PATRICK meets the PRESS — KEATING talks UKRAINE — BRADY stripped of chairmanship
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Showing posts with label mosquitoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mosquitoes. Show all posts
Friday, November 15, 2019
POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: PATRICK meets the PRESS — KEATING talks UKRAINE — BRADY stripped of chairmanship
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Killer fungus endangering bats spreads to Cape
Several years ago, amidst the mosquito hysteria in Plymouth County, the pesticide spraying decimated the bat population. [Spraying was at dusk and dawn, prime hours for bat predation of mosquitoes.]
While we previously could enjoy prime mosquito hours unaffected, their absence has been noted. [The aerial spraying not only decimated bat populations, but other mosquito predators as well.]
Maybe at some point, we'll have the common sense to re-think our application of chemical pesticides.
http://www.wbrcouncil.org/Departments/Mosquito-Abatement/Natural-Mosquito-Killers
By Patrick Cassidy
October 27, 2013
BARNSTABLE — Proving its ability to reach even the most far-flung and atypical locations, a killer fungus that has decimated bat populations across the Northeast over the past seven years arrived on Cape Cod last winter in an unlikely carrier.
Although the region is not a major hub for hibernating bats, the furry fliers travel to the Cape during the summer, feasting on mosquitoes and other insects humans commonly consider a nuisance.
A year ago, a handful of northern long-eared bats were found locally suffering from white-nose syndrome, which thrives in the moist, cold caves where many bats hibernate, forcing them from their torpor and into the cold weather, typically resulting in death.
"They're dehydrating as well as being starved," said Lynn Miller, director of wildlife rehabilitation at the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable.
The syndrome confirmed in the long-eared bats was not only a first for the deadly fungus in the region but also for the species of bat being found on the Cape, said Miller.
As part of a series of Halloween-themed events at the center today, Miller and other staff are kicking off "Year of the Bat" to get the word out about the white-nose syndrome's effect on the bats of the Cape and beyond.
"It has flattened the populations, and it continues to move south and west," Miller said. "Last year, I didn't see bats in the air."
The rehabilitation center is trying to make itself a go-to resource for bats, including educational programs and participation in a survey of bats on the Cape, and also plans to build a free-standing bat aviary to give them a place to fly and gain strength before being released. Last week center staff moved three big brown bats into a specially reinforced screened enclosure in the attic of a barn used for species susceptible to rabies such as coyotes and raccoons.
The bats, one of which was found in Falmouth and another in Framingham, were weak but not suffering from white-nose syndrome when they were brought to the center, facility director Deborah Millman said.
The Framingham bat, which was transferred to the Cape through the state's Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine Wildlife Clinic, was pregnant, Millman said. Although one of the babies died, the other survived and is doing well, she said.
Inside their new home, the bats were placed in a bat box hung near an open window covered with webbing to keep them from getting out but let their winged dinner in. Branches were arranged along the walls of the enclosure so the bats could crawl back up to the box if they needed to, but it left plenty of flight space. A light dangled from the tented ceiling to attract insects at night.
"We will take your bugs," Miller said.
Staff at the center also set up a camera to track the bats' progress during the night, Millman said.
Big brown bats typically hibernate in attics, making the species less prone to the white-nose syndrome, said Thomas French, assistant director for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.
"The ones that go to mines and caves, they died," he said.
For the little brown bat, which congregates in caves and mines in the western part of the state and elsewhere during the winter, the combination of cold weather and moisture has been deadly, French said.
In Massachusetts and other states, mortality among little brown bats since white-nose syndrome was first found in the United States in February 2006 has been as high as 98 percent, French said.
Bats that roost in trees, such as the hoary, red and silver-haired, aren't affected by the disease, he said.
The Cape has never had a substantial number of hibernating bats because of a lack of large spaces with the appropriate temperatures, French said.
"It's got to be a place that never freezes," he said.
The northern long-eared bats may have been hibernating in storm drains, French said.
If a homeowner finds a colony of bats in their home, they shouldn't evict them during the winter when they will die, or during the middle of the summer when baby bats may be present, French said. The fall and spring are the best time to remove bats from the home, which can be done by finding out how they are getting in and setting up a one-way door so that they can leave but can't come back, he said.
Homeowners can also set up a bat box nearby so the animals have someplace to go.
