Farmers may wish to welcome bats to their agricultural fields. Genetic testing of bat scat proves they eat the menacing pest coddling moth, according to an Ag Alert article published in the Woodland Daily Democrat.
Rachel Long, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor in Yolo County, is studying bats' diets to ascertain their role in combating insect pests in agriculture. She captures the winged rodents and keeps them until she can collect their guano for analysis.
"We just have one year under our belts, and so we don't have much data at all. But we do know that bats are feeding on codling moths because the test shows genetically that the fecal pellets are positive for codling moth," Long was quoted.
Their preferred abode may be a batcave, but farmers can attract the flying mammals by offering a place to live.
"There are growers that put up bat houses on their farms just to bring in bats," Long was quoted in the article.
Long also eased concerns about the common misconception that bats carry diseases such as rabies.
"The incidence of rabies in bats is no higher than skunks, or raccoons or dogs," Long was quoted. "If you have unvaccinated cats or dogs running around the shop or a barn, then it's not a good idea to have a bat house right there because any bat that falls out is likely to be sick."
Long offers some advice for building a bat house in her article, Use of Bats to Enhance Insect Pest Control (pdf).
