Bll, for the sake of everyone who uses it, I sincerely hope you are right. Obviously, you and other savvy people realize it's a "handle with care" fertilizer. But I don't know that the seventeen year old kid, sneaking a grow and hiding it from mom and pop has the presence of mind to exercise caution. And I don't know that marijuana med users with compromised immune systems have even been made aware that the presence of histeoplasmosis spores in bat guano is probably a very real concern for them. The outfits that supply guano to the public don't really talk about these things. Basically, the only folks that do talk about it appear to be in the Bat Removal business. And of course, the CDC...
Evidently the guano is processed by insects, specifically the Guano Beetle and the Dermestid Beetle. According to a post on another gardening forum:
"Actually when you are using bat poo you aren't really using bat poo. You are using beetle poo. There are two types of beetles that live where the bats do. The Guano Beetle and the Dermestid Beetle. The Guano beetle eats the poo and recycles it and the Dermestid Beetle eats the dead bats and any other animals who happen to die in the bat cave. One should be careful of using bat guano in 3rd world countries. You can contract a very nasty disease named Histoplasmosis. Guano should be tested before being mined and sold to the public.
As far as bat poop being healthier because of what they eat I guess that would depend on whether insects are more healthy to eat than fruit because different types of bats eat either insects or fruit or blood for that matter."
And I agree with the above poster, evidently guano isn't tested and as closely as I can determine it doesn't appear to be regulated in any way. At least I've really, really looked for some sort of government regulations and I sure can't find anything about it anywhere. Histoplasmosis would be the primary concern for guanos originating in North or South America or the Caribbean. But guanos originating from just about anywhere else in the world would clearly be of far greater health risks.
I really don't know what's to stop somebody from Africa or Indonesia, for instance, from selling guano to a well-known major supplier that bags it up under their own brand label. I'd like to believe that nobody would ever do that. But to tell you the truth, I honestly think that any product that can be gathered in the wild and sells for $10 plus a pound would sound pretty lucrative in many parts of the world. For instance, Indonesia is one of the places with some very serious diseases that are reportedly spread by bats and their feces.
I admit, I don't have all the answers, and I certainly didn't mean to upset any veteran guano users. I just grew up on a farm and as a result, I'm exceedingly aware of the fact that most animal manures can carry disease vectors that generally require a significant period of heat composting before they can be safely used. I'm not sure I trust a bunch of beetles to do that for me.
Also, I would certainly trust composting worms to take care of most diseases. But flesh eating beetles? Uhhhhh, I guess I'm not there yet…. I've seen significant scientific evidence testifying that the microorganisms in a composting worm's gut gets rid of most diseases. I haven't seen any real evidence yet that the beetles associated with bat guano can do the same thing.
Evidently the guano is processed by insects, specifically the Guano Beetle and the Dermestid Beetle. According to a post on another gardening forum:
"Actually when you are using bat poo you aren't really using bat poo. You are using beetle poo. There are two types of beetles that live where the bats do. The Guano Beetle and the Dermestid Beetle. The Guano beetle eats the poo and recycles it and the Dermestid Beetle eats the dead bats and any other animals who happen to die in the bat cave. One should be careful of using bat guano in 3rd world countries. You can contract a very nasty disease named Histoplasmosis. Guano should be tested before being mined and sold to the public.
As far as bat poop being healthier because of what they eat I guess that would depend on whether insects are more healthy to eat than fruit because different types of bats eat either insects or fruit or blood for that matter."
And I agree with the above poster, evidently guano isn't tested and as closely as I can determine it doesn't appear to be regulated in any way. At least I've really, really looked for some sort of government regulations and I sure can't find anything about it anywhere. Histoplasmosis would be the primary concern for guanos originating in North or South America or the Caribbean. But guanos originating from just about anywhere else in the world would clearly be of far greater health risks.
I really don't know what's to stop somebody from Africa or Indonesia, for instance, from selling guano to a well-known major supplier that bags it up under their own brand label. I'd like to believe that nobody would ever do that. But to tell you the truth, I honestly think that any product that can be gathered in the wild and sells for $10 plus a pound would sound pretty lucrative in many parts of the world. For instance, Indonesia is one of the places with some very serious diseases that are reportedly spread by bats and their feces.
I admit, I don't have all the answers, and I certainly didn't mean to upset any veteran guano users. I just grew up on a farm and as a result, I'm exceedingly aware of the fact that most animal manures can carry disease vectors that generally require a significant period of heat composting before they can be safely used. I'm not sure I trust a bunch of beetles to do that for me.
Also, I would certainly trust composting worms to take care of most diseases. But flesh eating beetles? Uhhhhh, I guess I'm not there yet…. I've seen significant scientific evidence testifying that the microorganisms in a composting worm's gut gets rid of most diseases. I haven't seen any real evidence yet that the beetles associated with bat guano can do the same thing.
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