Both French and the staff at the Cape Wildlife Center hope homeowners will do what they can to help bats, which serve a useful purpose in keeping insect populations in check.
Homeowners who find bats that appear injured should be careful but try to get the animal to the Wildlife Center, she said.
Using gloves and avoiding contact with the animal is especially important because of rabies concerns. A Marstons Mills man died from the disease in 2012 after being bitten by a bat.
But, for the time being, bats appear to be in more danger than humans.
French is hopeful some members of the species most affected by white-nose syndrome will survive and be the start of a resistant population like those in Europe, where the fungus is believed to have originated. So far, however, there is little anyone can do to stop it, French said.
"The question is will it spread all the way to the Pacific Coast and how far south will it go," French said.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131027/NEWS/310270337/-1/NEWSLETTER100
While we previously could enjoy prime mosquito hours unaffected, their absence has been noted. [The aerial spraying not only decimated bat populations, but other mosquito predators as well.]
Maybe at some point, we'll have the common sense to re-think our application of chemical pesticides.
http://www.wbrcouncil.org/Departments/Mosquito-Abatement/Natural-Mosquito-Killers
Killer fungus endangering bats spreads to Cape
By Patrick Cassidy
October 27, 2013
BARNSTABLE — Proving its ability to reach even the most far-flung and atypical locations, a killer fungus that has decimated bat populations across the Northeast over the past seven years arrived on Cape Cod last winter in an unlikely carrier.
Although the region is not a major hub for hibernating bats, the furry fliers travel to the Cape during the summer, feasting on mosquitoes and other insects humans commonly consider a nuisance.
A year ago, a handful of northern long-eared bats were found locally suffering from white-nose syndrome, which thrives in the moist, cold caves where many bats hibernate, forcing them from their torpor and into the cold weather, typically resulting in death.
"They're dehydrating as well as being starved," said Lynn Miller, director of wildlife rehabilitation at the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable.
The syndrome confirmed in the long-eared bats was not only a first for the deadly fungus in the region but also for the species of bat being found on the Cape, said Miller.
As part of a series of Halloween-themed events at the center today, Miller and other staff are kicking off "Year of the Bat" to get the word out about the white-nose syndrome's effect on the bats of the Cape and beyond.
"It has flattened the populations, and it continues to move south and west," Miller said. "Last year, I didn't see bats in the air."
The rehabilitation center is trying to make itself a go-to resource for bats, including educational programs and participation in a survey of bats on the Cape, and also plans to build a free-standing bat aviary to give them a place to fly and gain strength before being released. Last week center staff moved three big brown bats into a specially reinforced screened enclosure in the attic of a barn used for species susceptible to rabies such as coyotes and raccoons.
The bats, one of which was found in Falmouth and another in Framingham, were weak but not suffering from white-nose syndrome when they were brought to the center, facility director Deborah Millman said.
The Framingham bat, which was transferred to the Cape through the state's Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine Wildlife Clinic, was pregnant, Millman said. Although one of the babies died, the other survived and is doing well, she said.
Inside their new home, the bats were placed in a bat box hung near an open window covered with webbing to keep them from getting out but let their winged dinner in. Branches were arranged along the walls of the enclosure so the bats could crawl back up to the box if they needed to, but it left plenty of flight space. A light dangled from the tented ceiling to attract insects at night.
"We will take your bugs," Miller said.
Staff at the center also set up a camera to track the bats' progress during the night, Millman said.
Big brown bats typically hibernate in attics, making the species less prone to the white-nose syndrome, said Thomas French, assistant director for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.
"The ones that go to mines and caves, they died," he said.
For the little brown bat, which congregates in caves and mines in the western part of the state and elsewhere during the winter, the combination of cold weather and moisture has been deadly, French said.
In Massachusetts and other states, mortality among little brown bats since white-nose syndrome was first found in the United States in February 2006 has been as high as 98 percent, French said.
Bats that roost in trees, such as the hoary, red and silver-haired, aren't affected by the disease, he said.
The Cape has never had a substantial number of hibernating bats because of a lack of large spaces with the appropriate temperatures, French said.
"It's got to be a place that never freezes," he said.
The northern long-eared bats may have been hibernating in storm drains, French said.
If a homeowner finds a colony of bats in their home, they shouldn't evict them during the winter when they will die, or during the middle of the summer when baby bats may be present, French said. The fall and spring are the best time to remove bats from the home, which can be done by finding out how they are getting in and setting up a one-way door so that they can leave but can't come back, he said.
