Florida needs a bat man: Your Say

Letter to the editor:

As of last week, Florida has reported over 400 cases of the Zika virus. Mosquitoes are the primary way that Zika is transmitted. An enemy of mosquitoes is the bat, which can eat a thousand flying insects an hour. The University of Florida campus in Gainesville has two bat houses that harbor 300,000 bats, which consume up to 2.5 billion (or 2,500 pounds) of insects each night!

We can attract bats by furnishing shelters for them to roost during the day. Inexpensive bat houses for backyards can be purchased on the Internet or building supply stores. Are there any local organizations or persons with the facilities to build bat houses? It could even be a good fundraiser. Larger shelters could also be built and installed in secluded areas in our parks, forests and agriculture areas.

There is much information about bats on the Internet, including the fact that these creatures are harmless mammals who are more beneficial to us than we realize. For a start, search for “UF bat research.” You may also find plans on how to build bat houses online, in case you are inclined to make your own.

Robert Steinwachs; Inverness, Fla.

Facebook comments are edited for clarity and grammar:

The do-nothing Congress was asked for emergency Zika funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last February. It did nothing. It continues to do nothing. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, call your Republican pals, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Mitch McConnell, and ask them for help. They could not care less.

— MacArthur Summers

The government should have stopped all travel to areas affected by Zika months ago, when it all first came out.

— Elizabeth Andrews Miller