slo’s WEDNESDAY 10/16 poll - Bats 🦇

[fly girl]

No bats. Had a squirrel in our attic years ago. That was plenty.

I hope word has spread to the animal/critters in our neighborhood that our house is non vermin friendly. No promises you will come out alive if you make it in.

 

[BrianL]

I love bats! I have never had one in the house, but they fly around the pool sometimes. I am happy to share the backyard with them if they want. I always say I will put up a bat box, but haven't done it.

 

[amcnj]

The only bats I have ever had inside any house were baseball bats.

However at college friends had one in their dorm room and I was able to take their curtain off and eventually use it to trap the bat and release it out the window.

 

[lanejudy]

We've had a bat in the house probably 4-5 times over the years. Usually we throw a towel at it to trap it, then release outdoors. One time a bat crawled into my office while I was working late at night; I have no idea how it got to the 1st floor or why it was crawling -- it did fly away once DH trapped it and released it outside.

I also had a bird in the house one time; it was dive-bombing me in the living room. DD was asleep and DH was out at work. I opened the front and back doors and waited outside for it to exit.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Let me start by saying I love bats. I really do. However, we did some painting in my bedroom when I first moved here in 2008 and we left the windows open to air it out and help the paint dry when we took a break for dinner, neglecting to notice that one of the windows did not have the screen down. I came back up after dinner to start on the trim, and there was a bat hanging from the ceiling fan, just chilling. He was very small, and I backed out of the room, because while I really do love bats, I did not love for me that he was in my room. Make a long story short, my uncle came upstairs with a laundry hamper and got it to fly into it and he released it outside.

 

[Dan Murphy]

No bats in the belfry here either.

(Couldn't resist)

 

[HopperFan]

Many years ago had a couple in the attic vent. We got them out easily. We now have two very large bat houses in our backyard. I wish they would fill up .... and eat all the bugs.

I do have a couple bat gargoyles in my house ... willingly.

 

[AussieFan8]

Many years ago had a couple in the attic vent. We got them out easily. We now have two very large bat houses in our backyard. I wish they would fill up .... and eat all the bugs.

Have you found the bat houses keep the bats out of your house? Two years ago, we discovered that bats have started hanging under our deck. We had one get into the basement without our noticing the past two summers. At this point, we don't open the basement door at night during the summer as having bats in the house completely freaks me out. I do spray peppermint spray under the deck and if I remember to do it fairly regularly, it keeps them away.

 

[HopperFan]

Have you found the bat houses keep the bats out of your house? Two years ago, we discovered that bats have started hanging under our deck. We had one get into the basement without our noticing the past two summers. At this point, we don't open the basement door at night during the summer as having bats in the house completely freaks me out. I do spray peppermint spray under the deck and if I remember to do it fairly regularly, it keeps them away.

Haven't had bats try to get in attic (easiest access) in over 20 years. Not sure if it is the houses or something else. We def have enough for them to eat!

 

[BayouQueen]

*

 

[hertamaniac]

I haven't had any since I moved to central Florida 20 years ago. But I did have one or two that made their way in from our attic when I lived in PA.

As a teenager, I remember my neighbor and I putting on our baseball catcher's equipment (masks, chest protectors, shin guards and mitts) going up the attic stairs, and armed with tennis rackets trying to persuade the bat to go out the open window. It worked!

 

[BrianL]

I haven't had any since I moved to central Florida 20 years ago. But I did have one or two that made their way in from our attic when I lived in PA.

As a teenager, I remember my neighbor and I putting on our baseball catcher's equipment (masks, chest protectors, shin guards and mitts) going up the attic stairs, and armed with tennis rackets trying to persuade the bat to go out the open window. It worked!

That reminds me of the scene in The Great Outdoors where Candy and Aykroyd have to get the bat out of the cabin!

 

[hertamaniac]

That reminds me of the scene in The Great outdoors where Candy and Aykroyd have to get the bat out of the cabin!

If I only had a picture. But, yes, we were armed to the hilt!

 

[BrianL]

If I only had a picture. But, yes, we were armed to the hilt!

 

[tazdev3225]

When I was in my teens a bat got into the house through the skylight in my parents bathroom. My mom freaked out. My dad and brother, in their underwear, chased it around with baseball bats and pots and pans until they finally trapped it. Dad took it to the woods by where he worked and let it go. If you ever saw the movie the Great Outdoors it was a lot like that.

My cat brought a dead bat into the house years ago and we had to have it tested for rabies by the health department. Thankfully it was negative and my cat had his shots. I hid in the bedroom until my husband got it out of the house. I'm not a fan.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Funny you should mention...
I was up at my Mom's place a few weeks ago. We are cleaning it out to get ready to sell. There is a fairly tall crawl space (you can easily stand) and my older DB has some things there he's been storing. He had left the door unlatched, so, months later, I go under to pull out some of the junk. Suddenly I'm seeing several, silent black things flying at me. It's dark and cool under the house so no wonder really. We asked someone at the local hardware store what to do - prop open the door, when they go out to hunt bugs at night, close the door and latch it. I thought we'd have about 50% success but we got lucky - every last bat flew out.

PSA - bats are endangered and laws are strict - you can't kill or harass a bat. If they decide they're staying, they're staying.

DFIL had one in the living room of his house when DW and I were still dating. He shoed it out with a pool net. It was quite the story.

 

[Scotgirl]

Bats are a protected species here in Scotland:

For any wild bat species, it is an offence to deliberately or recklessly:

• capture, injure or kill a bat
• harass a bat or group of bats
• disturb a bat in a roost (any structure or place it uses for shelter or protection)
• disturb a bat while it is rearing or otherwise caring for its young
• obstruct access to a bat roost or otherwise deny an animal use of a roost
• disturb a bat in a manner or in circumstances likely to significantly affect the local distribution or abundance of the species
• disturb a bat in a manner or in circumstances likely to impair its ability to survive, breed or reproduce, or rear or otherwise care for its young
• disturb a bat while it is migrating or hibernating

It’s also an offence to:

• damage or destroy a breeding site or resting place of such an animal (whether or not deliberately or recklessly)
• keep, transport, sell or exchange, or offer for sale or exchange any wild bat (or any part or derivative of one) obtained after 10 June 1994

 

[Moliphino]

We had a bat in the house once. I think it fell in when we fiddled with the flange where the wood stove duct goes through the wall into the chimney. We found it sleeping on a louvred closet door upstairs. We got it into a bucket and threw all of it outside.
I like bats, but I don't want to mess with rabies.