Bats Aren’t Zombies – and Other Reasons Why You Should Love Bats!

admin — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 13:50:18 +0000

Bats get a bad rap on Halloween. They’re the ultimate symbol of spooky, creepy creatures that most people would rather not come across. But that’s not fair! According to Christina Kocer of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Region, bats are among the most valuable animals on the planet. Christina says why, in this special guest post for the Big Green Purse community:

It’s almost Halloween, and that means zombies, witches and images of bats silhouetted against a full moon abound.

Encountering a zombie does not sit well with me, but bats are a different story. Despite their spooky image, bats are far from terrifying, and I can assure you, they really don’t want anything to do with your hair.

What DON’T bats do?

As long as we are clearing the air, bats will not fly into your hair; will not suck your blood; will not try to eat you alive; and will not chew through your siding, your shutters, or your attic vents. The claim that all bats are rabid is yet another fear perpetuated by popular media.

While it’s true that bats can carry rabies, less than 1 percent of wild bats are actually infected with the disease. Even so, don’t go picking up any bats you might find on the ground. That bat may be sick or injured, and it won’t be worth the mandatory rabies shots you’ll have to get if you try to handle it. Call your local wildlife biologist for help.

If bats don’t have rabies and aren’t going to attack me in my sleep, build nests in my hair, or try to eat my brains, what the heck are they, and what do they do?

What’s COOL about bats?

Bats are mammals — the only mammals capable of flight. They are covered in soft fur and give birth to live young (pups) which are nursed until they are old enough to venture out on their own.

Though some think they look like flying mice, they are not closely related to rodents. The bones in their wings are the same bones you have in your own hand.

Bats make up about one quarter of all mammals. They range from the world’s smallest mammal, the small bumblebee bat, to the large flying fox with its 6-foot wingspan. And they do a lot more than fly. They pollinate fruit plants and fruit trees, help spread seeds around, and devour mosquitoes and other pesky insects. In fact, here in the Northeast U.S., our native bats are small, with most weighing about the same as a few pennies.

The thousands of insects they eat nightly save farmers millions of dollars on insect control and crop damage. That makes bats our most organic form of insect control! These agile fliers are adept at navigating through thick forests in search of their insect prey, readily devouring the pests that eat our food crops and trees, and spread disease.

Bats are in DANGER

Unfortunately, bats have something to fear themselves – white-nose syndrome, a rapidly spreading fungal disease that has resulted in the catastrophic decline of bats throughout eastern North America.

Over 5.7 million bats have already died, and because bats are long-lived and produce so few young, it will take many generations for populations to recover from this disease.

What can you DO?

While there is no reason for us to fear these beneficial critters, I admit, it’s unnerving to have a bat flying circles in your living room. But, if that happens to you, gather your wits, remember why bats are good, and help the little guy escape safely by opening a window so the bat can fly out.

Despite what you may have seen on TV, the world is a better place for everyone with bats in it.

——————-

Build a Bat House

You can get lots of great ideas for protecting bats from the Organization for Bat Conservation.

Or check out the Wildlife Protection department of our Amazon store for books on how to build a bat house and pre-fab bat houses you can put up in your yard.

The post Bats Aren’t Zombies – and Other Reasons Why You Should Love Bats! appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Simple, Non-Toxic Ways to Protect Yourself from West Nile Virus

admin — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:09:58 +0000

West Nile Virus is on the rise in the United States, a consequence of the climate change that is bringing more extreme weather conditions to many parts of the country. The Centers for Disease Control report that, “since 1999, 30,000 people have been reported as getting sick with West Nile Virus. Occasionally, an infected person may develop more severe disease such as “West Nile encephalitis” or “West Nile meningitis.” Encephalitis refers to an inflammation of the brain, meningitis is an inflammation of the membrane around the brain and the spinal cord, and meningoencephalitis refers to inflammation of the brain and the membrane surrounding it. Almost 13,000 of the individuals who have been reported as having West Nile virus since 1999 have been seriously ill, and more than 1,200 have died.

There are two ways to protect yourself from mosquitoes: reduce the number of mosquitoes in your area, and reduce your chances of being bitten.

