On 16/4/2004, Ron wrote:

>As far as the bat houses go, it sounds like a great idea, but I have
>seen 2 patients in the emergency room in the last year that have been
>bitten by rabid bats (tested positive).

What were they doing to get bitten? Most wild animal bites are human
caused--generally trying to handle an obviously sick animal. Any wild
animal that you can get close to should be presumed sick.

The bigger problem with bats is that unless you're lucky it can be hard
to attract them. Even in a good locations with a house made for the
local species, it can take several years before you get customers. I'd
love to have bats and am planning a belfry for my garage replacement if
I ever get to it, but I don't get much morning sun, so I'm not all that
hopeful.

>Any suggestions would be appreciated. If there is a consensus on
>controlling them

Something guaranteed not to work are those dreadful UV bug zappers.
They almost exclusively kill beneficial insects, and a skeeter will
only fly into them by chance. There are mosquito traps that use CO2 as
bait, but it's probably a wash whether they trap more than they attract
to the overall vicinity of the trap. If you have a large yard and can
put it far enough away from where you hang out, it might help. They
may be expensive, though.

Other standard advice for avoiding bites, which you probably already know:

DEET works pretty well.

Make sure your house is well screened, with no gaps. Put in a screened
gazebo, or screen your porch, or whatever, so you can still be sort-of
outside during the bad evenings.

Wear long pants and sleeves during the evenings. Mosquito hats work
for the head and neck. If it's really bad you can get mosquito suits,
though they don't look all that comfy to me.

Encourage insects/spiders in general. I'm not sure how late in the day
dragonflies fly, but I'd bet they're good at catching skeeters. If you
have space, it might be worth putting in a pond that favors dragons.
Spiders in general are probably important predators; I've seen crab
spiders and various orb spinners take them. But almost anything
predatory (including small birds) can potentially catch skeeters even
as they hide/sleep during the day. So the more the better. You get
more predators by having plenty of native plants supporting the web.
Even in the small urban thicket I started planting 7 years ago, every
year I see an increase in the species count, both of bugs and birds.
--
Allyn Weaks allyn at tardigrade.net Seattle, WA Sunset zone 5
Pacific NW Native Wildlife Gardening: http://www.tardigrade.org/natives/
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that
we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only
unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American
public." -- Theodore Roosevelt