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Ok, I just pulled open our sheet/pillow case drawer and a bat flew out.

J-rap

By J-rap,
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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

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We have had bats in the attic for years, and I've made my peace with that.  They've even made the occasional foray downstairs, but it's always the same week in July (I think it's lost babies), and they just fly around, I close the door and make dh deal with it.  I think we finally found all the access holes, and it's been a few years now without a visitor (knock wood...)

 

But if one flew out of my drawer at me?    I think I'd just about lose it...

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Lanny

Lanny

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Probably  not a threat to you, in any way, but they can be startling, when you see them unexpectedly. We have a huge inner patio and occasionally one will fly into our house. Years ago, we got up one morning and my wife found one hanging in the living room, from a cable going to the TV or a Speaker. It was sleeping and eventually woke up and flew away. She took 1 or more photos of it, that she may still have on Facebook or somewhere. I will ask her...

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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

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Awwww. Poor things.

 

My dd very eagerly did her multiple prophylactic rabies vaccinations so she could finally work with bats. (she works part time as wildlife rehabilitator while in college).

 

Bats are super cool.

 

LOL.  Which is why I have not evicted them from the attic, and why our whole family has our prophylactic rabies shots.

 

But... OMG, the thought of a bat popping out of a drawer at me just ... I have no words!  :svengo:

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Lanny

Lanny

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My wife found this photo on her Facebook.   Bats are extremely necessary for the planet. Ecology...  They get a very bad rap.  We have a small storage building in the backyard and she said there are some bats that sleep there and that when she opens the door, she waits awhile, for them to get oriented. I believe they are blind, so sometimes they get lost.  Again, I suspect it would be startling to open a drawer and have one fly out like that.  I have never included a photo in a post on WTM before, so if I succeed, you can see the photo of the bat who flew into our house, via the inner patio and stayed one night. My wife said it was raining at that time.  The photo is showing as a Thumbnail, which is better than nothing...

ETA: After I posted this, I clicked on the Thumbnail and a much larger image appeared   :hurray:

Edited by Lanny
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creekland

creekland

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I wish y'all could send your unwanted bats here.  We love them.  They are great insect eaters and we just plain like watching them fly in the evenings.  We used to have 15-20, then some neighbors in a rental house next door killed most of them.   :cursing:  Now we get just a couple per year.  I want more. The neighbors who killed them are gone, but the bats haven't repopulated much yet.  We can really tell a difference with the mosquito population too.

 

If they get in the house we just open a door or window and try to guide them out.  I honestly can't imagine freaking at such a thing.  Now if it had been a snake... I'd have to move.

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umsami

umsami

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I would scream and go running out of the house.

 

 

Seriously.  Even though we just watched a Magic Schoolbus episode on bats and how good they are.

 

Then after I calmed down, I'd probably be O.K.  Can you put up a bat house outside that will attract them? Then put screening over your soffits or whatever.  Ugh.

 

 

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sbgrace

sbgrace

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Oh my. I would not recover from the shock for hours, maybe days!

 

If there are bats in the living space when people are sleeping, I think precautionary rabies shots are standard? Maybe it's worth a call to the dr. tomorrow?

I think I'd sleep better if I knew my family had been vaccinated.

 

 

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Seasider

Seasider

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I wish y'all could send your unwanted bats here.  We love them.  They are great insect eaters and we just plain like watching them fly in the evenings.  We used to have 15-20, then some neighbors in a rental house next door killed most of them.   :cursing:  Now we get just a couple per year.  I want more. The neighbors who killed them are gone, but the bats haven't repopulated much yet.  We can really tell a difference with the mosquito population too.

 

If they get in the house we just open a door or window and try to guide them out.  I honestly can't imagine freaking at such a thing.  Now if it had been a snake... I'd have to move.

 

We also love our bat population, and find it cyclical to the owl population (hoots > bats). 

 

That said, I prefer that they remain OUTside the house! It once took an entire day to get a wren out of here, I'd rather not have to chase a battie.

