Bats

[grayxie]

Bats eat insects, and are probably circling your neighborhood/yard ingesting them. They are a bit scary but actually do alot of good, during one feeding they can eat multiple times their body weight in insects. Unless the bat has rabies, they usually aren't aggressive.

[diggy4]

wow thanks for the great answers... I appreciate it! It didnt like dive bomb Diggy or anything but was swooping at him and Id say got as close as 3-4 feet from him I freaked, ran and grabbed Diggy and it continued swooping at me as well. It only got as close as about 5 feet from my head. I guess I will call DNR Monday as see what they think. If they usually are not aggressive, and scare easily it makes me even a little more weary as this bat was not scared at all I knew we had them and see them lots but never get close at all they sit in my big tree and click like crazy at night.

[Mz_s3ski_Kitt3n]

Oh my goodness !! i would be oh s0o0o0o scared !! i think calling animal control to see if they are able to safely take them away w/o hurting them & hurting your babies !!

[Miley's mom]

I hate bats myself , they are nasty things not pretty to look at ..and scary to have them around you. Take a look at what I found on craiglist today......I think some people are nuts, who wants a bat as a pet?


I am willing to drive an hour in each direction for it. I would love love LOVE to adopt one. I have researched them, have a flight room and am ready to take one in as a pet. If you know how to HUMANELY catch a WEANED baby or ADULT I can even pay you a small amount for helping me catch one. Please help! If you can point me in a direction to catch one that would be awesome too! Let me know. Thanks!

[PennysMum]

Are you having the horrible mosquitos like we're having near where I am in Michigan? My guess would be that the bat was swooping near the pair of you to try to catch mosquitos. I was out in my yard with Pen the other night and there were no fewer than four bats out there hunting-- which I thought was great because both me and the dog have been assaulted by mosquitos every time we've stepped outside for the last month.

[diggy4]

yes we have a ton of mosquitos right now. I dont really wanna have them taken away if they are harmless. I dont mind them and im not scared of them I just wooried they may be able to hurt the fur kids THEN I would be mad!

[tjdmom]

Originally Posted by PennysMum

Are you having the horrible mosquitos like we're having near where I am in Michigan? My guess would be that the bat was swooping near the pair of you to try to catch mosquitos. I was out in my yard with Pen the other night and there were no fewer than four bats out there hunting-- which I thought was great because both me and the dog have been assaulted by mosquitos every time we've stepped outside for the last month.

That's what I would think as well, probably they're after the bugs that are after you. Also, since bats use radar to "see" so I think they tend to kinda do that. We have bats up by our camp and as kids we used to throw rocks up and they'd swoop after them for a second or two until they must've figured out they weren't food.

[diggy4]

Originally Posted by tjdmom

That's what I would think as well, probably they're after the bugs that are after you. Also, since bats use radar to "see" so I think they tend to kinda do that. We have bats up by our camp and as kids we used to throw rocks up and they'd swoop after them for a second or two until they must've figured out they weren't food.

Yes, we can stand in the front yard and throw a nerf football up and you can hear them and see them try and hit it.

[Little Bit]

Be careful! Because of the possibility of rabies I would steer clear! There was a person in Houston who died from rabies not too long ago. He was napping in his room and he felt something brush his neck. When he looked up there was a bat in his room. They didn't think anything of it because it didn't bite him, so by the time he got sick and they started the rabies treatments it was too late and he ended up dying! So sad! I wouldn't take any chances...

[coroth]

Originally Posted by Little Bit

Be careful! Because of the possibility of rabies I would steer clear! There was a person in Houston who died from rabies not too long ago. He was napping in his room and he felt something brush his neck. When he looked up there was a bat in his room. They didn't think anything of it because it didn't bite him, so by the time he got sick and they started the rabies treatments it was too late and he ended up dying! So sad! I wouldn't take any chances...

I think I'm gonna be sick! If I had a bat in my room I would be FREAKING out!! Oh my gosh!!! Nasty!! My great-grandma got bit by a bat a couple of years ago, but they started the treatment right away so she was okay. It was scary though! BE CAREFUL!!!!

[Too Cute Teddy]

We had a bat get into our house 2 summers ago and it was flying into walls and windows - very un-bat-like. Animal control came out and got the bat and it was rabid!! We had to go and get rabies shots b/c CDC's protocal is if you are asleep and have a bat flying in your room/house you should get the shots b/c their teeth are so small you can be bitten and not even know it!! We also had to get boosters for the furbabies Keep those babies away from bats they freak me out now!!!

[diggy4]

wow crazy story...thanks for the info!

[buddybramble]

eeeuuuuwww we get bats in our garden but definitely not 12 inch wingspan!!! yuck, i think i'll leave my bedroom window shut after reading this aswell

[diggy4]

OmG I just went outside with the fur kids again an there they were now 2 of them circling over head again....grrrr

Do they really hang upside down??

[SANDYSAND]

Bats common in Michigan are insectivorous, catching small flying insects, by echolocation. Some bats may consume up to one-half their weight of insects in a night. Two of the most common building dwellers are:

The big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), also found in buildings, may fill its stomach in 1 h. Gould (1955) found that an adult accumulated food at a rate of 2.7 g/h. Seven orders of insects, including beetles and stinkbugs, are eaten (Phillips 1966). Many of the insects reported are harmful.

The little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) commonly found in buildings, feeds on midges, mosquitoes, caddis flies, moths, and beetles. One study found 140 mosquitoes and other insects in the stomach of a single little brown bat (Bellwood and Fenton 1976; Anthony and Kunz 1977). Tuttle (1979b) stated “that 500 bats can easily capture 500,000 insects a night.”

Research has shown that the Little Brown Bat feeds on soft-bodied insects such as moths, flies, midges, mosquitoes and mayflies. The Big Brown Bat appears to be an opportunistic feeder, and preys mostly upon beetles, such as ground beetles, cucumber beetles, and other beetles, moths and larger insects.

***

Bats are non-aggressive and will not attack you. Although Bats are beneficial as a natural pest control, the risk of rabies transmission is very real from an infected bat. Bats are wild animals and should be treated as such. Never handle any wild animal. If you are scratched, or bitten by a bat, or if you are unsure, seek immediate medical attention. If you have a bat inside, remain calm and watch where it lands. Take a coffee can and slowly approach and place over the bat. Slide the can over a piece of cardboard and release the bat outdoors. Or, close off room and open windows and turn off ceiling fans and AC (bats follow air flow).

At Bat Masters we want our Bats to continue their pest control efforts without interfering with your home or work life. We may love them, but we don’t want to live with them. There are No Safe Deterrents which we are aware of. Installing a Bat House without first performing Removal and Exclusion will most likely not cause the Bats to move from where they presently roost in your home or building.