Houses for bats installed in Washington, North Strabane parks
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Reiss Coole, Matteo Ferri, CNX employee Don Rush and Daniel Bitz lift up the bat house near North Strabane Township Park.
Courtesy of Tim Roberts
Washington firefighters assist CNX with the bat house installation in Washington Park.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Each bat house is outfitted with informational sign about the animals.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Reiss Coole and Matteo Ferri, both seniors at Chartiers-Houston High School, dig holes for the bat house in Washington Park.
New neighbors may soon be moving in to local Washington County parks.
A pair of bat houses were installed this week at Washington Park and North Strabane Township Park. Pittsburgh-area gas company CNX has been installing the houses in community parks for three years.
Daniel Bitz, director of surface asset strategy for CNX, said the bat houses serve two purposes.
“One, to give bats a place to stay in more urban areas. And the second, trying to send the message that bats need help in our area. A lot of them have died off due to White-Nose Syndrome. The populations are really low so we’re trying to get that out to the public that they need help,” Bitz said.
White-Nose Syndrome causes a white fungus to grow around the noses of bats. It can cause them to wake up more frequently, which means they burn more fat during winter. Reduced bat populations often means more insects, as they are a bat’s food of choice.
Bitz described the houses as having seven chambers and being able to hold about 200 bats.
“They’ve been developed over the years by the game commission to hold larger colonies of bats,” Bitz said. “They warm up quickly in the morning, and they have multiple chambers within the boxes where bats can go in there to stay and have little ones.”
Bitz was assisted Thursday by volunteers from Chartiers-Houston High School. Washington firefighters also came to help at Washington Park.
CNX has also installed bat houses in Upper St. Clair, Peters Township and Chartiers Township.