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bat conservation postage stamps

Bats - Nature's Pest Control

There are eighteen species of bats found in Florida.  According to the 1998 survey conducted by Fly By Night Inc.(flybynightinc.com), eleven of these species have the potential to occur in Volusia County.  However, only eight species were positively identified.  All the bats found in Volusia County are insectivorous feeding on beetles, moths and mosquitoes.  One species of bat found in the northern US, which is similar in size to the southeastern Myotis found in Florida, has been recorded consuming 1000 mosquitoes in one hour.

Bat conservation includes providing roosting sites for bats.  Natural bat roosts, such as cavities in trees, under loose bark and old woodpecker holes, are declining along with bat populations.  Bat houses provide alternative roost sites.  Environmental Management, with the help of Fly By Night Inc., has installed a bat box to provide bat roosting at Volusia County’s Native Plant Nursery on Tiger Bay Rd.  The most successful bat houses are often located near water where a rich source of food from all the insects is found.  The nursery has a source of water close by.  The bat box may not be inhabited straight away.  It was a few years before the University of Florida's bat box was inhabited.

The incidence of disease in bats is extremely low, but includes rabies and histoplasmosis that is very rare in Florida. You should never handle grounded bats.  If you find a grounded bat in Volusia County, report it to Animal Control or contact Volusia County Environmental Management.

Bats and West Nile Virus

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