Swallows are great bug zappers during the daytime but Alaska has plenty of bugs and especially mosquitos "bugging" the outdoorsman during the evenings and at night.

Just like the swallows, bats migrate to Alaska's rich hunting grounds each summer to load up on the ample supply of food and to raise their young. Although these creatures are rarely seen up here, it doesn't mean that they aren't around. By providing the proper habitat for them you will improve your chances of luring these perfect bug predators to your location and keep them there all summer long.

Alaska has five different species of bats and the most common species on the Kenai Peninsula is the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). The little brown bat is one of America's most abundant and widespread species. Typically, little brown bats live in buildings and other protected areas near a river, marsh, or lake over which they feed on aquatic insects. According to Dr. Merlin Tuttle, founder and science director of Bat Conservation International, a colony of 500 bats can easily catch a half million insects in one night.

Little brown bats mate in the late fall, but the female delays ovulation and fertilization until February. In June or July, each bred female usually gives birth to one baby. The newborn bats either hang with the other babies or cling to their mother's stomach while she forages for insects. They grow rapidly and learn to fly in about three weeks.

Nursery colonies often include hundreds of females and their young. They select roosting sites with high, stable temperatures, which explains why they favor attics. Adult males roost away from the nursery and prefer cooler accommodations.

Large numbers of bats living in an attic or wall space can be a nuisance, but rumors are false about bats getting tangled in women's hair and attacking people. Most unpleasant human episodes with bats come from careless handling of sick or injured individuals. You should NEVER pick up a bat or any other wild animal.

Bats may enter buildings through unprotected vents, siding, and eaves or even cracks as narrow as one quarter inch wide. The best way to find entry and exit holes is to examine the building carefully for several summer evenings (after sundown and before dawn). Close inspection of suspected entrance holes usually reveal brown stains where they squeeze through the small opening and a few mouselike droppings on the siding just below. In the fall after they have left the roost, plug or caulk the hole and install small wire mesh over the opening.

Since bats are such an important controller of natural insect pests, it is in our own best interest to help perpetuate them. Consider erecting a bat house as a means of encouraging bats to roost and feed near your home. Every feeding bat represents a big reduction in the mosquito population.

Here are the plans to build a simple structure that is the perfect penthouse for them. Once one finds this home, it is likely that he will pass on the information to his buddies and soon you will have enough residents to substantially reduce your pests.

Components and Instructions

• Use 1/2" plywood.
  
• Paint a dark color to absorb heat.
  
• Make all interior surfaces rough to enable bats to easily climb.
  
• Affix to house or shed wall out of reach of cats, dogs.
  
• Put bottom on with screws to enable easy cleaning.
  
• Make sure the structure is water-tight.

All Content Copyright ©1996-2001 Visual Media Design & Alaska Outdoor Journal
All Rights Reserved
Webmaster