Bats are cool. For one thing, they are the only mammals capable of flying. They are also capable of eating 1,200 mosquitoes in an hour and navigating through the dark of the night to find insect prey using echolocation. I like bats well enough that I have affixed a bat box to the east gable of my house.
The
bat box provides a safe roosting place for bats and has the benefit of
attracting natural pest control agents to your yard. Bats typically use the box
during their active months, from spring through early fall, as they seek
shelter during the day and a place to raise their young.
This
year, judging by the guano (the term for bat droppings) collected below my bat
box, it has seen heavy use. Interestingly enough, bat poop is also good. Guano
holds significant value due to its high nutrient content, making it an
exceptional natural fertilizer. Rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium,
bat guano promotes healthy plant growth and enhances soil structure, which
improves water retention and aeration. Additionally, it contains beneficial
microbes that help to break down organic matter in the soil, further enriching
its quality. Late each fall, once the bats have left to hibernate, I sweep the
guano into a dustpan and broadcast it in my yard.
I am
sharing a photograph of my bat box with the collection of guano below.
—Mitchell Hegman
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