A church right behind us has a tower that seemed to be home to many, and last fall it got some damage in a storm. Since then, some have gotten into our house & always dive over my head - once when I was on the computer, once while watching TV, and last night while in bed...scary to wake up at 2 am to the sound of wings over you head! My boyfriend caught it under a towel & threw the whole deal outside, then said the bat 'smelled terrible' when he came back in. Now I am worried; could they be sick & dangerous? This is an old (1918) big house, I doubt we can stop them from getting in, but what can we do to discourage them? This is in east central Indiana & are most likely Big Brown or Little Brown bats. please help!
2007-02-09 00:10:55 · 6 answers · asked by mustanglynnie 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
You need to access your house of get a company to come and do it to find where the bats are entering the house so those entrances can be blocked. Wherever there are bats, there is a risk of contracting rabies (you would have to be bitten, or badly scratched of course) but they are NOT as prone to having rabies as most people believe. You need to have a company that removes bats HUMANELY. Many species of bats are in great decline and many of them are protected species and would be illegal to kill. Bats play a very important role to the ecosystem by ridding it of harmful insects such as mosquitos which can cause diseases such as malaria, encephalitis , west nile virus, etc. It is important you get your house checked ASAP as breeding season is fast approaching and once there are babies and parents living in your house, even humane removal will kill the babies. Check out this website for some ideas, and do a search for companies in your area that do humane removal.
http://www.howtogetridofstuff.com/pest-control/how-to-get-rid-of-bats/
2007-02-09 15:33:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I know that some people say that they've had success putting a loud radio in the attic to disturb them tough I guess they might simply move away from it lol. The best way is to exclude them, figure out how they're getting in, you may want to go outside and look from sunset to about 30 mins later. If there are just a few entrances find a dealer in your area who has one way doors for this type of problem, the bats go out and can't get back in. If there are a lot of entrances you may want to put a couple of one way doors and block the rest. After you do this you may plug the rest of the entrances once the bats are all out (and make sure there aren't any still inside !). Of course don't evict the bast during breeding season (May-August) or the young will die... Even at that I'd be more concerned at how they are getting into your living quarters. You may want to install bat houses/ condos outside to keep them in the area, lots of bats = fewer insects. Anyways, if you wake up and there's a bat in your room it's recommended you go to the hospital for rabies shots as a precautionary measure, since if the bat did bite you in your sleep, the teeth are so small that you may not have felt it. Bats are great they eat so many insects including mosquitoes, always good to have them around, just not inside the house .
2007-02-09 07:28:28 · answer #2 · answered by crazy.carabid 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you have a colony of bats that are hibernating in your attic. They get into the living quarters by accident, possibly through an unfinished batement or a gap in the attic access. You will want to use humane exclusions techniques to get them out of the attic. Since they are hibernating, you are stuck with them in the attic until spring. We do not service your area, however, there is some good information on our website. We work with the Organization for Bat Conservation, which is a teriffic resouorce for accurate information on bats. Links are available on our website. Good luck!
http://www.crittercatchersinc.com/critters/bats/index.html
2007-02-09 23:59:10 · answer #3 · answered by Critter Catchers 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
like other people have mentioned, get an exterminator or wild life control person. Normal looking bats can give you rabies. DO NOT TOUCH THEM. If you think there is any chance they bit you (or scratched or anything), you should get rabies prophalaxis.
2007-02-09 11:00:24 · answer #4 · answered by ET 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
call an exterminator, bats are very dangerous, and the highest carriers of rabies in all animals. as biologists, you must be vaccinated to work with them. be careful!!
2007-02-09 02:17:45 · answer #5 · answered by Falcon Man 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
One of two things....Either cease the access or put up a "Go Away" sign. They really hate signs.
2007-02-09 00:31:14 · answer #6 · answered by Lexington 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