Bat guano

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Bird and bat guano have both been used as valuable sources of fertilizer. Most valuable guano is found in caves protected from water, and those mining it need to be careful not to inhale fungal spores. It’s still mined today in some parts of the world. But in Travelers Rest, there is a building, once a huge cotton gin, now home to the company Sunrift, where bats once roosted in the open rafters. Farmers bought the bat guano for fertilizer. Now this business has put bat houses all over the outside, and they encourage people to come during October, bring lawn chairs, and watch the bats emerge. It’s magical to see. We once had bats in a soffit, and they came out between the clapboards like mercury, and then became three-dimensional and took flight.