A primary school in Malaga has come up with a novel way to combat plagues of mosquitos that have been biting the children during playtime: bats.
The Los Guindos Early Childhood and Primary School have contracted a company to install four boxes made from ecological wood for the flying rodents, which then feed on the swarms.
The bats do not necessarily have to nest in the boxes for them to be effective; they can simply need to be placed in locations where the creatures lack natural shelters to rest.
According to Antonio Moret, the founder of Murciélagos Málaga, the smallest bats can kill 3,000 insects every night, while some larger ones can eat other insects such as grasshoppers. In this manner, it is far less ecologically harmful than using pesticides.
The need for the innovative solution to mosquitos biting the school children came around about because of a “constant” pool of water under the primary school, according to one mother, which makes it an ideal incubator for mosquitoes.
The school directotr, Jose del Pino, made several complaints to the Board and the City Council, who managed to get Emasa, the Municipal Water Company of Malaga, to take a sample of the liquid to figure out where it was coming from.
The scheme has been so successful that it has led many public and private companies and institutions to ditch the old pesticide approach and follow suit.
Mosquitos typically breed and accumulate during the rainy season when pools of rainwater gather in the top soil and in concreted areas.
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