The Dangers of Bat Guano

[Stoner4Life]

bat aren't endangered up here in northern MN, if you have water for mosquito breeding, and woodlands that support a moth population then you also have bats. we got 'em thick up here we usually have 1-3 of them flying around my big yard light catching bugs, the bats don't need the light but the bugs are attracted to it hence the bats nearby. When we'd see a bat swoopin' in for a catch we toss a small pebble up in the air and 9 times out of 11 the bat will momentarily grab the pebble before dropping it for something a bit tastier.......


The silver-haired bat is a forest dweller that usually lives near water. It feeds among the trees much like the Eastern red bat, though the latter is noted for its unusual feeding habits. Usually a red bat pair will fly the same route, over and over, in search of food. Another woodland species is the hoary bat. It is the largest Minnesota bat, weighing an ounce or more. All three species are solitary, roost in trees, and migrate south for the winter.



Here's a site that sells bat houses of all sizes/bugets. Build your own save bucks and collect the guano yourself as all of the bat houses have open doorways so that the guano hits the ground....... http://www.batmanagement.com/Ordering/batboxes/metal/SevenChamber.html

 

[Carlos Danger]

I'm bumping this, but beware there's some stupid shit back there like many old threads. Still, let's talk about guanos and attempting to do the least harm. I see Sunleaves brand everywhere but can't find any information on the company that makes it.

 

[VerdantGreen]

thats a blast from the past!. i still stand by all i said in this thread and i'm still shocked by the western imperialist attitudes displayed in here by some others.

like many resources, bat guano can be harvested sustainably, so if you want to use it you should find out about your potential source. the idea of providing a bat house in bat rich areas is pretty cool imo.

im still using my cavemans guano, and i still love the results i get with it - both yield and flavor. i use it with my recycled soil alongside a diverse selection of other ferts and amendments.

VG

 

[minds_I]

Hello all,

I use chicken shit...stutzmans right out the bag and find the results to be superior to any guanos I have used.

IMO. bat guano is over-rated and not sustainable.

As to taste...well, excellent results...use chicken shit and worm shit in my teas....well, anyway this is my take on the issue of guano.

http://www.soil.ncsu.edu/publications/Soilfacts/AG-439-05/

http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~blpprt/Aub+244.html


bat guano analyses.
Source: Omar Páez Malagón, January 2004

Total Nitrogen(N) 1.00-6.00%
Phosphorus Oxide (P2O5) 1.50-9.00%
Potassium Oxide (K2O) 0.70-1.20%
Calcium Oxide (CaO) 3.60-12.0%
Magnesium Oxide (MgO) 0.70-2.00%
Iron (Fe) 0.70-1.50%
Copper (Cu) 0.20-0.50%
Manganese Oxide (MnO) 0.40-0.70%
Zinc (Zn) 0.40-0.65%
Sodium (Na+) 0.45-0.50%
Organic matter (OM) 30-65% pH (in H2O) 4.3-5.5
Ratio C/N 8-15/1
Humidity (Hy) 40-30%
Total humic extract 25-15.00%
Microbial flora 30 - 45x107 u.f.c./ gr



Have a read and compare to guano...much better in terms of nutrient numbers. I do however have to concede that there likely hormones and antibiotics in the processed chicken manure as well. A non issue really as I doubt that the plant uptakes animal hormones or anitbiotics.

The cost is also much more favorable as well.

minds_I

 

[Carlos Danger]

I picked up 11lbs of indonesian guano, .5-13-.5. Should fill the semi-high P roll I'm looking for.

 

[OrganicBuds]

I don't like guano, too high in values and uptake is very rapid. Much prefer a top dress of castings, the plants seem to like it better than cramming organics down it's throat.

 

[Carlos Danger]

OB, I think it's a matter of how you perceive things. Anthropomorphizing the plant in terms like cramming it down its throat isn't accurate to the plant's existence even if it has that emotional gut feel. We all have our own unique situations to balance and on my soil, with this year's rainy weather, this level of P isn't "cramming".

Sorry, I feel like that's sounding hostile and I don't mean it to, but I might just be really high and worrying too much.

 

[VerdantGreen]

soma was a big fan of bat guano, he said he'd tried everything and never come across any amendment that worked as well for growing cannabis and smoking quality.
people like to scoff at the old cats these days, but soma was recycling his soil and growing indoors in beds 30 years ago, and i reckon he probably knew what good weed was. the variety and quality in amsterdam back in the day was pretty damn good.

my indoor garden is very intensive and efficient, and i think guano is a key factor in me getting the results that i do. its great that we all get to choose how we do it.

VG

 

[xmobotx]

as mentioned in the other thread; i did like the results of guano in my compost {i did a little specialized "exotic" batch}

 

[vonforne]

soma was a big fan of bat guano, he said he'd tried everything and never come across any amendment that worked as well for growing cannabis and smoking quality.
people like to scoff at the old cats these days, but soma was recycling his soil and growing indoors in beds 30 years ago, and i reckon he probably knew what good weed was. the variety and quality in amsterdam back in the day was pretty damn good.

my indoor garden is very intensive and efficient, and i think guano is a key factor in me getting the results that i do. its great that we all get to choose how we do it.

VG

I have used both guanos and chicken manure but with the rols I lean towards the fish meal and fbn. As VG stated it is fast and intensive suiting his needs. I prefer longer term with the rols. Guanos are destructively harvested in most cases and the chicken manure is a by product of the massive poultry industry. If I were to use a manure these days it would be chicken simply for the amount of Ca it contains.

