"Tina Gibson" wrote in message
news:vjfpb.262095$pl3.30565@pd7tw3no...
I think that there is a SLIGHTLY larger chance of being bit by a mosquito
than a bat. From where I sit I get hundreds of mosquito bites a year -
thousands over a life time. I've never been bitten by a bat - and have seen
many. My animals have not been bitten by them either.


Well OF COURSE there is a SLIGHTLY larger chance of being bit by a mosquito!
But if you would read what I wrote instead of putting words into my mouth...I
never mentioned the *chance of getting bit*. As you yourself note, you can get
hundreds of mosquito bites and yet never contract west nile.


http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no2/02-0083.htm
excerpt:"Bites by rabid dogs are the source of 35,000-50,000 human rabies deaths
each year globally, yet most human rabies deaths in the United States are
attributed to unrecognized exposures to rabid bats."

Emergence of Bat-associated Rabies in Humans in the United States:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/emergplan/box09.htm

http://www.emedicine.com/ped/byname/rabies.htm


BT




Of course we could instead spray all the swampland with larvacide and spray
the bush with DEET.
Personally if between bats and martens and swallows and dragonflies, not to
mention other mosquito predators, we even decrease the mosquito population
around myself by 5% - I will be happier than spraying or destroying wetlands
as a control!!!
BTW all of the research that I have so far seen on bats or martens not being
a good control are minimal and not enought to draw a final conclusion on!
The studies will certainly be flying now so we shall see results in the next
5 yrs.



"BT" wrote in message
...
What a great idea! Exchange the chance of getting west nile with the
chance of
catching rabies! Boy aren't politicians clever!
http://tinyurl.com/tddo

Just breed dragonflies...they are the ones eating all the mosquitoes!

BT


"JNJ" wrote in message
...
(This I have to admit is surprisingly pleasant to hear when considering
just
how bass ackwards most people here are. Hopefully they DO realize the
bats
are migrating OUT of the area for the cold season. JNJ)

************************************************** **************
Bats Brought In To Battle Mosquitos
LAST UPDATE: 10/31/2003 10:51:04 PM

The Anderson Park District is taking unusual measures in the fight
against
West Nile. It is bringing in bats, in hopes the winged creatures will
gobble
up mosquitos, which are known to carry the virus. This comes after a
mosquito with West Nile was found over the summer in Kellogg Park,
leading
the District to cancel their Haunted Hike this year.

Puddles in the park were treated with chemical dunks to kill larvae, and
mosquito magnets were also used to get rid of the adult insects. Seven
bat
houses, made by local boy scouts, have been put up in the park. Each one
housing 30 bats, of 11 different species. Park District officials say if
the
experiment works, more bat houses will be put up in other parks next
fall.

One bat can eat 500 of the insects in just one hour. But there's no need
to
be afraid. Park officials say that bats' reputation of sucking blood and
flying into human hair are simply myths. They only fly close to people
if
their exceptional radar and hearing show a bug nearby to eat.