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.
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