For the Fourth of July weekend, my family and I ventured up to Felch, Mich., where we stayed in a cabin on a lake encircled with pine trees. Scenic, quiet and peaceful, and the best part ... almost no mosquitoes.

But once we returned home to the suburbs, the mosquito population seems pretty thick. And West Nile is making headlines again. I would have expected the opposite. Our subdivision sprays insecticide every year – an obnoxious white haze hits our gardens, lawns and homes and we pay for it in our association fee.

“Up North,” on the other hand, it’s hunters’ paradise and pesticides aren’t so popular.

So what’s the secret?

Actually, it’s nature — and the circle of life — also known as the food chain. Bats eat as many as 1,000 mosquitoes per hour. And there’s plenty of them hanging around in the North Woods.

There are some in our communities near Chicago, too, thanks to park
districts and forest preserve agencies that provide bat houses. Residents who are proponents of bats are eager to let them do their thing have started giving bats some real estate, too.

It’s inexpensive, natural and safe.

My family and I are crafting a bat house for our garden, and we’re hoping some bats move in and get to work. Their space will be about the size of our bird house – and we’re excited about getting some tenants.

Unlike the bad rap they’ve got as vampire-esque, or rabies-carrying predators, they’re just little mammals that help keep forests going, based on my reading. They don’t need or like human blood, they just want to eat insects. And because of all the pesticides and insecticides used in America, bat populations are declining.

Beyondpesticides.org reports that a lot of insects actually develop an immunity to the chemicals. Thankfully, though, bats continue to consume thousands of insects per night. During the day, as many as 300 bats literally can hang in a bat shelter that’s just a couple of cubic feet in volume.

Like other wild animals, including skunks and raccoons, bats can carry rabies, as we know from McHenry County’s recent report. But bat houses attract healthy bats with a nocturnal cycle and those guys aren’t looking to interact with people. They want to sleep during the day, and a bat house doesn’t necessitate human contact.

Here are some instructions on how to build a bat house, or even a bat chalet if you’re so inclined.