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J-rap

J-rap

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My wife found this photo on her Facebook.   Bats are extremely necessary for the planet. Ecology...  They get a very bad rap.  We have a small storage building in the backyard and she said there are some bats that sleep there and that when she opens the door, she waits awhile, for them to get oriented. I believe they are blind, so sometimes they get lost.  Again, I suspect it would be startling to open a drawer and have one fly out like that.  I have never included a photo in a post on WTM before, so if I succeed, you can see the photo of the bat who flew into our house, via the inner patio and stayed one night. My wife said it was raining at that time.  The photo is showing as a Thumbnail, which is better than nothing...

ETA: After I posted this, I clicked on the Thumbnail and a much larger image appeared   :hurray:

 

That picture is terrifying!!

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J-rap

J-rap

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I wish y'all could send your unwanted bats here.  We love them.  They are great insect eaters and we just plain like watching them fly in the evenings.  We used to have 15-20, then some neighbors in a rental house next door killed most of them.   :cursing:  Now we get just a couple per year.  I want more. The neighbors who killed them are gone, but the bats haven't repopulated much yet.  We can really tell a difference with the mosquito population too.

 

If they get in the house we just open a door or window and try to guide them out.  I honestly can't imagine freaking at such a thing.  Now if it had been a snake... I'd have to move.

 

Oh gosh, I wish I had your attitude!  I have a much better attitude about some things...  we've had mice, centipedes, big spiders, and even scorpions, and I don't freak out.  But bats are so ugly and fast.  I shiver thinking about them...

 

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Lanny

Lanny

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That picture is terrifying!!

 

 

I think that was about 4 or 5 years ago. It happened that one time. We have been living in this house for more than 11 1/2 years.  I see references to Rabies, but I suspect that only a tiny percentage of bats have Rabies.  They eat insects, etc.  My wife said they spread things around, so they are good for the garden.  It wasn't terrifying, but it was strange, because it had never happened before and hasn't happened since.  What is more common is that a bird will fly into our house and then get disoriented. We have a bunch of skylights in the roof and birds will go up there and they can't get out and are trapped and it usually takes them a long time to figure out how to leave our house.  

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J-rap

J-rap

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As far as what happened.  Well, I screamed very loudly.  Surely you heard me?  Then, as I was running downstairs to lock myself in the bathroom, I hollered to my husband (whose right arm is paralyzed): "Sorry, but you'll need to handle that one!!!"

 

My husband is fearless with bats, and he just grabbed a bag and tried to trap him for awhile.  Everything was very quiet, so I tiptoed out of my hiding place to check on things, and then I saw the bat swooping downstairs.  I ran ahead of it, threw open the back door, and locked myself in the bathroom again.  My husband said it circled around the downstairs a few times, while he kind of guided it toward the back of the house and out the door. 

 

I think I would have had to have stayed in a hotel tonight otherwise.

 

When we last had a BIG problem, about 10 years ago, they mostly lived in our attic.  But every night around 10pm, one would usually suddenly appear and fly through the living room area.  Our dog and cat would hear it before it happened, I think in the walls.  That was when we called the bat company!  Before then, we'd get one in the house once every few years, but that was all.

 

Ugh.  I just hate thinking about them, and I have to wait until tomorrow morning to call anyone.

 

 

 

 

 

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Mrs. Y

Mrs. Y

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I was with friends one time as their teen age son bent over to tie down something on a pick up truck bed.  Suddenly he reaches up and grabs the back of his shirt and very calmly says, "A bat just flew up my shirt."

 

Huh?????  I would have been running and screaming :willy_nilly: and all he did was calmly note that a bat just flew up his own shirt??????    :blink:  I don't think I will EVER get that scene out of my mind!!!   :scared:

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Cindy in FL.

Cindy in FL.

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I think that was about 4 or 5 years ago. It happened that one time. We have been living in this house for more than 11 1/2 years. I see references to Rabies, but I suspect that only a tiny percentage of bats have Rabies. They eat insects, etc. My wife said they spread things around, so they are good for the garden. It wasn't terrifying, but it was strange, because it had never happened before and hasn't happened since. What is more common is that a bird will fly into our house and then get disoriented. We have a bunch of skylights in the roof and birds will go up there and they can't get out and are trapped and it usually takes them a long time to figure out how to leave our house.

