By Sean McCarthy Staff Reporter Winged black creatures have be come more visible around Lincoln, an animal control official said. Jim Wevcrka, manager of Lincoln’s Animal Control Center, said that be cause of increases in mosquito and oth er insect populations in Lincoln, bat sightings have become a common com plaint during the last month. Wevcrka said his center had re ceived about one call every night re garding bats in people’s homes. That brings the number of bat calls to about 30 this month, he said. Bats consume an enormous number of small insects; the average bat coiv sumes more than 1,000 small insects a night. Wevcrka said. The high volume ol insects in Lin coln also makes it easier for bats to , reproduce, he said. With so much food, bats have more energy for reproduction, he said. Wcvcrka said bats are most com- ' monly sighted in attics. Windows that are left open at night or have poor screens attrac t bats, W everka said. How ever, a bat can enter through an opening the size of a dime, Wcvcrka said. “Bats arc easily attracted to open windows because of small insects that might be flying around in the light,” Wcvcrka said. When a bat enters an area, the best th ing to do is close as many entrances possible, Wcvcrka said. Using brigni lights isa good way to repel bats from an attic or house, Weverka said. “There arc other ways to get bats out of the ir environment, such as music and mothballs, but I’m not too sure on the cffectivcncssof these methods,” he said. Because bats may carry rabies, Weverka said people should use ex treme caution when removing a bat from a house, Weverka said. People should remove pets from the area to prevent them from getting rabies, he said. The chance ofa bat spreading rabies is low, Weverka said. For the most part, bats are harmless animals that arc not prone to attack people or animals, Weverka said. Wcvcrka said people whodidn ’ t want to deal with bats could call the Animal Control Center for assistance. IAII / • / The center is available 24 hours a day, he said. Weverka said the center had meth ods to ensure bats were removed with out harm. Once the bat is removed from the area, it usually is released in the wild immediately, Weverka said. If the bat has attacked a person, it will be held for a rabies test, he said. • • Insome instances, bats loo sick to be released arc taken to the Wildlife Res cue Unit, he said. L inda Branum, member of the board of directors for the Wildlife Rescue Unit, said adult bats were fed for a few days until they were ready to be re leased. “Infant bats that we care for often become domesticated, even friendly,” Branum said. Branum said she hoped the rise of bats in the area would stimulate interest about the creatures, not fear. “Due to the large amount of insects they consume, it is a tremendous bene fit to have bats in an area,” Branum said. “They do a tremendous service to the community.” James Mehshng/DN Chirping crickets swarm in Midwest in big numbers oy jen Hanaaii Staff Reporter People throughout the Midwest may have been hearing the pitter-patter of little feet lately. The only problem is the insects at tached to these feet have been chirping — all night long. Jim Kalisch, an entomologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said crickets, particularly striped ground crickets, had been swarming in Lincoln and Omaha in large numbers recently. And most of the residents— the human residents, anyway—are not pleased. Ron Johnson of Bug Man-Ron’s Pest Control, 2700 S. 35th St., said-his business had received hundreds of calls about the cricket crisis, both from homeowners and store owners. “The stores have been gettingswarms of the crickets around their lights and entryways. 11 has become a big problem for them,” he said. “Lots of people arc as afraid ofcrick els as they arc of snakes,” he said. Kalisch said the crickets flocked to outdoor lights at night to feed on other insects, and during the day they sought refuge inside homes, offices and any other places they could find. Cricket populations arc cyclical in nature. This year, though, has seen a considerable increase, Kalisch said. “Several factors arc involved in the population size, and it’s hard to tell which specific ones are responsible," he said. Among ihc possible reasons Kal isch gave for the cricket increase this year were mild winters, cool summers, abun dant plant growth and natural risc-and fall patterns in population. Crickets do little or no damage to property, but many people arc annoyed by their late-night chirping. That chirping occurs when the cricket matures. The noise primarily is a mat ing call. While in the mating stages, crickets tend to gather in large congre gations, and the noise level increases. Homeowners wishing to eliminate their cricket problems have several op tions. Moving firewood, fallen lumber and potted plants away from the outside of houses may lessen the problem. Because outdoor lights attract the insects, keeping lights ofTor switching bulbs from white to yellow light also may help, Kalisch said. More serious considerations arc pes ticide sprays such as Sevin or granules such as Dursban and dianizon. If none of these alternatives sound tempting, Kalisch also recommended mammal intervention. . “Several animals feed on the crick ets. I bcl ieve a pet skunk in the front yard would end any insect problems re live ly ouickly,” he said. Kalisch said those who were willing to brave out the cricket crisis didn ’ t ha vc lone to wait. Most cricket population exph i last only from two to four weeks. The first freeze takes care of the rest. Jimi Hendrix “Woodstock” CD's $10.97/CS's $7.97 FiVWJt house of love Induries: Lucky One chkI House Of Love (Duel witt; Vince Giil) Amy Grant “House of Love” CD’s $10.97/CS's $7.97 Prince “Come” CD's $10.97/CS's $7.97 (I COULD ONLY) WHISPER YOUR NAME THAT PARTY HERE COMES THE SIC PAAAOf <