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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Bats. No, really. We have bat houses. Bats think mosquitos are delish.[/quote]
1) bats are in decline
[quote]HARTFORD -- Connecticut's pest-eating bat population has essentially collapsed, meaning higher costs for farmers and probably more mosquitoes at summer picnics.
The state Department of Environmental Protection on Tuesday released winter-time census information showing that White Nose Syndrome has killed off 95 percent or more of winter colonies in Northwestern Connecticut caves.
One cave where 3,300 bats were counted in 2007 had only seven-to-12 bats during a recent count. Another cave, where there were as many as 1,800 bats in 2007, had a population of only about 69.
"We're rapidly getting to the point of no return, unfortunately," said Jenny Dickson, the DEP's supervising wildlife biologist, warning of a possible statewide extinction before the end of the decade

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Bats-decline-a-real-horror-story-455271.php#ixzz1yXrer0UE[/quote]
2) they don't eat enough of them to make a difference
[quote]WHAT'S FOR DINNER? Bats may be both opportunistic and selective in their feeding, and several factors are involved as to which specific insects may be consumed in the greatest quantity. In general, research has shown that the little brown bat feeds on softbodied insects such as moths, flies, midges, mosquitoes and mayflies. The larger big brown bat is opportunistic, and preys mostly upon beetles such as ground beetles, June bugs, cucumber beetles and other beetles and insects. The Mexican free-tailed bat consumes primarily moths and beetles.

Among the various types of insects consumed by bats, some are of obvious pest significance, such as the flies, mosquitoes and cucumber beetles mentioned previously. And it is true that a colony of bats can consume thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of insects over several weeks of feeding. But there are several reasons why this cannot necessarily be interpreted as bats control pest populations."

First, insect populations have no trouble compensating for their losses to bats (or to-'insectivorous birds, or even to our cars smashing them every night along our highways and interstates). The populations of many insect species, especially flies and mosquitoes, are measured in the millions, and commonly in the hundreds of millions. Second, relative to their relationship to people and the ecosystem, bats consume "bad bugs," "good bugs" and "neutral bugs." They are not selective in consuming only those insects that annoy people. Certainly, if a colony of bats consumes several hundred mosquitoes each night in an area, there will be less mosquitoes in that area. But does that mean we can sit out on our porches at night without using bug repellent? Don't count on it. There are many other factors at play.[/quote][/quote]

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