The fish meals are also a fungal food and IMO support the health and well being of a rols. The different inputs we use also affect the taste of the finished product. Guanos to me tend to give that dirt taste where the fish meals give a sweeter taste. Again.....just my opinion on that.

I have had great results with all but in different types of techniques used with the soil. The bird meals do give a faster and higher amount of N delivered to the soil.

V

 

[EclipseFour20]

Probably more danger with the politics of those "guano" governments---than dangers of guano not being "renewable".

Anyone besides me noticed a shortage of PSG? Well, here's the poop:

Many people are asking about the availability of Sunleaves Peruvian Seabird Guano. Due to current political strife, environmental concerns, and internal politics in Peru, South America, the pelletized guano has become unavailable to Sunleaves Garden Products and its distributors. While supply is plentiful in Peru, the government there has made it difficult to export the product out of the country. We will diligently maintain our efforts to attempt to obtain this popular guano, but for now our supply of the Peruvian guano is on indefinite status.

We at Sunleaves regret this situation and will continue our efforts to acquire the Peruvian Seabird Guano. We apologize for any inconvenience this has created and thank you for your support of Sunleaves Garden Products.

Keep visiting us regularly at www.sunleaves.com to check for updates and to view the variety of new Sunleaves products being offered.

Source: http://www.sunleaves.com/productupdate.asp

Now I am hoarding PSG--like I am hoarding "incandescent light bulbs"; both will soon be "no mas".

Cheers!

BTW, IMHO, bat guanos are tooo hot to be used as a "dry fertilizer"...rather they are best served as "teas". My regime calls for 30 grams guano per gallon of water...to which I add 15ml molasses, 5ml sea minerals, 5ml leonardite...then some yucca schidigera about 1 hour before service).

 

[OrganicBuds]

OB, I think it's a matter of how you perceive things. Anthropomorphizing the plant in terms like cramming it down its throat isn't accurate to the plant's existence even if it has that emotional gut feel. We all have our own unique situations to balance and on my soil, with this year's rainy weather, this level of P isn't "cramming".

Sorry, I feel like that's sounding hostile and I don't mean it to, but I might just be really high and worrying too much.

I don't think your hatin, only making valid points.

I do agree with what you said. I feel it also depends on what's in your soil to begin with. If your battery has everything you need, then guano's can be overkill IMO. This time of year you should be transferring your feed schedule to a balanced NPK ratio, if your soil is adequate. I feel the castings should be an even NPK, with a boost of calcium. I also add a fair amount of green sand and rock dusts to my castings during the compost process, so that helps as well.

 

[Carlos Danger]

I did just topdress with 3 gal of homemade castings. I dumped one of my 5gal containers after 2 years and other than perlite the worms had reduced the rest to castings.

 

[vonforne]

The greatest danger with using guanos is inhalation.

 

[VerdantGreen]

the thing i try to do with the N guano is to first have a ROLS type soil that has the right balance of N and other nutes for flowering after the stretch period, and then add a small shot of the fast release N guano - that will deal with the higher nitrogen requirements of the plant as it stretches and sets buds during the first 2-3 weeks - and then become depleted, leaving the slower release amendments to deal with the rest of flower.

if i was outdoors or could use larger pots it would probably be different, but trying (and usually succeeding) to coax 3+ ounces of bud out of 3 gallons of soil and 60 watts of light takes a bit more than just compost and castings ime.

VG

 

[OrganicOzarks]

Not all guano Company's fuck up the environment in which they harvest. There are Company's that harvest in the US that have strict guidelines that must be followed. One of them has not been able to harvest in a couple of years because the USDA has said they need to wait to help protect the bats.

 

[VerdantGreen]

that said, i would agree that some of the guano harvesting is unsustainable and may damage habitats - and i would not encourage anyone to use such products.

guanos have been used for thousands of years though - so there are situations where indigenous people have been harvesting it for generations in harmony with their environments - and i dont think its appropriate for westerners to try to remove the right of people to exploit their own resources.... so whilst it may be convenient to make a sweeping generalization about guano harvesting, it may not be correct in some cases.

VG

 

[EclipseFour20]

VG--A good rule of thumb for organic ferts with Nitrogen rate greater than 6%: At 28 days about 60% Plant Available Nitrogen (PAN) is released...and 75% at 70 days.

Which supports your contention that additional fertility is required to pick up the slack.

Source: http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/Sullivan_et_al_2010_World_Congress_Soil_Science.pdf

Of course that study did not analyze "guano teas" which breakdown faster. Hence the notion of repeated teas while in veg and during flower.

Cheers!

BTW...how much of this "guano not being renewable resource" argument is politics? How much is $$$$? ...and how much is "sincere"?

 

[Carlos Danger]

Most of it is sincere ethical concern. The money and the politics are on the side of those who would harvest all of this stuff until its gone. I think Sunleaves is feeding us some of their own brand of guano blaming politics in Peru.

 

[VerdantGreen]

on the sustainability question, i think that like most issues, the west cottoned on to the guano thing a couple hundred years ago and tried to control it and exploit it... and then more recently the hydro stores have marketed it so im sure there are places where its been over-exploited.. but at the same time its quite a small issue in a very much wider issue of global sustainability. so if you refuse to use guano but then jump in your pickup truck and make a 3 hour round trip to pick up a sack of organic alfalfa then you arent really thinking in any joined up kid of way

on the nutrient release i found this paper very interesting. it shows the mineralisation in the fast release high N ferts happens mostly in the first two weeks.
http://horttech.ashspublications.org/content/16/1/39.full.pdf

VG