WHEN INSECTS ATTACK Go batty; it'll stop what bugs you

Bats won't bite you on the neck and suck your blood -- they're too busy feasting on mosquitoes.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Picture the mosquito's natural nemesis: winged, radar-guided, biological bug killers that can hit top speeds of 35 mph and devour 1,200 insects an hour.
The cigar-butt-size critters take to the air en masse at just about the time mosquitoes arise from their daytime slumber. Ideal allies, one would think, of all the picnickers, sandlot ballplayers and boaters who find themselves being the mosquitoes' prey.
"Unfortunately, bats have a bad rap," said Carolyn Caldwell, a wildlife research administrator at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. "People don't think of them as warm, fuzzy, huggable creatures."
Conservation officials have encouraged homeowners to create bat houses for years to foster the bat population, control bugs and keep the little critters out of their attics.
Benefits: Forget the neck-biting, bloodsucking, hair-entangling legend. Consider the following instead: A single bat devours its weight in flying bugs every day, and bats roost together by the dozen.
"That's a pretty good endorsement for bat insect control," said Joe Edgar, an ODNR wildlife investigator.
Keeping the mosquito population down is of special concern this year, with the likely arrival of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, potentially fatal to humans, especially the elderly.
State and local health department officials are encouraging homeowners to eliminate the puddles and pools of still water where mosquitoes breed.
"Of course, if you live next to a pond or a lake that is stagnant, you can't move it," said Mary Jane Emerson, an education specialist at the Mahoning County Soil and Water Conservation District.
Fortunately for all concerned, these buggy neighborhoods are what bats prefer.
A losing battle: There are more high-tech weapons available against bugs these days, but they are not necessarily more effective.
Backyard zappers are a dud because mosquitoes are not attracted by light, she said. These insect incinerators primarily draw nonbiting gnats -- which, except for an occasional hum in the ear, are pretty harmless.
Poisons are only temporarily effective -- they can wipe out the mosquito population for a picnic or outdoor wedding, say, but the bug's life cycle is so short (and prolific) that another generation will be circling before you know it.
Longer-lasting pesticides shouldn't be used because they have a greater chance of being absorbed by people or pets, Emerson said.
Bats, on the other hand, are there to stay.
Migrating bats return to the same roost year after year and can live to be as old as 30.
Attracting bats: The trick, Emerson said, is persuading the bats to come in the first place.
Bat boxes, which can be built at home, are most effective when placed in an area that bats already frequent.
"Once you have bats, you will have them for a long time," she said.