Bat populations serve as a marker of how free a given area is of pesticides and chemical pollution.īats are an exciting and overlooked part of a biodiverse ecosystem. High-frequency pitches bounce off objects to give bats a sense of their surroundings through sound.Ī decline in bat populations causes an increase in the use of petroleum-based pesticides, which are harmful to the environment and human health. They use a system called echolocation to navigate in total darkness. In fact they can see everything but color as they fly at night, even down to a strand of hair. Remember any bat that can be caught is most likely ill and should not be handled.Īnother misconception about bats presumes that they are blind. If a bat has rabies, it will die quickly and unlike dogs or cats, will seldom become aggressive. All mammals are suseptabile to this disease, but less than half of one percent contract rabies. The most common fear is that bats transmit rabies. A colony of 150 big brown bats can eat up to 33 million root worms – which threaten corn crops – per growing season.īats are not a threat to people. One little brown bat, weighing no more than half an ounce, can eat over 1,000 mosquitoes an hour. As pollinators and pest control, they are a welcome addition to our landscape. However, they are unique mammals and have their own special sub-category known as Chiroptera, or "hand wing." Bats are highly dexterous and social, like other mammals. In researching local environmental issues, we found that bats are an essential part of a functioning ecosystem.īats are the only flying mammals. We chose to make bat houses for several reasons. We built seven of these houses and placed them around the city. At 45" tall and weighing approximately fifty pounds, this elegant bat house sits on top of a sixteen foot wooden pole and can house hundreds of little brown bats. Recycled and reclaimed materials constitute the bat habitats. Using plans from the international Bat Conservation International, we built the Two-chamber Rocket Box bat house. Making structures for bats prevents their use of existing architecture for roosts and colonies. Bats need adequate roosting structures to support their populations. Bats, among other wildlife, are confronted with habit encroachment and loss. Current city planning and architecture does not promote bio-diverse relationships with wildlife. Our houses and cities are designed passively, ignorant of surrounding ecologies. We made and installed a network of bat houses in Urbana, Illinois, to support the local and regional bat population, but also to begin a conversation about re-making the built environment.
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