The Peachland Primary School is home to a summer roost of about 2,000 Yuma myotis bats. (PeachlandNews.com file photo)
by Dave Preston
Peachland will not participate in a regional program to reduce the number of mosquitoes in the Central Okanagan due in part to the overwhelming success of the town’s bats in curbing the population of the flying pests.
The regional district has had a nuisance mosquito control program for some time and in 2005 it was expanded using funds from the provincial Ministry of Health to control the threat of West Nile Virus spread.
The ministry has now ended the funding, after health officials claimed West Nile Virus is no longer much of a threat in the Southern Interior. However, the regional district wants to continue its nuisance program, or an expanded program, and has asked Peachland to participate.
It would cost Peachland up to $7,700 per year to participate in the regional district’s program, according to a town staff report.
District staff reminded council Tuesday that the Primary School bat population is estimated at about 2,000 individuals and that each bat can eat up to three quarters its own weight in flying insects every night.
“…thus explaining why Peachland is virtually mosquito free,” noted staff.
“There may be enough bats to deal with the situation,” added Doug Allin, director of operations.
Council voted not to participate in the regional district’s program, in favor of allowing the bats to continue their work.
- Excited
- Informed
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
What has the parable got to do with bats?
Peachland may very well become a destination for the success of the Bat Interpretive Centre to promote a natural way to eliminate insect pests, mosquitos included. The less insecticides we use, the better. As the Primary School bats are females and offspring, in other words a nursing colony, there likely are a great number of male bats in the area too.
a parable
There was a Scottish painter named Smokey MacGregor who was very interested in saving a penny; so he often thinned his can of paint, to make it go abit further.
AS it happened, one day his church had a restoration job of one of their largest buildings.
Smokey put in a bid, and of course got the job, with his bid being so low!
Soon he set about erecting the scaffolding and setting up the planks, buying the paint, and yes, I’m sorry to say… thinning the paint down with turpentine.
By the end of the week, Smokey was just finishing up on the scaffolding, painting away; he thought: …the job is nearly completed. Suddenly there was a hugh clap of thunder; the skies opened up and the rain poured down! The rain was washing the thinned paint off the church building… there was a great bolt of lighting, which struck the scaffolding and knocked Smokey to the ground… down into the mud, among the gravestones, and the puddles of thinned and useless paint
Smokey was no Fool! He knew this was a judgement from his Almighty; so he got down on his knees and cried: “Oh God. God, forgive me! What should I do?”
There was another loud clap of thunder, and out of the heavens came a calm steady voice that said:
“Repaint! Repaint!
…And Thin no more!”
“There may be enough bats to deal with the situation,” added Doug Allin, director of operations.
It sure nice to know that we have a Director of Operations that is so knowledgeable in so many things to keep our council in the know.
Who would have though looking at the job description that so many hats were needed to be worn.
Just think in 103.9 years the bats will have paid for the $800,000 (estimated) renovations to their bat house.