Countians seeing fewer bats

[jeff of pa]

Some locals suspect a deadly ailment may be affecting the bat population in Schuylkill County.

“I haven’t seen a lot of bats this year and that concerns me,” Patrick M. “Porcupine Pat” McKinney, education coordinator for the Schuylkill Conservation District said Tuesday. “People are telling me they aren’t seeing that many bats and in my opinion — and I’m just speculating — the white-nose fungus is the reason.”

“White nose has not been found in Pennsylvania,” Morgan said Tuesday. “We have been doing cave surveys and have not found white-nose.”

Morgan said he has heard nothing from the game commission’s bat biologists concerning a decline in the bat population.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reported white-nose syndrome present in at least 18 caves and mines in the three affected states.

The problem has been reported in New York, Vermont and Massachusetts, and researchers now think the fungus is not a primary cause of the die-offs, but a symptom of a larger, unidentified problem. Until the cause is identified, little can be done to counter it.

White-nose syndrome seems to spread from cave to cave, although the fungus might show up when bats are already weakened. The bats may be going into hibernation without enough fat due to fewer moths or other insects to feed on.

http://www.republicanherald.com/art...an.20080725.a.pg3.pr25bats_s1.1828108_loc.txt

This last line here Reminds me.
I thought about it the other day.
I havn't been bothered by Gnats this year.

They are Usually all over in my face while Hunting.

Anyone else niotice this ?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[BIG61AL]

I have noticed a huge drop in mosquitos in colorado...time was you had to go indoors at sunset or you would be swarmed by those devil bugs....no bugs = no bats and no bats is a bad thing.

 

[jeff of pa]

I have noticed a huge drop in mosquitos in colorado...time was you had to go indoors at sunset or you would be swarmed by those devil bugs....no bugs = no bats and no bats is a bad thing.

I got bit by a mosquito Last month.
the first one I remember in years.
either they don't like my blood
or there are fewer.

I remember as a kid they would Feast on me.

 

[jeff of pa]

I will say I have seen a drop in mosquitoes & gnats And I am hunting a stones throw from the Missouri River...

BUT for the last couple years I have seen a dramatic rise in TICKS ... I mean like broods of ticks ... For the fist time in my life I actually dug a plug and came up with several ticks on my glove ... Even with DEET ...

~ Nick ~

Yea I have heard the Tic Population
seems to have Risin by several people.

Tics are like Indian arrow Heads to me.
I don't see them till somone points them out to me.

 

[jeff of pa]

Jeff there NO Fun ... I think you got a taste of one this year ...

Lyme disease is curable HOWEVER it can make your life miserable for quite some time ...

And in this day and age I cannot afford quite some time ...

Watch out for those Little Nasties ... they are faster than you think ...

Nick

I'm still not sure what I had, (Have) ,Got

Last week I was sitting and went to stand up
and every Muscle in my Body started Thumping & Acheing.

a day or 2 later I had Migraines

the last 3 days My Left arm kept going numb
yesterday I almost dropped my coffee
trying to use my left hand to pick
it up. no muscle strength in my wrist

i just carried a full cup over here with my
left hand & only a tingle there now.

could be alot of things I guess,
but am wondering what the next symptom will be.

Maybe i'm turning into

THE FLY !!! Do-Do-Do ? or is that dum-Dum-dum For the dramatic effect ? :P

 

[jeff of pa]

I would think carpel tunnel if I used both hands to type.

But I hunt & Peck With my one finger
and only use my Thumb on my left hand
to hit Shift.

could be lack of use I guess

 

[gametalman52]

Jeff, Don't want to bring this up, but ha e you had your cholesterol and blood pressure checked. Had a blood vessel 70% closed going into my heart 3 years ago at age 53 and had to have 2 stents put in. If I would of had a doctor worth his salt at the time it could of been prevented. Followed your bite when it happened, but it could be something in addition to the bite. You are just describing some of the problems I had before the heart attack. Not trying to alarm, better safe than sorry.

 

[jeff of pa]

Jeff, Don't want to bring this up, but ha e you had your cholesterol and blood pressure checked. Had a blood vessel 70% closed going into my heart 3 years ago at age 53 and had to have 2 stents put in. If I would of had a doctor worth his salt at the time it could of been prevented. Followed your bite when it happened, but it could be something in addition to the bite. You are just describing some of the problems I had before the heart attack. Not trying to alarm, better safe than sorry.

last blood test was a few months ago.
i get it checked once a year.
and am on cholesterol meds, among others for my heart

 

[EDDE]

speaking off nocturnal creatures (excluding me)
owls
in the last 9-10 years I've lived "in the country" from the city
I,ve seen 4 owls maybe 5
3 fishing 2 during the day (small nesting pair) 1 the size of a Labrador
and another 1 as large and a dog i almost ran over
it was eating a skunk it grabbed in the middle of the road
I've noticed the larger predator #'s increasing and (coyotes and foxes
the occasional framer with a gun)filing the nitch
eating the larger "pest species" raccoons ,skunks, opossum,feral cats,etc
say instead when the owls was more predominate a 100 years
the large tracks of prairie Grove forest is gone
the abandoned barns and farms on large tracks of land
they( abandoned barns and farms,groves being cut down)are being plowed over and turned into "McHouse associations" or to corn,wheat,and bean fields
so i guess it would be safe to say it would go both ways
both being nocturnal and avian

 

[jeff of pa]

Jeff there NO Fun ... I think you got a taste of one this year ...

