Bats Are Not As Cute, But Just As Necessary!

People love barn owls for many reasons, but rodent control is probably at the top of the list.  Their natural tendency to eat rats and mice make them welcome additions to your backyard or barn.

Oddly, people do not usually feel the same way about bats.  Although bats serve a parallel purpose in the food chain—each one eating tons of insects per year—most people find it a bit harder to cozy up to bats than to barn owls. 

Why does this prejudice exist against these obviously useful and fascinating creatures?  There could be several reasons.  Bats are associated for many people with scary movies and stories.  Many people also believe that bats bite.  Actually, the types of bats found in American backyards are unlikely to bite humans.  Instead, these creatures simply eat their weight in insects, helping the homeowner to control mosquitoes and other troublesome insects.

Admittedly, bats can carry diseases.  Because bats are mammals, they can be infected with rabies and can transmit this virus to other animals.  Media attention on a few cases of bat rabies infections has blown this problem out of proportion, but it does pay to understand the vector of this disease and how it could affect bats in your area.

For the most part, however, the prejudice against bats is unreasonable.  Bats make great insect-control visitors to your yard, so installing a bat box is a way to keep the mosquito, fly and gnat population down while contributing to the preservation of this fascinating species.

What Does A Bat Box Do?

Bats are nocturnal creatures.  They are most easily seen in the early evening, when they swoop and fly around the yard eating insects—up to 1,200 per hour per bat!  During the day, they hang upside-down in a dark, cool environment.  This behavior is known as “roosting.”

The Standard Bat Box and Bat Haven are great ways to get bats into your yard and give them a suitable habitat.  Both the Standard Bat Box and the Bat Haven include three separate chambers to lure up to 50 bats.  The Standard Bat Box resembles an attic and the Bat Haven is caulked to imitate the characteristics of a cave.  The Standard Bat Box and the Bat Haven attracts bats and gives them a safe, quiet place to roost.

Attracting bats to your yard has never been easier than with these products.  Enjoy the insect control of having nesting bats nearby without having to worry about infestations in your home with the Standard Bat Box or Bat Haven.