REDUCE BREEDING

Mosquitoes breed anywhere there is standing water. The key to reducing mosquito populations is to limit the places where they can reproduce.

* Empty standing pools of water. Especially after it rains, keep an eye out for standing pools of water that provide perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Those include baby pools, watering cans, old tires, gutters and drains, buckets, and pretty much anything else that can trap water long enough for a mosquito to lay its eggs.

* Keep water moving in ponds and fountains. Use a small pump to keep water circulating, or put some fish or frogs in the pond to eat up mosquito larvae. Here’s a picture of the pond in my front yard, with the pump sitting right in the middle. (We used to keep fish in the pond, but the neighbor’s dog kept jumping in and stirring things up; the poor fish had a hard time surviving among four paws and a tail!).

* Fill in ditches, trenches and ruts. Like pools and ponds, ditches and ruts also collect water and turn into breeding swamps. Fill them in with gravel or dirt, or drain them into a larger pond where the water can circulate.

* Set traps. Traps lure mosquitoes into an inescapable container, where they lay their eggs and then die when they can’t escape. My neighbors and I use these Oak Stump Traps by Springstar to good effect. If you can get several neighbors to use the traps, you get more control throughout the neighborhood. Traps are more effective than electric bug zappers, and use less energy, too.

* Attract animals and other insects that eat mosquitoes. Bats and birds are famous for eating millions of mosquitos, but so do dragonflies. Put up bat bird houses to provide more nesting areas for these friendly creatures, and plant flower gardens to attract dragonflies.

REDUCE BITING

1) First, cover up. The less skin you expose, the less likely you are to get bitten. If you’re working in your garden, mowing your lawn, watering your bushes, or hiking in the woods, wear shoes, socks, lightweight pants, a lightweight, long-sleeved shirt with a collar, and a hat. If you’re sitting on the porch or at an outdoor event and don’t want to wear long pants or long sleeves, drape a light-weight shawl or scarf over your legs or arms. As much as possible, spray your clothes, not your skin (and launder when you get in the house).

2) Light citronella candles or run a small fan when you’re sitting outside. You may still need to squirt bug spray on your ankles and legs, but the candles will emit an aroma that helps keep mosquitoes away from your arms and face. The more candles, the better. A small rotating fan will create enough of a breeze to blow mosquitos away while you’re on your porch or patio.

3) If you’re the do-it-yourself type, pick up a bottle of an essential oil like eucalyptus, lavender, citronella, or geraniol, or try some combination. Get a 4- or 6-ounce pump bottle; add somewhere between 10 and 20 drops of each oil to a couple of ounces of water or rubbing alcohol and shake well. Spray on exposed skin, always avoiding your face. (Pay attention: some herbal oils may irritate the skin. Find one that works for you. I found lavender oil and vanilla worked well for me, which I wrote about here.)

4) Try one of the herbal repellents available in most grocery, hardware, and gardening stores, or order online. They generally cost about the same as conventional, pesticide-based sprays. Consumer Reports analyzed the effectiveness of various bug sprays, and found that Repel, which relies on lemon and eucalyptus to deter bites, is just as effective as brands that contain more toxic chemicals. (We sell Repel in our Amazon store here.)

5) If you feel you must use something stronger than essential oils, choose a product containing Picaridin, which does not seem to irritate the skin the same way DEET does. Always use the lowest concentration that will work for you. Here’s why you should never use DEET or other pesticides on infants or children. If you need a sunscreen as well as a repellent, apply them separately, rather than use one product that contains both, as the sunscreen may contain a more potent repellent than what you might normally use. Wash your hands immediately after applying.

You can find more non-toxic mosquito repellents and traps in our Amazon store here. And please, let us know what works for you!

(Disclosure: We earn a tiny commission on our Amazon store sales, which helps us continue to maintain our blog at no cost to you.)

The post Simple, Non-Toxic Ways to Protect Yourself from West Nile Virus appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Bats Archives - Big Green Purse

Bats Aren’t Zombies – and Other Reasons Why You Should Love Bats!

Simple, Non-Toxic Ways to Protect Yourself from West Nile Virus