Bat Guano Fertilizer: Benefits and How to Use

Bat guano is a highly nutritious product useful as an organic fertilizer.

Bat guano fertilizer is great for increasing plant yields and is also suitable for lawns. It can be used on vegetables, nut trees, herbs, fruit trees, and even flowers and ornamentals.

Below, you will find more benefits and uses of bat guano fertilizer.

What is Bat Guano?

Bat guano is the collected and amassed excrement of bats. It is what some people call bat poop or feces. It is usually dried and pelleted for use in organic gardening.

The word comes from an indigenous language of the Andes. It usually means any dung used as fertilizer in farming or gardening [1].

You can find it in caves all over the globe, where these caves become storehouses of this natural fertilizer. The bat droppings also contain the remains of insects and other bat food.

These deposits are further processed at floor level by beetles, resulting in nutrient-rich manure. Islands off the coast of Peru, Baja (Lower California), and parts of Africa are the main collection areas for bird guano [2].

Guano’s properties make it highly useful and one of the best organic fertilizers and plant improvers.

Nutrients 

Guano is a rich source of nutrients for the garden. It supplies nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK), as well as carbon, calcium, and sulfur.

• Plants need carbon for healthy growth.
• Nitrogen has a similar, and even more important, function in plant growth.
• Phosphorus helps complete its normal production.
• Potassium helps to grow strong stems and increases resistance to pests and diseases.
• Calcium is essential for supporting the cell structure of plants.
• Sulfur is necessary for chlorophyll formation, among other functions. To tell if your plant has a sulfur deficiency, you’ll notice a pale green color or yellowing of the entire plant.

Guano content varies from species to species and according to regional diets. It may also contain the remains of insects’ exoskeletons, released as chitin.

Chitin is important to the soil as it releases nitrogen. It is also highly beneficial for boosting plants’ immune systems.

Benefits

Guano provides multiple benefits for the organic gardener. The nutrients available encourage strong and healthy growth in all types of plants.

The high nitrogen levels help the plants grow strong and healthy. It can also be used as a natural fungicide.

Moreover, it helps control harmful nematodes in the soil and protects plants from soil-borne diseases.

You can also treat lawns with guano to help strengthen and improve their quality and heighten their green color.

A further benefit for organic gardeners is composting. Guano can be used in the compost heap as an activator to speed up the process of decomposition.

Composted guano, prepared correctly to avoid contamination by fungal spores, is ideal for use as fertilizer. Moreover, it is an excellent booster for seedlings and young, developing plants.

Also, the slow release of nutrients from bat guano helps plants, crops, and lawns throughout the season.

How to Use Bat Guano

Use guano carefully. Follow the package instructions to get the right amount and spread it evenly. If handled properly, it is safe to use both indoors and outdoors.

It is usually sold in packs in dry granulated, pelletized, or powdered form, forked directly into the soil, or spread as a top dressing.

You can also prepare the tea as a foliar spray or pour it on the garden soil. When applied to the leaves, the tea will protect them against fungal diseases.

Use this fertilizer at any stage of crop growth. It is useful to spray or sprinkle guano powder or pellets around developing plants at any time during the growing season.

Moreover, compost tea is the most effective way to feed plants indoors and in the greenhouse.

Tea Recipe

To make bat guano tea, dilute one cup of dung with a gallon of chlorine-free water. You can use warm water; however, never use hot water.

Stir the mixture well and leave it to brew overnight, preferably overnight. It is best to do this away from the family, as it might stink and be extremely unpleasant.

When finished, this highly nutritious plant food will be ready to use as a foliar spray or to pour onto the soil around plants.

Alternatively, if fresh guano is available, wrap half a cup in muslin, steep it in 4 gallons of water for 3 to 4 days, and use it as above.

Plants That Benefit from Bat Guano

All kinds of vegetables, flowers, cannabis plants, shrubs, fruit or nut bushes, and trees can benefit from a drink of guano tea.

Guano fertilizer can also improve herb gardens and vines. Lawns can also benefit and achieve a healthy and greener appearance.

Where to Find It

The easiest and safest way to acquire bat guano is in packaged, dry form from the local gardening store or online. Buy it in small packages or large quantities.

Additionally, it can be found in bat caves throughout the world, in places like Jamaica, Chile, Cuba, Peru, and Mexico.

However, harvesting can be dangerous. Miners can come into contact with dangerous bat-borne pathogens that can cause serious illness [3].

Takeaway

Guano has been used as fertilizer for many generations. Today, it is widely used and mined using environmentally friendly methods.

Picture via Flickr/Joe Decruyenaere