Homeowners can also set up a bat box nearby so the animals have someplace to go.
Both French and the staff at the Cape Wildlife Center hope homeowners will do what they can to help bats, which serve a useful purpose in keeping insect populations in check.
Homeowners who find bats that appear injured should be careful but try to get the animal to the Wildlife Center, she said.
Using gloves and avoiding contact with the animal is especially important because of rabies concerns. A Marstons Mills man died from the disease in 2012 after being bitten by a bat.
But, for the time being, bats appear to be in more danger than humans.
French is hopeful some members of the species most affected by white-nose syndrome will survive and be the start of a resistant population like those in Europe, where the fungus is believed to have originated. So far, however, there is little anyone can do to stop it, French said.
"The question is will it spread all the way to the Pacific Coast and how far south will it go," French said.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131027/NEWS/310270337/-1/NEWSLETTER100
Saturday, June 15, 2013
PLYMOUTH COUNTY MOSQUITO SPRAYING! June 17 - 21
~ PLYMOUTH CO. MOSQUITO CONTROL ~ SPRAYING ~ June 17, to June 21, 2013, between 4:00am and 9:00pm (town website says this... 9pm doesn't sound right???)
March Against Monsanto shared Say No to GMO's photo.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Since you mentioned it....
Cape Cod Online offered the following article which I thought was pretty interesting --
Bat nursed to health in time for Halloween
Wild Care in Eastham is rehabilitating a small brown bat that was found on the ground malnourished and with tears in its wings.Cape Cod Times/Steve Heaslip
By Jason Kolnos
October 16, 2010
EASTHAM — He won't turn into Nosferatu. He prefers a simple insect repast to a bloodbath. And he likely won't dive-bomb into your hair.
A little brown bat is getting the royal rehab treatment at Wild Care in Eastham, and that's a bit of good news for a species that has been decimated across the region.
This plucky fanged fella was brought to the wild animal hospital two weeks ago with multiple puncture wounds and damage to his wing's webbing.
A cat had gotten at the bat, hypothesized Lela Larned, executive director of Wild Care.
After daily doses of electrolyte-infused fluids and tasty mealworms, the bat more than doubled his weight.
"When he first came in, he was emaciated, sluggish and unresponsive," Larned said. "Now, he's self-feeding, taking short flights and much more aggressive."
Folks at Wild Care are treating this little brown bat as a member of an endangered species, even though it isn't yet listed as one in Massachusetts.
Bats are dying in the state's caves and mines — where they hibernate during winter months — at alarmingly high levels, according to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife). Biologists attribute the cause to white-nose syndrome, a crusting fungus that attacks their muzzles and other body parts. Mortality rates may be as high as 95 to 100 percent.
An unpleasant example comes from the state's largest hibernaculum (winter bat quarters) in Chester, where a normal winter population was 8,000 to 10,000 bats. But during recent winters, all those bats have apparently died, according to MassWildlife.
"With all the declines that bats have suffered, we wanted to go to every length to make sure this one survives," Larned said.
And if you're sick of scratching bug bites, it behooves you to befriend a bat, too. These winged spelunkers are serial killers of mosquitoes and other insects.
Larned encourages folks to consider installing bat boxes that can host hundreds of them, including females and baby bats.
"A single bat can eat thousands of insects a night, so if you have one of these, you won't have mosquitoes," Larned said.
Coincidentally, thedailygreen offered 7 Surprising Facts About Bats that offers some great pictures and narrative.
Both of those forced me the re-visit Wednesday, August 4, 2010 STATE SPRAYING TO TARGET DISEASE-CARRYING MOSQUITOES.
All of which makes me ponder our arrogance and stupidity as a species.
Allow me -- when the public matter of mosquitoes arose, we were baffled!
For just about 30 years, a few bats have nested under our rake boards. They raise their families and grow and do their thing in the evenings. We have a nodding and appreciative neighborly relationship. Their numbers periodically increase as the harvest increases.
They've been pretty tolerant and forgiving like the time the house was power washed before painting.
A trip outside, into the garden invited the abundance of dragon flies to dive bomb maybe in search of prey that was becoming scarce.
On the evening we were forced to endure aerial spraying, it was misting - not quite a rain. Our bats had been circumnavigating the house, doing their job, sadly oblivious to the poison falling from the skies.
