First it was mice, then ants and now BATS?!?!

[hearts and roses]

H and I came home from dinner out and we usually head upstairs through the garage. So I open the basement door, flip on the light and there's this enormous bat flying in giant circles! I let out a scream that could wake the dead and back out! H pulls a George Castanza and nearly knocks me on my hiney trying to get outta there!

It was like scene from The Birds only it was starring two of the three stooges.

The other night easy child left the basement and garage door open all night. With all the wild animals we have here that's a big no no. OR, it could be we have bats living with us, as a couple of months ago we found a dead baby bat in the upper unfinished addition.

So, all my clean clothes are down there-we can't avoid the basement forever. Anyone know how to get rid of and inspect for bats?!?!? Thanks in advance~now I'm going to try to sleep.

 

[gcvmom]

No clue how to help you on that one! Are you sure it's not raining a lot there? Seen any arks lately?!

I imagine the bats would not like a lot of light or noise... maybe set up a radio with heavy metal music and keep the lights on for a while... and be sure to give them an escape route!

Failing that, try some garlic, a rosary...

 

[muttmeister]

The best thing to get rid of ONE is to throw a towel over it - not as easy as it looks (kinda like roping a cow). If you get the towel over it, it can't fly and then you can put it out without even touching it. The bigger problem is how to KEEP them out. There has to be a place they are getting in. It doesn't have to be very big. You need to caulk and seal and inspect for any tiny places where a bat could get in. Sometimes they get in a chimney and come down. Other times they just find a crack. Otherwise, you'll keep getting them.

 

[GoingNorth]

Bats actually would much prefer to live in places other than basements and attics and the like.

Once you get these out of here (call wildlife relocation co.) and seal up any openings they could be getting through.

Why not set up some "bathouses" on your property. These are specially made boxes designed to be ideal roosts.

Bats like to sleep all huddled together, so they'll cram themselves into the bathouses and leave your basement alone.

Bats are very beneficial animals (Other than fruit bats, which are really humungous and can destroy fruit crops, as well as carrying Lyssa Virus and a couple of other nasties. Bats live on nasty insects like mosquitos and the like.

They can see, but navigate in pitch darkness using sound waves (sonar).

The problem with bats in your belfry is that they are only mammal that can carry rabies without necessarily showing signs. You DON'T want to get bitten. Plus several varieties of US bats are endangered and it is illegal to harm them.

Call a removal service to come catch the bat and relocate it. They can also tell you where they are coming in and how to seal off those openings.

 

[hearts and roses]

My sister is a wildlife rehabilitator, so I borrowed a net and some thick gloves to catch the bat but, of course, he's playing hide and seek now - in my basement...where I do laundry...and is our main entry and exit to the house...and where our household supplies are...etc.

We are leaving shortly for the day and I really wanted that darned bat out of our house beforehand - this is not a job I want to do at night. However, my sister said nighttime is better because then when we release it back into the wild, it will be protected from predators, which I understand, but still, day light works better for US.

Bats are becoming an endangered species around here in the past few years, so we would not hurt it kill it. Just want it out! Gvc, I'm ready tp pull out my rosary and sprinkle raw garlic all over the place at this point. I guess we're safe during the day, so I just have to make sure I get all my stuff done before dark, what a pita. I thanked easy child for leaving all the doors open overnight the night - she just laughed because, of course, you see, she's in her new 'apt' so she couldn't care less about it. LOL

Thanks for the replies. A towel, MM? H was down there with a small tupperware bowl and a piece of cardboard. That was his plan. Puh-leez!

 

[busywend]

Be sure to wear a baseball cap while you are trying to catch it - it can (sorry) get caught in your hair. I had to say it so you could avoid the possibility.

A towel to catch it is what I have heard, too.

 

[GoingNorth]

The "getting caught in the hair thing" is an urban myth. Bats' sonar is so good that they can catch a mosquito in pitch darkness.

No way are they going to fly into someone's hair by mistake

 

[flutterby]

It has been a weird year. Insect population seems to be really high. I've heard stories from all over of animals appearing where they should not be. A friend of mine came home from vacation to find bats had taken over her covered front porch. Another found a snake in her dryer. If I don't act soon, I'm going to have a spider infestation - that's after we've taken care of ants and bees in the house.

I hope you catch the bat and mr. or mrs. bat does not return.

 

[TerryJ2]

I can just imagine the scene with-the two of you!
I would have been no better.
I'm glad you have a plan to set it free.
I can't believe there is a lack-of-bat problem in your state or elsewhere. They breed so well. Maybe there are pesticide issues?
Even with-all the spraying, there are plenty of bugs to eat.
I like the idea of bat houses. We used to have one but somehow never got around to buying another one when we moved.
I don't know what they cost but you could probably find them online or at a home improvement store. The wildlife stores defiitely have them but they charge an arm and a leg ... and a wing.

 

[GoingNorth]

When we had bats roosting in our garage years ago, husband made the bathouses for them. You can find plans at libraries, or probably much easier online these days. They are no harder to make than simple birdhouses.

Once we had the houses set up, we waited until the bats had all flown out in the evening, closed the garage door all the way.

The bats, coming home to find the hotel barred and locked, happily moved into the houses on their own.

It worked out well for all of us. We had lots of insect eaters and they had cozy roosts to sleep in.

by the way, what is killing bats in the US and the EU is a fungal infection.

 

[Abbey]

We had lots of bats in Florida and even more in Vegas, but I've never had one in my house. I do know that they are very territorial when they find a place to 'roost.' Then they call all their friends. I had a bathouse in FL and it worked quite well. They are still out there zooming around...but not in my house.

Good luck!!

 

[TerryJ2]

by the way, what is killing bats in the US and the EU is a fungal infection.

Ah. Didn't know that. Thank you.

 

[Jody]

Hearts, I am so sorry you are going thru this but your post is the first laugh I have had in such a long time. I just picture your H and you running around and can control myself. I am lmbo, and just can't quit. I am sorry but that is just too funny.

 

[Andy]

When my parents were building our house, we had bats inside for about two years. Us girls at first tried to quietly (yes, 4 preteen - teenage girls using the word quiet while dealing with a bat) get the bat out of the house so as not to wake up mom and dad. Well, needless to say, it did not work - we usually retreated to our rooms to shut ourselves in for the night or went to get Dad to help. (we were not screamers. We also were not afraid of the bat itself but the way it flies around the room so fast and at unpredictable routes, we were afraid it may run into us. Even though you know it most likely will not run into you, it is hard to be convinced when you have a bat flying around trying to get out of the room.)

Make sure you keep your toilet seat down. Bats are attracted to water and until we figured this one out (or someone forgot to close the seat) we would find one in one of the toilets in the morning.

I can't remember if being trapped in the water killed it or not. So, if you can verify that being in a bucket of water will not kill it, that might be an option in catching it.

We have a few comical bat stories while our house was being built. Once it was completed, the bats didn't come in anymore. Could also be that us girls were older and learned how to keep doors shut better?