What do purple martins, toads, opossum, rough green snakes, gambusia, fence swifts, carp, frogs, little brown bats, garden spiders, dragonflies and ladybugs have in common?

The answer is easier when I add venus fly trap and anteater to the list. They all eat insects.

So the next time you're swatting a fly or a mosquito take a moment to appreciate how much worse it would be without insect eaters. A bat can eat 1,000 mosquitoes in a single night. By putting up a bat house you can provide a colony of bats a home.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could spray a chemical that would specifically kill moths and mosquitoes and leave all the beneficial bugs alone? Unfortunately, such a spray doesn't exist. But the list of animals above help keep insects in balance, and they do it without adding carcinogens to the environment and without chemical waste.

Next time you find an insectivore in need of help or if you want to help one before you see one in need, call Piedmont Wildlife Center at 572-9453.