Lyme disease is curable HOWEVER it can make your life miserable for quite some time ...

And in this day and age I cannot afford quite some time ...

Watch out for those Little Nasties ... they are faster than you think ...

Nick

I'm still not sure what I had, (Have) ,Got

Last week I was sitting and went to stand up
and every Muscle in my Body started Thumping & Acheing.

a day or 2 later I had Migraines

the last 3 days My Left arm kept going numb
yesterday I almost dropped my coffee
trying to use my left hand to pick
it up. no muscle strength in my wrist

i just carried a full cup over here with my
left hand & only a tingle there now.

could be alot of things I guess,
but am wondering what the next symptom will be.

Maybe i'm turning into

THE FLY !!! Do-Do-Do ? or is that dum-Dum-dum For the dramatic effect ? :P

Old age?

That's what I'm thinking.

This morning I had to stand on a chair to Change a Light bulb.
Lifted my Left leg & it only went half way before the pain.

Had to step up with my right foot.

Left Arm & Wrist still feel funny
but was able to pour my coffee with it.

Felt ache in my right wrist while carrying the cup of Coffee :P

Think I need a Tune-up :P
or trade in

 

[Mike in Berks]

I agree with EDDE "MC HOUSE ASSOCIATIONS"
I spend a lot of time on the back step of our garage used to be at dusk there were a pair of bats every
evening feeding time then our neighbors property got sold and the new owner decided to hook up the
mecho? light it was unused since a storm awhile back it was pitch black at night good sky gazing
Now, ever since that light comes on at dusk no bats any more
Like EDDE says farms disappearing ! houses being buildt ! more Light Pollution ! but now we have
a group of about 10 tree swallows i call them "Day Bats" they fly like a bat only it's in the daytime
MAYBE ? ? light pollution has something to do with the bat decline Here's the light and a swallow
doing what they do above it


Mike HH

 

[EDDE]

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2008/07/29/news/local/doc488f46a76f090248533222.txt

9th rabid bat found; county leads the state


A ninth rabid bat has been reported in McHenry County, the most in the state.

The bat was found July 22 near a mailbox outside a home in Cary – the fourth rabid bat found in the village.

Since April, rabid bats also have been reported in Crystal Lake, Woodstock and Island Lake. As a precautionary measure, more than 30 people have received rabies treatments, according to a McHenry County Department of Health news release.

To date, there have been 33 rabid bats reported throughout the state. Last year, McHenry County reported 13 rabid bats; the state had 113.

Several other kinds of animals have been tested for rabies by the county this year, including dogs, cats, raccoons, skunks and squirrels, but only bats have tested positive.

The health department recommends that bats found in the home not be released, but be contained in a room or under a bucket using appropriate safety measures. McHenry County Animal Control should be contacted immediately at 815-459-6222.

To test bats for rabies, they must be alive or recently deceased. Fifteen bats submitted for testing were not able to be tested because they had been dead for some time or had their heads destroyed.

Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system and can be confirmed only in a laboratory. The best way to avoid rabies is to avoid exposure.

For information, call the health department’s Communicable Disease Program at 815-334-4500.

 

[EDDE]

I agree with EDDE "MC HOUSE ASSOCIATIONS"
I spend a lot of time on the back step of our garage used to be at dusk there were a pair of bats every
evening feeding time then our neighbors property got sold and the new owner decided to hook up the
mecho? light it was unused since a storm awhile back it was pitch black at night good sky gazing
Now, ever since that light comes on at dusk no bats any more
Like EDDE says farms disappearing ! houses being buildt ! more Light Pollution ! but now we have
a group of about 10 tree swallows i call them "Day Bats" they fly like a bat only it's in the daytime
MAYBE ? ? light pollution has something to do with the bat decline Here's the light and a swallow
doing what they do above it



Mike HH

actually when i was a kid in the city the bats were SMART
there was a street that was about a mile long
and street light all along it
you could walk up and down that road all night and watch them
the bats would fly under all light snatching bugs till dawn

 

[Mike in Berks]

thanks for the info EDDE !! so much for my idea