The economic value of natural regulation of agricultural pests by bats has been estimated
both by avoided cost models and by experimental predator-exclusion approaches. We
review published studies globally from both complementary approaches. We further present
an economic model for the avoided cost of bat predation on stinkbugs, the major economic
pest of macadamias in South Africa, currently the world's largest macadamia producer. We
calculated both the direct (reduced stinkbug damage due to bat predation) and indirect …