned about bats
that changed my mind. So all you bat
haters, read on.........

All mammals can contract rabies; however,
even the less than a half of one
percent of bats that do, normally bite
only in self-defense and pose little
threat to
people (or animals,) who do not handle
them. 

Worldwide, bats are an important natural
enemies of night-flying insects.

A single little brown bat can catch 1,200
mosquitoes-sized insects in just one
hour.

A colony of 150 big brown bats can protect
local farmers from up to 33 million
or more rootworms each summer.

The 20 million Mexican free-tails from
Bracken Cave, Texas eat approximately
200 tons of insects nightly.

Tropical bats are key elements in rain
forest ecosystems which rely on them to
pollinate flowers and disperse seeds for
countless trees and shrubs.

In the wild, important agricultural
plants, from bananas, breadfruit and
mangoes
to cashews, dates, and figs rely on bats
for pollination and seed dispersal.

Tequila is produced from agave plants
whose seed production drops to
1/3,000th of normal without bat
pollinators.

Desert ecosystems rely on nectar-feeding
bats as primary pollinators of giant
cacti, including the famous organ pipe and
saguaro of Arizona.

Bat droppings in caves support whole
ecosystems of unique organisms, including
bacteria useful in detoxifying wastes,
improving detergents, and producing
gasohol and antibiotics.

An anticoagulant from vampire bat saliva
may soon be used to treat human heart
patients. Contrary to popular
misconception, bats are not blind, do not
become
entangled in human hair, and seldom
transmit disease to other animals or
humans.

Bats are exceptionally vulnerable to
extinction, in part because they are the
slowest reproducing mammals on earth for
their size, most producing only one
young annually.

More than 50% of American bat species are
in severe decline or already listed
as endangered. Losses are occurring at
alarming rates worldwide.

Loss of bats increases demand for chemical
pesticides, can jeopardize whole
ecosystems of other animal and plant
species, and can harm human economies.

Lynette


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