Bat guano

Bat guano with cockroach

Bat guano or chiropterite is a special form of guano that is not produced by birds , but by bats .

The substance, which is often formed in large quantities from the excrement of the animals in caves, is obtained in countries such as Italy (Sardinia), Spain (Andalusia), the United States (Arkansas, Texas) and Egypt and marketed as a particularly high-nitrogen fertilizer .

Bat guano can be recognized by the wing covers it contains from insects , its pH value around 7.5 and a relatively high urea content. In detail, it consists of around 9 percent nitrogen , 1.5 to a good 2 percent phosphoric acid alkalis and around 3 percent phosphoric acid .

Bat guano is used by home and hobby gardeners to fertilize vegetable beds. The mining of bat guano is controversial because it causes significant bats disturbance and the bat guano itself is a unique habitat for numerous invertebrates .

See also: Austrian cave fertilizer campaign

Web links

• Zeno.org: Bat guano
• Oekonews.at: WWF harvests a ton of bat guano in Tyrol
• Jamaicancaves.org: Jamaican Bat Guano and Cave Preservation

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} entry on guano. In: Römpp Online . Georg Thieme Verlag, accessed on May 22, 2012.
2. ↑ Institute Dr. Flad: testing a guano fertilizer .
3. ↑ ^{a b} Zeno.org: Bat guano .
4. ↑ bund-naturschutz.de: Bat guano - a valuable plant fertilizer (PDF; 75 kB).
5. ↑ jamaicancaves.org: Jamaican Bat Guano and Cave Preservation .