Bats... One got in my house. Now what?!

[Hoss68]

No kidding. I am an insomniac, a lot of people know that. I went to sleep about 2300, woke up at midnight~ forgot to shut off the comp. Woke up again at 0330 and decided~ why bother.

Sitting at my desk, cleaning out a bunch of CRAP, I hear something flutter against my verticle blinds, I look over and I see something drop, so I stand up and look. Something starts flying right toward me! I thought it was a big moth from the angle I saw it, then the dang thing turns! HOLY CRIPES! I let out a yelp~

It starts circling my living room, then goes down my hall~ I turned on my son's light and I hear something rub against the wall next to me and I see it's wings~ Yep, a friggin' bat! Robert woke up, so I told him to get in Becca's room (I took the door off his because he kept slamming it). Becca wakes up asks what's the matter and I tell her~ WHAT?!?!

We're trying to get it out and it friggin' disappears! So I undo the part of the screen that he obviously got through a bit more, turned on all the lights in the house except the one by that window. We looked everywhere we could think of that it could get in to, but couldn't find it.

I've seen them around here, but NOT IN MY HOUSE! How the heck to I get rid of it or who the heck do I call?!?!

BTW~ I hate birds, I know this isn't one, but close enough for me!

[se0sea]

1st thing to do is call a pest control company. some will come out for it,some wont. a bat is in the rodent family. be careful,could carry rabies.

do you have a critter control comany where you live? we have them here cause of all the gators and stuff. but do try pest control 1st.

man,a bat!

[sfga6970]

Check this out Hoss.






Dealing With Unwanted Guests

Have you encountered a stray bat flying around in your house? Bats that fly into human living quarters are usually lost youngsters whose primary goal is a safe escape. They often will leave on their own if a window or door to the outside is opened while others leading to the rest of the house are closed. Bats are not aggressive, even if chased, but may bite if grabbed. As with any wild animal, bats should not be handled with bare hands. An exit can be hastened by catching the bat in flight with a hand net (swung from behind), or when the bat lands, covering it with a coffee can and slipping a piece of cardboard over the opening, and then simply releasing it outside. Or you may also catch it by hand, using leather work gloves to avoid being bitten.



Excluding a Colony From Your House


Bats can be excluded from living quarters by covering chimneys and vents with half-inch hardware cloth screens, by installing draft guards beneath doors, and by sealing any other possible access routes, especially around screen doors, windows and plumbing. Bats potentially can enter holes as small as 3/4" in diameter or 3/8" by 7/8". They do not chew insulation or otherwise make new holes. Their entries can be plugged with silicone caulking, steel wool, or temporarily even with tape. If a large bat colony must be evicted from a wall or attic, careful observations should be made at dusk to find entry holes (also sometimes recognizable by stains around used holes or crevices or by droppings beneath). The bats must emerge each summer evening to feed. Once roost entrances have been located, the bats can be excluded, though this should not be attempted when flightless young may be present (usually June or July in the U.S.). Starved young could create a serious odor problem, not to mention needless cruelty. Most bat species leave in winter, permitting exclusion in their absence.However, some bats hibernate in buildings. When this is the case, or when one does not wish to wait for winter, there is a relatively simple exclusion technique that can be used after young are flying but prior to the winter months. Inexpensive light-weight polypropylene netting* with a mesh-size of 1/4" or smaller (1/6" is preferred) can be obtained in quantity to cover areas of nearly any size. It can be hung during daylight hours above areas where bats emerge, using duct tape or staples. A strip of netting at least two feet wide, hung one to two inches in front of bat exit holes, and extending at least two feet below and to the side of exit points (see illustration), will allow the bats to emerge, but later they will be unable to find their way back. Thus the netting acts as a simple one-way excluder until repairs can make the exclusion permanent. A sheet of clear, heavy-weight plastic (available at any hardware store) will have the same affect. The netting (or plastic) should be left in place for 2 to 3 days to assure that all bats have left the roost.

[Hoss68]

LMFAO! I live in BFE! Thanks anyways Ricky!

I went down to leave a note for my neighbor, and he just happened to be awake, so he told his wife that I had a bat, and she screamed~ WHAT?!? Then she started giggling!

He came down, and was telling me to move all the boxes/cases I have on top of my cupboards, I get to the last one that I have my silver in~ The little blood sucker dropped it's head over the edge of the rim and flew right at my head! Needless to say~ I screamed! Pat never moved so fast in his entire life, to get out of it's way!

The little nasty thing flew in to the living room, then suddnely dropped. I walk over slowly, assuming it found somewhere else to hide and there it sits on top of a paperbag on my automon (I've been cleaning all weekend)~ almost waiting. Well, while I was moving boxes in the kitchen, I decided to throw out the box for my crystal low-balls. Well I grabbed the box and stealthly snuck up behind it (RECON ) and slammed the box down on top of it. We brought it outside by the tree line and I threw the box and paperbag. The dang thing didn't even get out of the box, so I had to shake it out!

I think I've had enough excitement for the day! I've yelped 3 times and screamed twice~ Yep, that's enough! 0610 and all that excitement!

Well, my I can't wait to tell my Ma~ She's always said the family has bats in their belfry~ She's gonna say~ Told ya so!

[Hoss68]

Originally Posted by sfga6970

Check this out Hoss.

Dealing With Unwanted Guests

Have you encountered a stray bat flying around in your house? Bats that fly into human living quarters are usually lost youngsters whose primary goal is a safe escape. They often will leave on their own if a window or door to the outside is opened while others leading to the rest of the house are closed. Bats are not aggressive, even if chased, but may bite if grabbed. As with any wild animal, bats should not be handled with bare hands. An exit can be hastened by catching the bat in flight with a hand net (swung from behind), or when the bat lands, covering it with a coffee can and slipping a piece of cardboard over the opening, and then simply releasing it outside. Or you may also catch it by hand, using leather work gloves to avoid being bitten.

WOOHOO! I did it right! Thanks Paul!

[conlor]

Did you get rid of it then?

[Hoss68]

Originally Posted by conlor

Did you get rid of it then?

Yes ma'am we did!