Recently bat houses — like bird , butterfly and bee homes — have become more popular among the home gardener and hobby sodbuster . Bats are an often - ignored species in preservation , despite the fact that they are estimated to be worth$3.7 billion dollars to U.S. agriculturealone . They are consumers of common human pests and crop plague , Some species of bats are important pollinators and have even co - evolved with flower . ( sport fact : Bat pollination is call off “ chiropterophily . ” )
All that said , bat are sometimes risky neighbors to have . As with many wild fauna , they can divvy up and spread some foul human diseases , which is a timber of which we were reminded in a sobering mode during the most recentoutbreaks of ebola in West Africa . There are most definitely pros and yardbird to attracting bats to your holding ; however , the benefits can be great , and the risks should be read as bad lawsuit scenarios — not common trouble .
PRO: Bats Are Great Pest Control
Bats eatone of the most deadly organismsknown to humans : the mosquito . mosquito , in addition to being maddeningly annoying , can potentially carry a vast turn of diseases , the most late example of which is the zika virus .
CON: Bats Transmit Rabies
Bats are known to take hydrophobia , though this viral infection can be combatted with prompt medical attention and only pour down two people per yr in the United States . mostly , it can be prevented by avoiding verbatim contact with at-bat , living or utter , as well as inoculate pets .
PRO: You Can Help Their Survival
bat are at risk from an epidemic of their own that has recently reached the United States , and this one ca n’t be transmitted to humans . White nose syndromeis a fungal disease that has obliterate an estimated 5.7 million bats in North America since arriving a few eld ago , and in some expanse has make a 90 percent declivity among certain bat populations . leave habitat for bats can assist them rebuild population after these outbreaks .
CON: Bat Poo Can Be Contaminated
bat are unluckily known to expect another disease , broadcast through their guano : a fungal illness called histoplasmosis , which primarily pretend the lungs . This disease is very treatable , but can be forefend by wearing a gasmask when dealing with bat muck .
PRO: Bats Are Essential To Ecosystem Stability
Bats are good for the diversity of the local animation web and for the alimony of food crops . They wipe out a telephone number of crop pests , including rootworm larvae , leafhoppers , ants , moths , beetles andflies , playing a critical role in the ecosystem in which they reside . Conserving their numbers game is a noble thing to do , and squash racquet houses are a simple way to contribute to this task .
