Why Bats Make the Best Mosquito Eaters

Why Bats Make the Best Mosquito Eaters

Bat conservationist often argue with mosquito control specialists about getting rid of the pests. Seriously and surprisingly, it happens.

The save the bats crowd always claims our flying mammal friends do a great job getting rid of mosquitoes. Mosquito control specialists have a plethora of other methods they find far superior.

At Big Bat Box, we clearly believe in the benefits of bat houses as insect control methods. So, what makes bats the best mosquito eaters? Well, let’s dive in and take a look:

Are Bats Mosquito Eaters?

Yes. Yes. And. Yes. Bats are some of the biggest and baddest mosquito eaters around. While other animals have laid claim to eating mosquitoes, most agree that bats do it better. The crane fly may be good, but many claim the bat is better.

Other animals that eat mosquitoes include dragonflies, fish, birds, and some frogs. So bats certainly aren’t the only mosquito eaters around, but they do good job at it. Why? Because mosquitoes play a huge role in their diet.

Understanding What Bats Eat

Most bats have fairly strict diets that consist of a few things, but humans tend to only think of one: blood. Yep, many people think bats only consume blood due to our friend Dracula. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, there’s only a few species of bats that even drink blood. None of these species live in the United States. They’re found in Central and South America.

The rest of the 1,200 bats species tend to avoid drinking blood. These flying mammals prefer to eat things like bugs, mosquitoes, fruits, and fish.

How Many Mosquitoes Can Bats Eat?

Now we’re getting to the good stuff. The number of mosquitoes a bat can eat is what makes them so good at handling backyard mosquito control.

Bats may be smaller animals, but they certainly do eat a lot. Many a bat species can eat over 30% of their body weight in bugs - in under an hour! Think about that. No matter how hard you try, you cannot eat 30% of your weight in beef.

Due to these staggering numbers, a healthy and hungry bat can eat up to 1,200 bugs, insects, and mosquitoes in one single hour. That’s a lot of mosquitoes that won’t be biting your legs and ankles any longer.

Should You Believe the Hype?

Now, some argue that bats don’t make good mosquito eaters. Many claim that the only people who say these flying mammals help with insect control are those looking to save the bats. And they may have a point.

See, science has shown that mosquitoes only make up 3% of the diet of most bat species. That’s a pretty measly number if you ask me. But we dug a little deeper here at Big Bat Box. Why?

Because we’ve had a number of customers write us saying how wonderful our bat houses are and how they help with the native mosquito population. Just look at what David from Colorado said:

"Your bat house came highly recommended from my brother in law.  We last counted 70 bats,........ talk about bug control.  We went from constantly needing bug spray to needing absolutely nothing - ever. Thanks for making and selling these!"

Only 3% of Their Diet?

Now, one testimonial certainly doesn’t equate to bats being the best mosquito eaters on planet earth. We know that. So we kept thinking about it.

If mosquitoes only make up 3% of a bat’s diet, then why do bat houses end up working? How do bat houses control mosquito populations in backyards?

Then it clicked...mental math was the answer!

Let’s take a Big Bat Box for example. Our main bat house can hold up to 200 bats. If a colony forms, most users find 100-200 bats living in their bat house. That’s pretty common. For simplicities sake, we’ll say 100 bats.

Now, these 100 bats may search for food 2-3 hours a night - give or take. Let’s stick with three hours.

And how many insects and mosquitoes can these bats eat in one single hour? Up to 1,200. So let’s round that down to 1,000 to make things easy.

Then we need to factor in how often a bat will eat a mosquito. As mosquitoes make up around 3% of the bat diet, that’s a pretty simple number to factor in.

With a little mental math, we can see that:

100 X 3 X 1,000 X .03% = ?

100 bats eating 1,000 bugs for three hours each night. That’s 300,000 bugs consumed every single night. But…

Mosquitoes only make up 3% of the bat’s diet. So that number comes down to 9,000 mosquitoes. The flying mammals living in your bat house could eat up to 9,000 mosquitoes each and every night.

A few weeks of that and you’re bound to not have many mosquitoes running around your backyard or property. It’s simple. You combine natural mosquito controls with mental math, and your mosquito problem is gone.

Bats can be the answer. Maybe the hype is justified.

Why Bats Make the Best Mosquito Eaters

There you have it. Why do bats make the best mosquito eaters? Because a colony of bats can eat more mosquitoes than just about any other animal. If you have a backyard mosquito control issue, a bat house may be just what you need to fix it.

Click here to learn more about the Big Bat Box, the premier bat house on the market.