HELP---we have bats!!!

[Evi]

Bats are good as far as I know. If anything were having a problem with bat species extinction in new england. I'd call a wildlife rescue in your area and they can give you a better idea of what kind of bats you have and if you should worry or not. They can also advise you on what you should do. Personally I wouldn't worry about them unless they are getting in the house.

 

[2shortpeopleruleme]

Three sperate times we have had a bat get in our house. Twice have been on our back enclosed patio, once one actually made it into the house! The ones on the patio we just left the back door open over night, and they were gone by the morning. The one that got in.... my hubby was armed with a beach umbrella (how he made it to Eagle Scout with his dislike of critters is byond me!) and went to war with this thing... think National Lampoons Christmas Vacation! We thought we got it out the front door, closed the house back up and went into the kitchen to regroup, only to see the creepy shadow flying in the living room again! We finally got it out after about two hours.

All that to say I agree to go out at dusk and watch for them. We have tons around here. We always keep an eyes on where the are coming from... so far they are coming from beyond our home. It seems like they just fly over us with an occasional visit!

 

[blessedby3]

Okay, so my dh went up into the attic and the first words out of his mouth were "oh boy, this isnt good!!". He says that he sees 8 bats, maybe 12, hanging on the screen at the end of the attic He says the screen is intact and they arent inside the attic- just on the other side in the louvers. Well, dd11 and I went outside and sat on the ground waiting and watching for them to come out. They finally did start coming out and we counted 23
When dh went back up in the attic to shine a light and see if they were all out, there was one lone straggler- OF COURSE. DH threw a few things at the screen and the bat stayed. We ended up getting the pool pole and he poked the screen with it and out it flew-Thank Goodness!
We then headed back outside and dh put the ladder up to the house and took an old screen from a window and taped it with duct tape over the louvered area. Hopefully the bats will not eat through the screen and just move on to find another area to hang out in.
Guess we will see what it looks like in the morning.....Ill let you know. Thanks for all the postings too

 

[Magic Mom]

Try not to kill them. The PP was right that there is a fungus killing bats in the US. They are very helpful animals. We have a bat house out back to keep the mosquitos down. If they aren't in the house, leave them be.

 

[blessedby3]

Nope, we are killing them-just hoping they fly elsewhere.
My mom actually said that she thought it was illegal to kill them I dont know if she is right or not. Anyway, I just want them to leave. If they werent right over our side door that we use all the time, we probably wouldnt have noticed them. They are leaving LOTS of poop there, though, when they fly out and it is a mess. We have to keep cleaning it up and cant use that door since there is so much dangerous poop there If they were in the vent over the other end of the house we would have never noticed the poop- it would have just gone in the grass and we wouldnt see it.
I cant believe we have never seen them flying out of the house before tonight! I even set the video camera up a couple of weeks ago. Left it outside focused on the ground as we thought we had mice. Needless to say that wasnt a very intresting tape to watch

 

[daisyduck123]

The one that got in.... my hubby was armed with a beach umbrella (how he made it to Eagle Scout with his dislike of critters is byond me!) and went to war with this thing... think National Lampoons Christmas Vacation! We thought we got it out the front door, closed the house back up and went into the kitchen to regroup, only to see the creepy shadow flying in the living room again! We finally got it out after about two hours.

 

[mantaz]

Some of these stories have me rolling! While bats feces, guano, is dangerous, I just have to tell you that mascara is made using guano. I learned this on billy the exterminater on A&E. Making sure they have all left and closing up where they were with the screen is the correct way to go. They will come back in the morning but realize they can't get in and move on. That is what Billy does. And yes bats are beneficial in their mosquito eating ability. I enjoy watching them flying outside around our house but I could not imagine if I had them in the house!

