Debbie Croft: Mariposa has its own bat man
MARIPOSA -- Bats are typically the kind of creature you either love or hate, or completely ignore if they're not hanging around anywhere nearby. Jim Nichols, though, has come to appreciate bats for their unique capabilities and design.
Ignoring them won't make them go away. In fact, if they get into a house they can cause quite a lot of damage. But exterminating them isn't the solution, either. They're more valuable than they look, and that's why Nichols builds bat houses.
One bat in one night can eat several thousand insects, he says. Multiply that by 50 bats on five acres of land, and it adds up to 250,000 insects. This makes for good natural pest control.
His bat houses are small, as a few hundred bats can live comfortably within a one-square-foot space.
According to Nichols, who has spent many years studying them, bats may be just as uncomfortable sharing a house with people. They only resort to living in an attic when dead trees and caves aren't available.
Although bats are beneficial to the environment, they should be handled with care.
Bat droppings can contain a fungus known to cause infection in humans. Histoplasmosis is also called cave disease. The fungus grows in soil or other substances that have been contaminated by bat or bird waste. Symptoms are similar to those of colds or flu, and are not usually debilitating. Chronic and acute cases are rare, but will become serious and possibly fatal if left untreated.
Rabies is another disease from bats that affects people. If an injured or diseased bat is found, it should be removed, while wearing gloves and using tongs or a shovel, as the bat will try to bite or scratch. If you find a dead bat, don't crush its head; put it into a bag and then in a refrigerator. No matter what the situation is, the local health department should be contacted for further instructions.
While Nichols was stationed at a military base in the Philippines years ago, he discovered native bats during a jungle survival training exercise in the Luzon Mountains.
"The size of those bats was so unlike the small bats I had grown up seeing in Missouri," he recalls. "When I frightened them, 30 or more took flight. The wingspan was close to six feet long, and their bodies were at least one foot long. It was an unforgettable experience to see and hear."
He later learned the names of the huge bats: the giant flying fox and the giant golden crowned flying fox, which are protected on the Subic Bay Rainforest of Zambales Province, the largest bat roosting site in the world. Considered fruit bats, they feast on fruit from trees in the area, while dispersing seeds as they fly. Guano, from the droppings, is one of nature's best fertilizers.
These bats are on the endangered species list. Also during his time spent in Southeast Asia, Nichols witnessed other wildlife and ocean creatures in that part of the world. He says it gave him a greater appreciation for God, who he believes created these amazing animals.
Bats don't see well, and use echo-location for navigation and searching for food, which usually takes place at night. Sound waves hit an object and send back an echo. From the echo, bats can tell the shape, size and texture of the object.
On the American continent bats tend to hang in the southwestern region, since food is more plentiful. Mariposa County hosts its share of bats. Dan and Lori Scherf recently discovered more than they cared to know about bats, after moving into their home.
"When we first looked at the house, we noticed an unpleasant smell, but thought it was the owner's pets," Lori says. After moving in, though, the smell lingered. They soon found that bats had taken up residence underneath the curved tiles on the roof. There were hundreds of them, and they stank. Doing research online put them in contact with someone from the Bay Area who was able to tell how to get rid of them. Covering the roof with a strong netting material and attaching a pipe solved the problem. Bats will fly out through the pipe, but can't find their way back in. Nichols is a friend of the Scherfs, and now one of his bat houses sits on their property.
For more information about bats, two interesting websites are: www.bats4kids.org and www.batmanagement.com.
Debbie Croft writes about life in the foothill communities. She can be reached at composed@tds.net, or at her Sun-Star blog: City Girl, Country Life.
This story was originally published July 24, 2010 at 2:02 AM with the headline "Debbie Croft: Mariposa has its own bat man."