Bats Take Flight In Frisco To Fight West Nile
FRISCO (CBS 11 NEWS) - A stagnant creek behind a Frisco neighborhood offers the perfect nesting ground for mosquitoes. But nearby homeowners wonder where they are.
"We're out all throughout the days, the evening, mowing the lawns, letting the pets out and I haven't really noticed a mosquito problem," said Frisco resident Kelly Smith
The reason may be inside a black wooden box attached to trees in Beaver Bend Park and two others in Frisco. They are bat houses which offer a small, dark hiding place for what could be a mosquito's worst enemy.
"Bats are known to be able to consume quite a few insects and mosquitoes and, of course, right now with West Nile on everyone's mind, being able to eat mosquitoes is a good thing," said Rick Wieland, Frisco Parks and Recreation Director
The city says there are no studies to show how these bat houses are making a difference, but there is at least one statistic that cannot be ignored. None of the city's three confirmed West Nile cases are in the same neighborhoods as the bat houses.
Some studies suggest bats can eat hundreds of mosquitoes an hour, while others say the insects make up a much smaller portion of their diet.
But, at a time when cities are turning to the skies for help combating West Nile, they may want to look for help from something else with wings.
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