Isolated mosquito
Hey it’s mosquito time in NJ! I’ve seen a few myself already! While I haven’t got any bites yet, being an outdoorsy type, I’m preparing with any type of natural bug repellent I can make or buy! I’m not totally against spraying, but how in the hell do we get to all of the remote areas where the trucks don’t go? I remember one time ..(and this was some time ago at that!) seeing a truck with a huge enclosed fan spraying some sort of chemical into wet areas alongside the road for mosquitoes. I’m personally more in favor of controlling insects by a more natural means.
So here’s an interesting fact!
Bats may be the most misunderstood animals in the United States. Almost all U.S. bats, and 70 percent of the bat species worldwide, feed almost exclusively on insects and are thus extremely beneficial. One bat can eat between 600 and 1,000 mosquitoes and other insect pests in just one hour!
I know some of you may have worries about bats and also worry about rabies. I myself had some old fears about vampires as a kid. During my youth, I also remember having intense after school sports events in our yard with a whole bunch of my friends from the neighborhood. With a never ending energy we’d still be playing softball when the sun would go down (yes we tried to keep playing in the dark!). It would be at that time that the bats would come out and fly over our heads darting here and there and up and down. It was quite interesting that we’d stop and just watch them with whatever light was left in the sky. Some would get real close. But I never really felt threatened. There are those who’ve gone the mile and went out and got rabies shots from contact with a bat. I’m really sorry if that has happened to you. But the bigger picture is, and I ask the question, just what are we doing to our environment with all these chemicals?? If only by reasoning alone, there has to be a greater harm to the environment through the use of chemicals. So, I’m all in favor of BATS continuing to reproduce and feed on bugs at every opportunity they can. It’s a perfectly natural solution.
What do you think???
Here’s some useful information on NJ BATS
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/fs1207/bats-in-nj.asp
www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/bat_fact_sheet.pdf < this can be downloaded and printed