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Residents urge village to consider bat houses to reduce mosquitoes; staff outlines risks and current spray program
Summary
Two residents asked the board to consider installing bat houses as a natural mosquito-control option and offered information about bat benefits and costs. Village staff and a member of the audience cautioned about rabies risk and noted the village uses targeted spraying when trap thresholds are met.
Two residents, Mariana Pantalan and Jeanie Pantalan, used the public-comment period to ask the village to consider bat houses as a mosquito-control measure and offered handouts and links to the Illinois Bat Conservation Program.
Mariana Pantalan told the board that bats can reduce insect populations and cited occupation and occupancy statistics for bat houses she found online, saying “a single bat can eat up to a thousand insects per hour.” She said bat houses typically cost from about $20 to $100 and that many become occupied within two years, citing occupancy-rate figures she found.
A member of the audience and village staff noted county guidance that bats can carry rabies, and Pat said the county website cautions that bats occasionally test positive and that avoiding handling wild bats is the recommended safety step. Pat also told the board how the village monitors mosquito traps and sprays when female-count thresholds are exceeded or when the county notifies of a positive West Nile test; he said the spray product used is an oil-based agent that targets flying mosquitoes in flight.
The residents stressed the environmental and educational benefits of bat houses, arguing they could reduce the need for chemical sprays and help public education. No action was taken; the comment was entered into the record and staff answered technical questions about the village’s current mosquito monitoring and response program.
