Eagle Scout donates bat boxes for installation near trails

Bats local to Cape Girardeau may find new homes this spring in the city's parks, thanks to the efforts of 14-year-old Nick Hodges.

And runners and walkers may have fewer mosquitoes to deal with because of them.

Hodges constructed six cedar boxes to serve as shelter for the flying insectivores and donated them to fulfill a final requirement on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout.

The eighth-grader said he needed at least 21 merit badges and was required to show characteristics like leadership and skill in the outdoors before being considered for the promotion of rank.

After presenting the boxes to employees at the City of Cape Girardeau and appearing before a Boy Scouts of America board of review, Hodges received the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout.

"It's a pretty big achievement; I've been in scouts my whole life, and it's something I looked up to doing," Hodges said.

Hodges said his project began by finding an effective design for the boxes and creating a prototype. With the help of family members and about a dozen of his fellow scouts from Troop 4002, the bat boxes were completed in just two days.

Parks division manager Brock Davis said the new bat boxes will join those in place along the 5.67-mile Cape LaCroix Recreation Trail.

The houses are designed to give bats a dark, warm place to hang dormant throughout the day. Placing boxes high off the ground keeps the animals safe from four-legged predators and allows them to rest up for nocturnal hunting.

Missouri Department of Conservation Naturalist Jordi Raof said Missouri's 14 species of bats often consume 600 to a thousand insects, about half their body weight, every few hours throughout the night.

"They're looking for a place to stay safe during the Summer," Raof said. "Having a structure there increases the chance of bats taking up residence in an area."

Raof said local bats have been affected by white-nose syndrome, a disease often spread in caves where bat populations are heavily concentrated, and the boxes provide a safe alternative shelter.

She said boxes often vary in size, from the size that Hodges donated, which can house a few bats, to nursery boxes which can shelter entire colonies, but the main factor is site location -- preferably near to a source of water where mosquito populations are higher.

Hodges said he hopes the boxes will benefit the community and encourage more use of the trail.

He said he is counting on his Eagle Scout status to have a large effect on his college prospects, though he has not yet begun to give that much thought. Along with his role as a Scout, Hodges is a member of Beta Club and band at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School.

Boy Scouts of America Troop 4002 operates out of Grace United Methodist Church.