In response to the increasing number of mosquitoes and other pesky insects that climate change is bringing about, BatBnB is one company that wants people to be less reliant on harmful chemicals and pay attention to a more natural form of pest control: Bats!
Co-founded by Harrison Broadhurst (an architectural designer at Nomi Design) and Christopher Rännefors (a Sales & Operations Manager at Google Fiber), BatBnB designs stylish, bat expert-approved houses that mimic bats' natural habitat and provide them with a safe environment to sleep, stay, and raise their pups. With these houses, Broadhurst and Rännefors want to show that bats aren't the filthy blood-thirsty pests many people assume they are. In fact, bats can eat thousands of insects in one night, making them a better form of pest control.
Made from rot-resistant cedar, the BatBnB currently comes in three sleek designs and can be installed on a house, barn, pole, or tree. It captures heat from direct sunlight, provides ventilation, and enough space to house up to 100 bats. Bats enter from the bottom of the BatBnB and can easily grip, climb, and hang from the grooves of the landing pad and interior surfaces. At night when the bats are ready to hunt for food, they can use the space under the unit to drop out of the house and gain momentum for flight.
Another important part of BatBnB's mission is to raise awareness on bat conservation. For starters, bats are being impacted by habitat loss and diseases like white nose syndrome. Broadhurst and Rännefors worked closely with prominent bat expert Merlin Tuttle of Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation to design the ideal house for the furry fliers.
“Seeing well intended people disappointed by cheap, ‘imitation’ bat houses troubles me greatly...The BatBnB line of houses is the first to be developed for mass sale that meets all my personal criteria,” Merlin Tuttle says on the BatBnB website. Last year, BatBnB sold their units in an Indiegogo campaign that raised $119,123. The units can now be purchased here.
We were having a conversation in the office recently about how we could make the building enclosure "thicker" to accommodate wildlife in a symbiotic way... this is a great precedent!
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Excellent. Not sure about the "three sleek designs" but that's not the point.
There's a thesis or 600 in this as well as a clear demonstration of how we should be working to adapt to the environment rather than adapting the environment to us (overlooking that this is actually attempting to adapt to an environment we've already changed with greed and ignorance).
i advocate for these too. i have a ton of bats in my backyard. i love watching them fly around while sipping whiskey on the deck in the evening.
We were having a conversation in the office recently about how we could make the building enclosure "thicker" to accommodate wildlife in a symbiotic way... this is a great precedent!
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