Experts Say Bat Houses Can Cut Down Mosquito Population In Oklahoma

A wetter spring and summer means mosquitos are back in Oklahoma with a vengeance.

Mosquitoes carry diseases like the West Nile Virus that killed 15 people last year. One way to cut down on the mosquito population is to install bat houses.

Ray Ridlen of OSU's Extension Office says bat houses are inexpensive to construct. He says one bat can eat as many as 3,000 mosquitos in one night.

"They're really easy to make," said Ridlen. "We recommend they be put on a pole 12 to 15 feet off the ground."

Ridlen says bat houses should not be put in occupied structures, like homes. Bats carry what are called "bat bugs," and they are just like bed bugs.