| Bats Food - Bats can eat up to 600 mosquito's per night, plus moths and beetles. Although bats can carry rabies, only about 15 cases have been attributed to bats in the last 30 years. Victims generally picked up a diseased bat off the ground. If you must move an injured bat, use a shovel. Bats prefer to live near any water that attracts insects. Bats also find enough insects to eat around orchards and garden areas. Shelter/Raising young - Bat houses are available commercially, or you can build your own. Bat houses have the opening at the bottom, with vertical slats inside for the bats to hang onto. There is no guarantee that bats will ever use them tho. Toads Food - Toads consume about 10,000-20,000 insects per year, including slugs, flies, grubs, wood lice, cutworms and grasshoppers. Once a toad makes a home in your garden, it may live there for decades.
Water/Raising young - Adult toads need water for drinking and breeding. A submerged shallow pan with a flat stone in it, placed in the garden area works well.
Shelter - Toads need shelter from predators, hazards like rakes and lawn mowers. Rock gardens and stone walls provide good shelter. Put a terra cotta flower pot upside down, with a stone under one side to lift it up about 1 1'2 to 2 inches. It makes a cool place for toads to get out of the sun for a nap. You can also half bury terra cotta flower pots on their side in various spots in the garden. Snakes Common garden snakes eat slugs, snails and insects. Others eat mice and rats. Most will only bite if handled or stepped on.
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