The percentage of bats with rabies is very small. However, if there are bats in your living space while you are sleeping, you could be bitten or scratched without being aware of it. Bats have such tiny teeth and claws that they leave virtually no visible mark. Cryptic bat rabies is definitely a thing. Since rabies (once symptoms begin) is an almost certain death sentence, I would not take bats in the house lightly.

 

Just my two cents! :)

Edited by Cindy in FL.
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Guest

Guest

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I think I shared this already, but when I lived in Uganda we set up camp in an area that had a little outbuilding that my mom and I decided to sleep in.  Which happened to be home to many, many bats ...who peed on us that night.  We promptly moved into a tent.

 

I would take a bat in drawer over pee any day.

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jewellsmommy

jewellsmommy

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The Aussies have the best bats though. Check out this one getting a belly rub https://www.facebook.com/BatsQLD/videos/927865220639016/

 

it is SOOOOO cuuuute

 

Yes they do. The Australians hog all the big bats! I love love love flying foxes! Up to a 6 ft wingspan, amazing creatures! In my dream world, I would have them and a lemur sanctuary at my house. 

 

I love all the bats. Dh and I were independent contractors for a couple of years, and we moved/set-up/maintained a 5,000 sq ft changing exhibit called Bats, Masters of the Night for a Texas based exhibits company. I loved it. I also worked with brown bats at the VA Living Museum. I cleaned out their habitat and helped weigh them, so nothing much, but I loved it just the same.

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jewellsmommy

jewellsmommy

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My wife found this photo on her Facebook.   Bats are extremely necessary for the planet. Ecology...  They get a very bad rap.  We have a small storage building in the backyard and she said there are some bats that sleep there and that when she opens the door, she waits awhile, for them to get oriented. I believe they are blind, so sometimes they get lost.  Again, I suspect it would be startling to open a drawer and have one fly out like that.  I have never included a photo in a post on WTM before, so if I succeed, you can see the photo of the bat who flew into our house, via the inner patio and stayed one night. My wife said it was raining at that time.  The photo is showing as a Thumbnail, which is better than nothing...

ETA: After I posted this, I clicked on the Thumbnail and a much larger image appeared   :hurray:

 

 

awww. He's cute. Is it a Mexican free-tailed? We have brown bats mostly, which are small and cute. But, I wish we had a little more variety.

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Shellydon

Shellydon

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The percentage of bats with rabies is very small. However, if there are bats in your living space while you are sleeping, you could be bitten or scratched without being aware of it. Bats have such tiny teeth and claws that they leave virtually no visible mark. Cryptic bat rabies is definitely a thing. Since rabies (once symptoms begin) is an almost certain death sentence, I would not take bats in the house lightly.

 

Just my two cents! :)

 

Yep, this.  I also like bats, but a bat in the house is a big deal, especially while people are sleeping.  A bat in the house while people are asleep is automatic rabies shots for the family  http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/exposure/animals/bats.htm

 

If they touch you at all, you need to capture the bat for testing.

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hornblower

hornblower

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Can you show your daughter this thread and ask your daughter what to do?

our guidelines here are similar to the US CDC (rpep is rabies post exposure prophylaxis)

 

"RPEP is not indicated if there is no history of direct contact; for example, if a bat was found in the house, or if someone woke up with a bat in the bedroom, without any evidence it touched someone.6 When a bat is found in the room with a child or an adult who is unable to give a reliable history, assessment of direct contact can be difficult. Factors indicating that direct contact may have occurred include the individual waking up crying or upset while the bat was in the room or observation of the bat in close proximity to the individual (e.g., in or on the bed)."

 

if a bat is suspected or known to have bitten or scratched, it should be caught if possible. It will be killed & examined for rabies.  

 

 

You definitely do want to limit their entries into the home. Reseal gaps, use screen and screen doors. They fold up very small & squeeze in through tiny gaps...

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