The crowdsourced idea behind BatBnB might just shift your view on the flying rodents.
As outdoorsmen, we have an inherent feud with mosquitos. They come with the territory, we try not to let them ruin the great outdoors, but when it comes down to it, they pretty much suck.
That goes double for the backyard mosquito problem here in most parts of the United States. If I'm not camping or fly fishing somewhere remote, and merely trying to enjoy my own yard, what can I do without succumbing to the chemicals used in most pest control techniques?
I've heard the stats, and maybe you have too, about bats eating around 1,000 mosquitos an hour on a good night, but never really thought much more of it. Then I saw the wooden bat houses made by BatBnB.
What started as a successful crowdfunding campaign has now turned into a line of, essentially, designer bat houses. The grooved landing pads and interior portions allow the bats to cling, cling, and hang, and the idea is to get a group to shack up and start feeding on the skeeters that call the area home, too.
Now I've found myself trying to convince my wife that we need to hang something on our exterior walls to "bring the bats to us!"
I'm still working on the persuasion, but this is the natural solution I've grown to believe in. My next step will be to send her this video, which you ought to watch as well.
The concept isn't brand new, and even BatBnB has been working on their approach for a few years since lauching in Lexington, Kentucky. But now there are finally some smart-looking, well-built, impeccably-designed bat homes that can be acquired easily online, installed without much work or know-how, and set up to work without any real maintenance or upkeep.
The bat shacks are made entirely in America from sustainably-sourced cedar wood, and there's little need to explain the disease-spreading problems mosquitos can introduce. Plus, there's even more advantages: bat populations are facing habitat loss, and roost areas are the number one underlying issue. If I'm giving the local wildlife a place to stay, and they're repaying me in mosquito control, that's a win-win.
BatBnB works with Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation project, leaders in bat conservation and advocacy efforts, and even got Tuttle himself involved in the design and construction of the houses. With the bat expert's seal of approval, BatBnB is poised for success.
The thing is, these aren't some DIY weekend project you can make yourself. The creators of BatBnB have mastered the "complexity of the design and machinery required for building," so much so that they don't sell kits or plans. If you want a bat house that works, you're going to have a tough time doing it yourself. And once you accept that, you'll realize like I did that this is the one to get.
Co-founders Harrison Broadhurst and Christopher Rännefors are even expected on an upcoming episode of Shark Tank. If anything's worthy of investing in, it's an innovative, American-made bat box.
And no, I'm not looking for new pets. I think if they keep to themselves and get after the mosquito problem, it'd be well worth it. But for their own sake, they'd better be scarce while my wife's around, or it's all going to backfire...
In the meantime, I'll keep trying to convince her, and hopefully have one of these BatBnB houses hanging outside my home before too long.
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