On Sun, 02 Nov 2003 21:53:09 GMT, "Tina Gibson" opined:

Did you actually read the info on the site? And I have 90 acres of property
with a beaver pond and swamp area - I am not going to control the mosquito
larvae in those areas. I am not talking about city populations of bats dear.

Dear, this is the largest (did you read that part) largest population of bats in
an urban setting, directly above the water, under a bridge, in the WORLD. There
are millions and millions of bats in this part of Texas. If you want to call
Austin a city, fine. Obviously you've never been here.

I am talking about natural forested areas - or what is left of them. If a
National Park wants to increase the population of bats, martens or swallows
what is the big deal to you?

It's no big deal to me. It is misleading to think bats, swallows, martins or
anything like it will lower the mosquito rate, because it is misinformation.

Are you an ecologist specialising in Bats? or mosquito populations? On what
basis are you refuting this? The site you posted only spoke of Mexican bats
that inhabit southern areas. Do you have other published references that
have disproven bat population density has no affect on mosquito populations?

Taken from http://www.mosquito.org/info.php

Mosquito Control

Mosquito control can be divided into two areas of responsibility: individual and
public. Most often it's performed following the Integrated Mosquito Management
(IMM) concept. IMM is based on ecological, economic and social criteria and
integrates multidisciplinary methodologies into pest management strategies that
are practical and effective to protect public health and the environment and
improve the quality of life. IMM strategies are employed in concert with
insecticide. These include source reduction, which incorporates physical control
(digging ditches and ponds in the target marsh) and biological control [placing
live mosquito fish ( Gambusia ) in the ditches and ponds to eat mosquito
larvae]. Other non-chemical control methods include invertebrate predators,
parasites and diseases to control mosquito larvae. Adult mosquito biological
control by means of birds, bats, dragonflies and frogs has been employed by
various agencies. However, supportive data is anecdotal and there is no
documented study to show that bats, purple martins, or other predators consume
enough adult mosquitoes to be effective control agents.

And yes, I am quite well read about bats, I'm a Master Naturalist and live in a
state in the US which has more bats than anywhere else in the country. Not just
the state, I live two miles east of one of the largest colonies known in the US.

But, hey, continue to delude.