Let's Talk

Prairie Region

A Batty Idea Makes Environmental Sense

By Gaylene Romero, Parole Officer, Stony Mountain Institution

Social Program Officer Bonnie Penner with inmate Martin Yuen, displaying his bat houses

Pest control just got easier thanks to Martin Yuen, an inmate at Rockwood Institution, north of Winnipeg. Martin has been building and selling bat houses during his leisure time and business these days is booming.

Acting Social Program Officer Bonnie Penner assisted Martin by researching his project through various local wildlife agencies and scanning the Internet for additional information. Martin learned that the little critters eat up to 2000 mosquito-sized insects in one night, filling their bellies and then returning to their daytime roost (upside down) in their bat houses.

Martin's bat houses are constructed with longevity in mind as bats are very loyal and return to the same hibernacula for many years. According to Martin, the average bat can live up to 30 years. Since the project began, Martin has constructed 24 houses with numerous orders yet to be completed. He has expressed pride in his project, noting he is not only helping bat conservation, but ridding the environment of pesky insects without the use of chemicals.