INSECT CONTROL
How to build a bat box
M
ost smallholders
welcome the arrival
of warmer weather.
However with spring comes a
rise in bothersome insects.
One way that you can
combat them is to build a bat
box on your smallholding.
Bats make good neighbours
as they have many important
roles to play in support of
biodiversity. They are the
major predators of night-flying
insects, eating an astonishingly
large number of mosquitoes
and many crop pests, so if
you grow crops you should be
encouraging them to take up
residence. The number of
insects consumed by a bat
will depend on the breed, its
reproductive cycle and the
season.
Many bats spread
seeds for new
plants and trees.
Many plants
bloom at night,
using unique
odours and
special flower
shapes to attract
bats. Bats also
bring about
pollination,
particularly fruit
and nectar eating
bats.
Ignorance and
superstition are
bats' greatest
enemies.
Unfortunately
many people
misunderstand
bats, they fear
them and
consider them
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