Fossil Creek Meadows

FCMHOA In the News

From the Fort Collins Coloradoan, Sunday, July 25, 2004

Residents invite bats to fill up on mosquitoes
Natural area wants to lower risk of getting West Nile virus
By SARA REED
SaraReed@coloradoan.com

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Sherri Barber/The Coloradoan
GOING UP: Daniel Hand, 16, works Saturday to secure a pole that a bat house sits on. Hand and a group of helpers placed bat houses along Fossil Creek Natural Area as a creative way to fight mosquitoes and cut down on the risk of West Nile virus. Hand came up with the project to earn his Eagle Scout rank.



Sherri Barber/The Coloradoan
WORK IN PROGRESS: Matthew Williamson, left, 18, holds a bat house steady as his brother, Colin Williamson, 16, secures the house to the pole. In the background, Rachel Hand, left, 21, helps her father, Bob Hand, dig a hole for the pole.







Protect yourself


Use insect repellent with the chemical DEET.

Wear long sleeves, long pants and socks when outside.

Avoid being outside during evening and morning hours, peak mosquito feeding times.

Elderly people and those with weak immune systems should be particularly careful because they are more likely to become seriously ill.

Get rid of containers that hold water outside the house.
Symptoms

West Nile sufferers can experience fever, headaches, stiff joints, delirium, extreme nausea, back pain, rashes, severe infections of spinal tissue, or swelling of the brain, which can cause paralysis and even death.

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Concerned


Visit Larimer County on the Internet to learn more about West Nile: www.larimer.org/health.

To report dead birds to the county to help track the virus, call 498-6792.

Toll-free West Nile hotline: (877) 462-2911.

Report standing water or mosquito activity by calling 663-5697.

For more information about West Nile virus or home maintenance, visit www.fcgov.com/westnile.

For information on how to get on the Colorado Department of Agriculture's registry of pesticide-sensitive persons, visit www.ag.state.co.us/DPI/PesticideApplicator/ Forms/dpi-pa-51.PDF or call (303) 239-4146.


The welcome mat for bats is rolled out.
With the West Nile virus peak season yet to come, residents near Fossil Creek Natural Area are taking a different approach to combating this mosquito-borne illness.

On Saturday, two bat houses -- actually small boxes -- were put up on the banks of Fossil Creek as a different way to control the mosquito population.

"The hope is that the bat houses will draw more bats to the area and reduce" the mosquitoes, said Molly Fiechtl, a member of the Fossil Creek Meadows Home Owners' Association.

The bat boxes, along with four nesting boxes, were built by 16-year-old Daniel Hand as part of his Eagle Badge project. He was looking for a place to put them up, and Fiechtl was looking for ways to increase the wildlife habitat along the Fossil Creek Corridor. The city of Fort Collins Natural Resources Department put her in touch with Hand.

"It was a really fun thing to do, getting the neighbors to help and working with the neighborhood people," Hand said.

Aided by his father, his sister and a couple of friends, Hand erected the boxes Saturday.

The cedar bat houses sit atop 14-foot poles and have a 12-inch by 5 3/4 inch interior. They can house several bats, which can eat thousands of mosquitoes a night. The bats won't have any trouble finding a meal.

"Our area has two creeks, Mail Creek and Fossil Creek," Fiechtl said. "And plenty of mosquitoes to go around."

Fiechtl said Colorado Mosquito Control used the area last year to trap and monitor the population of Culex mosquitoes, which carry West Nile virus.

Hand said he didn't have West Nile prevention in mind as he put together his project, it was just a by-product.

"I just like working with wood," he said.

As of Thursday, the one-year anniversary of the county's first human West Nile case, there are seven confirmed cases of West Nile in Larimer County and 32 in Colorado. Two mosquitoes caught in Fort Collins have tested positive for West Nile.

"Fogging" trucks from Colorado Mosquito Control spent Tuesday night spraying for adult mosquitoes in neighborhoods and areas of Fort Collins and unincorporated Larimer County.

A second round of spraying scheduled for Friday was canceled because of rainy weather. Spraying was rescheduled to 8:30 to midnight Monday in some east Fort Collins neighborhoods.


Originally published Sunday, July 25, 2004








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