 

[kat08]

Take care of it NOW. Once a couple get in, they will tell their friends. I mean it! Their friends will move in and their friends then they'll start having babies...you get the picture. Bats are great but NOT in your house. They can be a serious health risk. Their guano is toxic and, of course, they can carry rabies. If you don't want to call someone to come help, seal up all openings, no matter how small. Make sure all vents to your attic have small metal screening over them. Those buggers can squeeze into very tiny spaces. Make sure you caulk (hee-hee that word is funny) all cracks and repair all wood that is deteriorating. You might want to do an attic inspection to see how many bats you are dealing with. If it's just a couple, then fine but if it's quite a few, you'll want some professional help.

Billy at Vexcon ROCKS!

 

[indimom]

Hopefully your repair job works for you OP. I agree about not wanting to kill them, but wanting them further away from your home.
Just had to share our family's bat story. My sister lives four blocks away and called in a panic one night. She had a bat in the house and her husband was out of town. DH (in his typical "manly" fashion) replies he'll be right over.
I handed him one of the kids' butterfly nets from the garage thinking it might help. He managed to snag the bat in one swing of the net, but it's the two sides of the story I found amusing.
DSis called before my hubby even got home praising how he walked right in there and caught the bat in just a matter of minutes with one swing of the net, then took it outside and let it go. Nothing to it.
Then, DH got home and told me his side of the story. "That things was HUGE and it wasn't hanging off the wall or bumping around near a window or door easy to catch, it was SWOOPING through her kitchen at FULL SPEED . I mean it looked like a terradactyl in there. It came right at me and I just swung the net to bat it away. And caught it!!!
Just cracked me up how well he hid his fear from DSis, she really thought he was so tough. Not nervous or scared at all....
Of course I had to share his side of the story with her later. We all get a laugh out of it now.
And OP, give your hubby some cudos from my hubby for having the guts to crawl into an attic with bats!!!!!

 

[blessedby3]

Well, our friends came back at some point to try and get back in their "home" but it appears the screen is still intact. I will have dh get back up in the attic after church and see if he sees anymore. HOPEFULLY NOT. Will report back after then
I just love all these stories by the way.....

 

[DawnM]

We had a bat in our house. I woke up to it flying around my head at 2am!

The CDC is recommending that anyone finding a bat in the house after sleeping get rabies shots.....

Just so you know, we paid more than $600 for the rabies shots......so I would pay $600 to get rid of them.

 

[2Tiggies]

At least you guys are allowed to have the pests removed (or chase them out) In Britain you have to wait for them to leave of their own accord. Not allowed to do anything to them. Just another one of the ridiculous rules

 

[blessedby3]

We had a bat in our house. I woke up to it flying around my head at 2am!

The CDC is recommending that anyone finding a bat in the house after sleeping get rabies shots.....

Just so you know, we paid more than $600 for the rabies shots......so I would pay $600 to get rid of them.

WOW, Im sorry you had to get a series of rabies shots Im so glad that these bats are not actually in our living area--and not in the attic actually either. Just on the outside of the screen in our attic. Im sending dh back up in just a bit to recheck-hopefully bat free

 

[blessedby3]

According to dh we are bat free at both ends of the attic He went up and gave us the all clear
I am so thankful that they found somewhere else to stay....now I guess we will leave that ugly screen duck taped to the outside of our house for a while-just to make sure they dont try it again

 

[DawnM]

Well, at least we can play with stray raccoons for the next 10 years and be safe!

Dawn

WOW, Im sorry you had to get a series of rabies shots Im so glad that these bats are not actually in our living area--and not in the attic actually either. Just on the outside of the screen in our attic. Im sending dh back up in just a bit to recheck-hopefully bat free

 

[blessedby3]

At least you guys are allowed to have the pests removed (or chase them out) In Britain you have to wait for them to leave of their own accord. Not allowed to do anything to them. Just another one of the ridiculous rules

Wow, that is crazy!! I dont think they would leave on their own....they were way to comfy where they were!

Well, at least we can play with stray raccoons for the next 10 years and be safe!

Dawn

Way to look at the bright side of having to have rabies shots--