A bat in the house!

[flatbutt]

Fortunately I was able to confine it to my upstairs bed room and catch it with a butterfly net. But how the heck did it get in? Anyone dealt with this?

[GH85Carrera]

Likely down the chimney.

[GG Allin]

A friend did years ago. Because it brushed his face while he was laying in bed, it was suggested he go for Rabies shots. Personally I think that was overkill. Someone said at the time it's very possible that the bat landed on someone's back on the way in the house.

Curious, why do you never see dead bats anywhere? I asked that question years ago and the only answer I was given was, Why do you never see baby pigeons?

[fintstone]

Had a huge one in my basement off and on for 3 years. Almost as big as a pigeon in flight. Could never find where it was getting in...it set of my motion detector alarms around midnight when it was set. They crawl very well through small holes, chimneys and such. Mine crawled under the basement door (I think) and was in my upstairs bedroom the other night when the wife went up to bed. Scared the crap out of her. I closed the doors and watched it fly around a while hoping that I would see how it got in...and noticed its radar was not detecting the ceiling fan that was on. After a minute or so...it flew right into the fan and clobbered itself...which was good for me after 3 years of trying to get rid of it...as if you catch them and let them go, they always come back unless you can seal them out (if nesting there). They are generally protected...so you can't just kill them...so a big problem if you can't keep them out.

[VincentVega]

I had one last winter, quite a surprise. I think it came in with some firewood but only a guess.

[fintstone]

They can get into most anywhere a mouse can get in. Pretty small hole.

[fastfredracing]

I watched one squeeze itself right through the tiniest little gap in our crown molding by our chimney . It was making circles around our living room, she is screaming bloody murder for me to do something, my 3 year old kid was crying, and I was running around like a lunatic trying to whack it out of the air with a broom.
It was quite the evening in the fastfred household .
I closed off the room, and opened up the windows, and it left on its own accord

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by GG Allin

A friend did years ago. Because it brushed his face while he was laying in bed, it was suggested he go for Rabies shots. Personally I think that was overkill. Someone said at the time it's very possible that the bat landed on someone's back on the way in the house.

Curious, why do you never see dead bats anywhere? I asked that question years ago and the only answer I was given was, Why do you never see baby pigeons?

How often do you see a dead bird? Those are fairly rare as well. They make a quick snack for lots of other critters out there.

[fintstone]

Many folks have them in the attic...and never know until one gets into the house. Their feces looks like that of a mouse, just a bit more elongated. They generally nest and hibernate in the same place very year...so unless just accidentally inside, they keep coming back to an attic. Sometime there is just one...and sometimes many. Generally, you figure out where they are getting in, wait for them to leave....and seal it...or there are methods to make their exits one-way, so they leave and cannot return. Have to find out how they get in though.

[bivenator]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

I watched one squeeze itself right through the tiniest little gap in our crown molding by our chimney . It was making circles around our living room, she is screaming bloody murder for me to do something, my 3 year old kid was crying, and I was running around like a lunatic trying to whack it out of the air with a broom.
It was quite the evening in the fastfred household .
I closed off the room, and opened up the windows, and it left on its own accord

Thanks for the laugh, I can see a similar scene playing out at my house.

[Bugsinrugs]

Had one land on my neck when I was rafting down the middle fork of the Salmon river. I told my brother in law about it and he insisted I get rabies shots. He is a Doctor. Rabies shots aren't what they used to be. Pretty simple series of shots over a week to two weeks. Not cheap by any means.

[Crowbob]

Mom and dad bought a centennial farm and didn't pay any extra for the bat colony living in the attic.

Over several night-falls from his picnic chair in the yard dad watched 'em take flight from behind the chimney.

40!

[herr_oberst]

I installed this bat house a couple years back...I'm a little too far from a decent body of water for a colony to be established. The hives are gone now, and a humongous ugly house has gone up where that ranch house is in the picture. I just leave the bat house up as a reminder of what was....

[pete3799]

We've had two so far this summer. We have high ceilings up stairs (probably 14' to the peak). No idea where they get in.
Butterfly net taped to a broom stick is my weapon of choice.

[Crowbob]

My uncle swore by a tennis racket. My dad swore at the tennis racket. We all watched from below as dad and uncle Larry in the upstairs bedroom swung away with the utmost disregard for each other's health or well-being.

[nvr2mny]

Geez, talk about a timely topic. We have a vacation home in Idaho we've been going to for the last 20 years. UnFortunately we only use it one to two weeks a year at this point. We were there last June and noticed a bunch of gauno on the outside of the house. At the time I thought it was just bats attaching themselves to the outside, how I wish that was the case. We apparently have several roosts in the house and they're living in the inside of the walls. Bats only need a quarter inch by half-inch to get in! They're flying mice as far as I'm concerned. These flying mice are actually federally protected. We're getting estimates in excess of 12,000 just to shore up the areas where the little bastards are getting in, and potentially 30,000 to tear up the walls and clean up the guano and urine which can cause histoplasmosis if not treated properly. The kicker for us is the house is now listed on the market so we have to disclose everything. I WOULD NOT put a "bat house" up any where near a dwelling structure. One cool thing about them is that a colony of 30-50 bats can eat 2-3 MILLION insects a night!

[bobrestore]

do you have a cat??? they can catch them and bring them inside to you as a gift

[flatbutt]

No cat, no bat house, one ex bat schit crazy gf. It didn't come back last night and I still can't find the entry point. Going to be in the 90s today so no attic for me.

[island911]

If you have a bat in your house, there is a good chance it has rabies. Healthy bats would not be there. If you caught it, throw it in the freezer, and then of to a lab to be tested.

edit: you should consider getting rabies shots. :-/ (BTDT)

[wdfifteen]

We get 2 or 3 a year. I think they come in through the dog door. I just open a window a few inches and leave it open until about midnight. They disappear.
Last year the dogs were going crazy barking at an empty urn sitting on the floor. It was about 3 feet tall and a foot in diameter with a narrow 4" diameter neck. Flashlight revealed a bat clinging to the inside wall. I just took it outside and shook it out, but it gave me the idea of using something like that to trap them. I like bats. We have lots of skeeters and they eat skeeters. I don't like skeeters.