An Introduction to the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle

     The emerald ash borer beetle (EAB)(Agrilus planipennis) has been an invasive pest species to Ohio for a number of years and has spread to many other states.  It has made such an impact that many people already know what it is and why it is bad.  Just in case you don't remember, EAB is a beetle from Asia that made its way to Detroit and had become a problem because it only targets ash trees (Fraxinus species) to survive.  Our ash trees were not ready to handle EAB and most of them have died in our area.  For more information on EAB see this website: http://www.emeraldashborer.info
     I (Rachel K) had been working for a number of summers as a forest technician, collecting data in the NW Ohio area for the USDA Forest Service on EAB and ash trees. This research has been headed by Dr. Kathleen Knight at the Forest Service and if your interested in any of her publications you can find them here: KS Knight Publications
I'm now starting my research towards a PhD and looking to further our knowledge on the recovery of areas hit by EAB. I have first started work with Dr. Root and Dr. Knight on creating a computer model that estimates the ash tree populations expected survival based on ash surveys in the NW Ohio area.  There are still ash trees alive in this area, but most are young and small.  I hope to find out how many are still out there and what there chances are of survival.

Chevrolet wants to help save bats

Check out this article on how the makers of Chevy Volt want to take its old parts and make it into bat houses! Chevrolet helps flying mammals

Changes to our blogger

If you get our blogs on your reading list look forward to more info from more people about bats and other wildlife.  Jessica is still working with bats, but is in another state.  I'm her old lab-mate, we both work(ed) with Dr. Root at Bowling Green State University.  I'll be updating the blog with new information. In the meantime check out the latest information on white nose syndrome here: https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/

Ohio bats and White Nose Syndrome

Last year the fungus associated with White Nose Syndrome in bats was found on bats in southeasetern Ohio, now it has been found in northeastern Ohio, around Cleveland.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/02/deadly_white-nose_syndrome_fou_1.html

Its not surprising, but very sad.

White nose syndrome caused by fungus

http://www.livescience.com/16738-fungus-killing-bats-study-proves.html

This posting comes a little late, but in October a study found that the disease responsible for millions of bat deaths is caused by a fungus, and a fungus alone.

This was named one of the top ten wildlife news stories of 2011, also of note is that congress recently approved $4 million dollars towards white nose syndrome research.

http://www.caves.org/WNS/Congress%20Approves%204M%20in%202012.pdf

Bad press for bats

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/197967/20110815/vampire-bat-bats-virus-rabies-mexico.htm
The above article is an example of some bad press about bats, it is about a man who died in the US from rabies transmitted by a vampire bat.  If you read the article, however, you will see that he was bite in Mexico and then traveled to the us where he died.  There are no vampire bats in the US. The article is also incorrect in saying that vampire bats "suck" blood, they do not. They lap it up like a dog drinking water.  Another example of bad press is the story from August in which a bat was found flying around in an airplane, or the story from Virginia in which animals being rescued after a hurricane were placed in a building that was also inhabited by bats.  Once people realized the bats where there, they euthanized all of the animals for fear of a rabies outbreak.
Rabies in bats is uncommon.. and many animals can have it and transmit it to humans..raccoons, skunks, foxes, domestic cats and dogs..and indeed 99% of rabies cases worldwide are caused by dogs. You are more likely to win the lottery or get struck by lightning than to get rabies from a bat. On the other hand, without bats we would be out BILLIONS of dollars by paying out for the services they provide for us.

Bats in your house (and one myth dispelled)

The more people I talk to, the more I realize that bats in houses is a bit of a common occurrence! I just wanted to mention that there ARE ways to exclude bats that will not harm them.

There are a couple of great websites with information on the proper way to exclude bats.  The one I trust the most is http://www.batcon.org/  This is the website for Bat Conservation International.
It also has lots of great information about bats and why they are so incredibly important to our ecosystem (did I ever mention that one little brown bat can eat up to 1000 mosquito sized insects in an hour?).  A recent study also estimated that if we were to lose all bats from the United States it would cost us 3.7 billion dollars a year to take care of the insect issue they would leave behind.

I know that many people are worried about bats in and around their house, mostly because of the concern of rabies.  Truth be told, the chances of a bat having rabies is pretty slim.  From the Bats of Ohio Book by Virgil Brack et al. "Worldwide, rabies kills about 30,000 people each year, 99 percent of those cases are transmitted by dogs.  During the last 50 years, only about 40 people in the United States died from rabies after being bitten bat a bat".
Bats, like any other mammal, can, of course, contract rabies....so can deer, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and domestic animals (among others).  The best precaution is that no wild animal should be touched with your bare hand and if you are bitten rabies shots it is (regardless of the animal that bit you).

Another myth..bats cannot and will not get tangled in your hair.  They want to avoid you as much you want to avoid them.  If you are outside at night and there is a bat around, its because they have come after the yummy insects you have attracted!