Set up
The idea that bats eat a ton of mosquitoes each night (up to 1200 each HOUR for every adult bat!) I learned their value last summer camping out in a little wood cabin next to three huge lakes in the Pyrenees. Everybody was swarmed with insects, except around our cabin, which had a rather large colony in the wall. My friend, Max Spruijt, an ecologist, told me he had counted at least 68 individuals. This would surmount to a total of, lets say, 68 * 800(compensation for age) = A monstrous 54400 mosquito's per hour! And trust me, we knew it.. lingering till late with our giant 3 metre doors wide open, and all lights on, i think in the three weeks i was there, i only heard one mosquito, and that buzzing died within seconds, I am guessing the bat Corps saved the day! In comparison, just 400 metres on, and a little uphill, away from the lakes, we where having dinner at friends, and as the night set in, the parasols just became covered in all kinds of insects within seconds. Around our cabin, we only saw all kinds of night dancers, and butterflies. Talking about harmony!Situation
In modern city planning situations, we are trying to implicate areas for natural habitation by animals. This to propogate an ecology that is sustainable.Problem
Great as all these implications are, and I really admire them, they do bring some counter effects. Namely, inviting the wildlife into the cities, means inviting them in! So a surplus in rats in Amsterdam West is surely related to the last ten years of ongoing addition of green areas, to make it the greenest neighborhood of Amsterdam, and even of Europe. Also the addition of landing grounds for overflying geese will bring an onset of mosquitos.Solution
I wish to combat this in the way i learned last summer in the wild. What i want to do is:- Survey for mosquito infested neighborhoods
- Find sponsorship, either in neighborhood, or in conjunction with council or nature foundations.
- Scout neighborhood for possible locations
- Place Bat sensors, to see if the location is good for bats. A self designed microcomputer system that reads the light, temperature and wind at the location during the day for a period of time, and relays this real time to our private servers.
- Once the locations are chosen, we will use a matrix to decide approx size of colony needed to cover an area, and then design bat homes accordingly.
| Habibat 001 integrated bat box | Forticrete bat access brick |
Habibat is a unique partnership between the Bat Conservation Trust, Ecosurv, Habibats partnership companies and the customer, to provide bat boxes that work for bats and buildings, for more details, please click here.
Making your own box
Bats do not like draughts, and prefer well insulated boxes where temperature and humidity remain constant. They also need a rough textured wood to cling to. The wood should not be treated because bats are very sensitive to chemicals. A ‘bat ladder’ or other landing area that leads to an entry slit wide enough to admit bats, but narrow enough to keep out predators is also essential, usually 15 – 20 mm. Once up, a bat box cannot be opened legally without a licence. For more information on bats and the law call the Bat Helpline (0345 1300 228).
Things to remember:
• Make sure joints are well sealed and avoid large, loose-fitting front panels.
• All timber used in bat boxes should be rough sawn (unplaned) and untreated from sustainable sources
• Keep entrance slits small (15 -20mm)
• Removable lids should not be used and the box should not be opened
External ready-made bat boxes
There are a number of ready-made external bat boxes suitable for buildings and trees that can be purchased. These boxes can be wooden as shown above, however there are an increasing number of more durable options, such as Greenwood Ecohabitats ecostyrocrete bat box shown below.