That poison, promoted as benign, destroyed the bats and the dragonflies, allowing the mosquito population to rebound and flourish.
Yesterday, October 17, was the first day a dragonfly was seen.
Years ago, a friend recommended Farnam's Nature's Defense® Water-based Fly Repellent Spray and Concentrate that we've used successfully that includes this product description --
Bat nursed to health in time for Halloween
Wild Care in Eastham is rehabilitating a small brown bat that was found on the ground malnourished and with tears in its wings.Cape Cod Times/Steve Heaslip
By Jason Kolnos
October 16, 2010
EASTHAM — He won't turn into Nosferatu. He prefers a simple insect repast to a bloodbath. And he likely won't dive-bomb into your hair.
A little brown bat is getting the royal rehab treatment at Wild Care in Eastham, and that's a bit of good news for a species that has been decimated across the region.
This plucky fanged fella was brought to the wild animal hospital two weeks ago with multiple puncture wounds and damage to his wing's webbing.
A cat had gotten at the bat, hypothesized Lela Larned, executive director of Wild Care.
After daily doses of electrolyte-infused fluids and tasty mealworms, the bat more than doubled his weight.
"When he first came in, he was emaciated, sluggish and unresponsive," Larned said. "Now, he's self-feeding, taking short flights and much more aggressive."
Folks at Wild Care are treating this little brown bat as a member of an endangered species, even though it isn't yet listed as one in Massachusetts.
Bats are dying in the state's caves and mines — where they hibernate during winter months — at alarmingly high levels, according to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife). Biologists attribute the cause to white-nose syndrome, a crusting fungus that attacks their muzzles and other body parts. Mortality rates may be as high as 95 to 100 percent.
An unpleasant example comes from the state's largest hibernaculum (winter bat quarters) in Chester, where a normal winter population was 8,000 to 10,000 bats. But during recent winters, all those bats have apparently died, according to MassWildlife.
"With all the declines that bats have suffered, we wanted to go to every length to make sure this one survives," Larned said.
And if you're sick of scratching bug bites, it behooves you to befriend a bat, too. These winged spelunkers are serial killers of mosquitoes and other insects.
Larned encourages folks to consider installing bat boxes that can host hundreds of them, including females and baby bats.
"A single bat can eat thousands of insects a night, so if you have one of these, you won't have mosquitoes," Larned said.
Coincidentally, thedailygreen offered 7 Surprising Facts About Bats that offers some great pictures and narrative.
Both of those forced me the re-visit Wednesday, August 4, 2010 STATE SPRAYING TO TARGET DISEASE-CARRYING MOSQUITOES.
All of which makes me ponder our arrogance and stupidity as a species.
Allow me -- when the public matter of mosquitoes arose, we were baffled!
For just about 30 years, a few bats have nested under our rake boards. They raise their families and grow and do their thing in the evenings. We have a nodding and appreciative neighborly relationship. Their numbers periodically increase as the harvest increases.
They've been pretty tolerant and forgiving like the time the house was power washed before painting.
A trip outside, into the garden invited the abundance of dragon flies to dive bomb maybe in search of prey that was becoming scarce.
On the evening we were forced to endure aerial spraying, it was misting - not quite a rain. Our bats had been circumnavigating the house, doing their job, sadly oblivious to the poison falling from the skies.
That poison, promoted as benign, destroyed the bats and the dragonflies, allowing the mosquito population to rebound and flourish.
Yesterday, October 17, was the first day a dragonfly was seen.
Years ago, a friend recommended Farnam's Nature's Defense® Water-based Fly Repellent Spray and Concentrate that we've used successfully that includes this product description --
Water-based formula combines citronella with other botanicals
Repels horn, stable, house, horse and deer flies, plus mosquitoes and gnats
Contains no preservatives, additives or artificial colors
Alcohol-free – will not irritate sensitive skin
For use on horses, ponies and foals
Available in ready-to-use formula with trigger sprayer or concentrate (dilutes 4:1)
It's herbs, folks! Harmless stuff the Big Chemical Companies don't promote, instead of poisoning the environment.
Instead of blindly accepting the hysteria, insisting on our superiority as a species, we might consider that the bats are warm blooded, just like humans. What are we doing to ourselves?
How stupid are we as a species?
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