Columbus goes ‘batty’

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cecilia Rodriguez
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFPN) --  The new neighbors here never come outside during the day. Rumors say they nibble on people’s necks and suck their blood, but some people know better.

“It’s important for the base community to become educated about bats,” said Charlie Burgess, 17, the Boy Scout responsible for spearheading a project that created healthy habitats for these nocturnal creatures on base. “Bats aren’t really scary animals; they’re just misunderstood.”

When wildlife biologist Kyle VanWhy was invited to speak at a Boy Scout meeting a few months ago, he discussed potential projects the scouts could undertake that would benefit both the animals and the communities on base. Mr. VanWhy’s presentation included the possibility of creating bat boxes for the base, and that sparked the interest of a few Scouts.

The boxes would deter the bats from finding shelter in work places and houses on base, and also serve as a countermeasure for mosquitoes. One bat box can house up to 200 bats; and a single bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes in one hour.

Although there is not a merit badge for the project, the activity does satisfy a requirement needed to earn Eagle Scout -- the highest rank a Scout can attain.

“The bat box project began as an activity for the entire troop, but when three members had to move and a few became preoccupied with other commitments, my brother [Jim, 14] and I decided to go ahead with it,” Charlie said.

After creating a proposal for the respective base agencies and the Boy Scout Council, the project was approved, and Charlie began researching different bat box models.

“I chose a fairly easy design,” Charlie said. “The dimensions were simple, and an entire bat box could be created from one board with scrap material left over.”

Mr. VanWhy and Charlie surveyed a number of locations, and decided to place boxes in three different base environments: an urban setting to dissuade bats from nesting in base buildings; a suburban setting at the edge of base housing to help with mosquito problems and keep the bats from roosting in houses; and a rural site to place the bats in a more natural habitat near natural resources.

“When people think of bats, they think of rabies and other diseases they can carry,” Charlie said. “But because the animals keep to themselves, they hardly ever pass rabies to people. It usually stays within their population.”

People should not tamper with a bat box if they find one. Disturbances can stress the animals and make them more susceptible to illnesses.

“Bats aren’t necessarily bad,” Mr. VanWhy said. “They’re a natural part of the community and (are) actually healthy for the environment.”