A CALL TO ACTION! White-Nose Syndrome & What We Can Do To Help!

By: Ashley @ Laughingbat.com

“Bats have in the last four years experienced declines
that are unprecedented in the history of wildlife studies in North America
and in the world, for that matter.” 

   

- Thomas Kunz, Ph.D., Biologist, Boston University

White-Nose Syndrome

  Since the winter of 2006, more than a million bats have died in the United States and Canada from an insidious fungus called Geomyces destructans that leaves its white “dust” on the noses, faces, ears and wings of infected bats. 



  When I first heard about White-Nose  Syndrome I was struck with disbelief.  This bat-killing fungus was unknown before 2006. In 2009 and 2010, investigations of some New York State caves found up to 100% of the bat population had died! Especially hard hit has been the Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus). This bat species has survived for 52 million years.  

  52 MILLION YEARS this species has survived and adapted to many of this worlds most extreme changes and now faces extinction in only a matter of years if The White-Nose Syndrome fungus is not stopped.

  Experts are virtually clueless as to the real origins of this disease and why out of no where it is killing bats by the millions.  Many specialists have hypothesized that the bats are dying from this fungus now because of their lowered immune systems.  They believe that the bats have suffered from our over use of toxic pesticides and other environmental / agricultural chemicals and now these chemicals are taking their toll.  This over exposure to pollution has weakened the immune systems of these dying bats and now when they hibernate the bats are susceptible to fungal attacks.

  By poisoning bugs we are in turn poisoning the animals that eat the bugs!  The irony is, we are by proxy killing off the species of bats and birds who's KEY contribution to our ecosystem has always been the control and suppression of the bug population!  Without bats we would suffer a great plague of insects and be overrun by pests eating our crops.  Recently, scientists have noticed a rapid decline in the population of birds who pray mainly on bugs, so we know its not just bats that are suffering. 

Bat eating a bug!

  Bats do play a  major role in suppressing insect populations because, for the most part, bats are bugs top predator! Because of this, bats are considered a keystone species in every ecosystem. The concept of a keystone is that if you remove the keystone of an arch, then the arch collapses. If you remove the insect eating bats, then our ecosystem would be thrown out of whack!

  New research shows that polyunsaturated fatty acids are needed for bats to have good health. The main source of polyunsaturated fatty acids are foods such as corn. If corn and other crops are saturated with chemical herbicides and pesticides, that could be the link to why the population of insect eating bats and birds has sharply declined.  This is why I support choosing to buy and eat organic food at all costs. More and more North Americans are opting to pay the little extra cash for real food that is guilt free and pesticide free.

    We always think of Organic vegetables and fruit as being healthier for us but little do we consider that it is healthier for every species in the food chain!  

Be Super Heroes! HELP SAVE the bat population!

What You CAN Do Now:

1 - Support ORGANIC!  When possible choose organic. You are voting with your fork and supporting the farmers who choose to restore balance back to our ecosystem.

2 - Stop using toxic pesticides!  Seek all eco-friendly alternatives (such as owning a Redwood Bat Hotel!) to using chemical insect control.  Be sure to support your neighbors in joining you as the more neighbors that opt for eco-friendly solutions to insect control the healthier your whole community will be!

3 - Buy a bat house! Of course I am going to say buy a bat house! This is a blog about bats!

4 - Spread the word!  Share this blog with your friends and family!  We can help support our local bat population and as the old saying goes, there is power in numbers.

5 - Do not touch bats.  There is concern that humans can spread the White-Nose fungus by unknowingly carrying the fungus from one location to another.  Its best to enjoy bats from a short distance.

6 - Report unusual bat behavior, such as flying during the day, to your local Fish and Wildlife Service.  If you come across bats that you think may have White-Nose Syndrome let the Fish and Wildlife Services know as they are the agency that is tracking WNS. 

 

Thank you so much and if you have any questions or have a topic you wish for me to discuss in a future blog please contact me!  

http://laughingbat.com/contact/

Laughing Bat 2.0

This week we relaunched our newly designed website, laughingbat.com, and we are very excited about it! Stay posted for more educational videos and bloggs about bats and bat houses! Thank you!

SIMPLE STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL BAT HOUSE

As bat lovers and bat house builders over the years we have learned a thing or two about creating a successful bat house. Through all the questions our customers have asked we put together a 20 page Bat House Manual.

Here is the simplified version of the literature we include with our bat homes, nice and simple...

Follow these simple steps to a successful bat house:

1. STOP USING PESTICIDES AND OTHER INSECT REPELLENTS. -You want your yard to be a free bat buffet! Bats will move in quickly when they know they will always have a good meal waiting in your back yard.
   

2. MOUNT YOUR BAT HOUSE FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES COVERED IN OUR MANUAL. -Southern exposure, average of 8 hours of sun, match your bat house color to your climate, mount on pole or side of house and at least 12 feet above the ground.
   

3. USE OUR INSECT ATTRACTING TIPS EXTERIOR LIGHTS, LURES AND NIGHT BLOOMING PLANTS AND FLOWERS. - There is a natural way to attract the right bugs that will in turn attract the right bats. I cover this in detail in my book, The Law of Bat Attraction.

4. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A FRESH WATER SOURCE CLOSE BY, CREATE ONE: A FRESH WATER POND OR BIRD BATH. - Bats have been known to even drink out of swimming pools.
   

5. KEEP DOGS AND CATS AWAY FROM BAT HOUSE. - Cats will hunt bats and dogs will bark at anything that moves. I know its not rocket science but keep your pets away from side of your yard where the bat house is mounted.

6. BE PATIENT. - Bats are very smart. They will not move into a newly mounted structure. They first want to make sure its something that will be premanent, so when you mount your bat house, expect to wait a few months before you see occupants. On the bright side, your bats will stay, hybernate or migrate (depending on your climate) for many years.
   

7. CHECK YOUR BAT HOUSE ONCE A MONTH FOR WASPS OR OTHER UNWANTED OCCUPANTS. - Light maintenance is required.
   

8. IF THE HOUSE IS NOT OCCUPIED WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR, MOVE IT TO A BETTER LOCATION WITH MORE SUN EXPOSURE. - I say "better location", in my bat manual I go into many details and elaborate on this term. Basically it all comes down to temperature. Your bat house may be too cold. Look into moving it to a place that gets more sun or painting it a darker color. Most bat species like it to be around 100F in their house!

I hope you find all of my tips and tricks helpful. Please stay tuned and visit our website laughingbat.com for more details. Thank you!