Community Discussions

Here in Nova Scotia we have an unslaught of biting bugs that seem to hit every Spring.  (misquitoes, black flies, no seeums, etc..)  They seem especially bad since there's lots of wet, soggy ground for them to breed in.  Is there any way that any of you have found to 'scare' the biting bugs away.  They were so bad last night that they upset the bucket of soapy water Chris was using to wash the truck.  They were absolutely horrid!!!  Thick black clouds of biting fury, no swatting could keep them away.

Thanks for any advice that you can provide.

Sherri

Thats right....I had forgotten about those machines.  In our old neighborhood which was very wooded with a marshy area sitting behind it, a neighbor had bought one and it worked fantastic. 

However, as Marshall stated, considering how bad they are, it may not be enough. 

I'm devistated by this!!!  The rent just went up on my Martin house!!   Seriously now I doubt I will clean and maintain anymore.  On a good not my bathouse has confirmed bats for its 4th straight year!!  Hip hip hooray!!!  Also mosquito magnet seems to be working as well.

ChrisS wrote:

I never thought of the rabies.  That would kinda suck.  But we have about 4 acres here and there is swampy type land from one end to the other.  The bats would have been the cheaper route to go, some scrap lumber and a tree and we would have been set.  However I'm HATE needles, so...  With Chris doing a lot of work in and around the wet areas in the woods I don't know if we could afford half of one of these machines - although it would be a good investment.  I can't stand those darn bugs to the extent I will stay inside and cover my head so I don't have to see or hear them.  The worst is when they find their way into the bedroom and you wake up to the buzz of a bug and you can't kill it 'cause you can't see it.  GRRRRRRRRRRRR!  Is their any other ideas out there?  I'm going to do some research on birds that are primarily bug eaters when I get chance today.

Sherri

Overall bats are safe and cool IMHO.  But rabies is a potential.  Here is a example of a patient I took care of.  Nice middle aged guy out for a ride in the early evening, he is a regular rider, rides as much as he can.  He is cruising along and the next thing he knows he is struck by a bat in the mouth.  He is shocked, un-injured and the bat just flys away.  Well he is a automatic rabies protocol, why? two reasons first we cannot catch the bat(s) to test them and second the LAST thing a bat wants to do is get close to a human.  You will hear folks say a bat came after me!!!, No, the bat was going after an insect near you.  Now if a bat really did go after a human it is automatically considered to have rabies due to it's unusual or bizarre behavior thus the rabies protocol is started.

This is a direct quote from a Department of Health Website:

"It is not uncommon for bats to appear in occupied dwellings, such as homes, apartments or camps. Evaluating potential human and domestic animal contact with a bat and capturing and retaining it for rabies testing, if necessary, is critical for the effective management of rabies exposures.

Among the 26 human rabies deaths that have occurred in the United States since 1990, 24 were linked to bat rabies. Of the 24 bat-associated fatalities, the majority of people were in close proximity to a bat without known contact. Among bats submitted to the NYS Department of Health Wadsworth Center Rabies Laboratory for testing, approximately 96% are not rabid; therefore, most of the time rabies postexposure treatment can be avoided when the bat is available for testing."

The problem is catching the little suckers after exposure and that is if you know you have been exposed.

I don't have that much land so my bat house was going to have to be within site of my home.  They also need to be in the sun for a part of the day to stay warm, etc.  There was a great website that had instructions on how to build them, were they needed to be vs the type of bat that lived in your area, etc.  I thought I saved it to my favorites but I cannot find it now but here is some info I found quickly.

http://www.maberrybat.com/batinfo.htm

http://members.aol.com/STOKESART/bat-homes.html

http://www.billbatboy.ca/billbatboy_homes.html

If I could put it away from the house enough I would still consider it you just have to have a good plan. 

C 

I see where a JFK flight was diverted to Halifax today Sherri.

Well, haven't had much chance to sit down and research birds and there has been bat house plans on the screen for some time now.  Just haven't had time to look at or print any out.  Since it stopped raining and the sun came out the people think they need to mow their lawns ASAP.

Maybe since there is 4 acres of land I'll get Chris to build a couple and put them down by the road on the far end of the property, that way the sun will hit them at some point in the day and they won't be close to the our house.

I guess I shall do some more searching while I have a few down seconds.

Sherri

With 24 cases of rabies deaths due to bats since 1990, I think I'll take my chances walking at 2 am in a bat cave, than the downtown area of any city at that time.

Better odds of being struck by lightning than being bit by a rabid bat.

Highwind wrote:

Yup, that is why I would still consider it.  It is a factor that you should be aware of though and these websites that tell you about houses do not mention that one albeit small risk and Rabies is essentially 100% fatal if you do not know you have been exposed and you develope symptoms.  Once you are aware it is too late.

People do get hit by lightning BTW, we just lost someone at a local Hot air Balloon fair around two or three years ago.  I listened to the ambulance's radio report as they took the poor guy to another local ED as I was at work at mine, he was talking at the seen and DOA as is the case as his internal organs were instantly cooked. 

Also there are no bats in a bat cave at 2AM.....

C 

Sherri

This may be small consolation but I did a search because I was concerned about West Nile and Malaria with the mosquito, etc. problem you are having and your area shows a very low to no incident rate of either.  So, at least, you don't have to worry about the swarm of insects carrying diseases. 

Swallows such as barn swallows, violet-green swallows, tree swallows, cliff swallows and bluebirds are good mosquito eaters. 

Wrens, bluebirds and tree swallows are the birds most commonly attracted to single-unit, enclosed bird houses.  Click on this link for more info on these birds: 

http://www.dccl.org/information/houses/birdhouses.htm

Paula

Testing...

Chris thinks he fixed the computer problem...

That was before I typed a lengthy reply to Paula...POOF into thin air it went...so let's try the abbreivated version.

We have a lot of birds - all feed at the feeders - not on the bugs.

I'm braving the outdoors a little today - if no one hears from me send a search party...I'll try to leave a trail.

Sherri