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Discussion Forum

How do I catch a BAT!!

MisterT | Posted in General Discussion on August 8, 2003 03:25am

Some hooo a winged mammal made it’s way into our humble abode.

Before I could get him he went down to the basement.

I AINT going down there after him!

Anyone know of a good way to catch him/her to return it to eating bugs OUTSIDE?

NO I’m not gonna use a shot gun!!

How long can a bat live in a basement if it can’t find it’s way out?

Mr T

Do not try this at home!

I am an Experienced Professional!

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Replies

  1. Piffin | Aug 08, 2003 03:34am | #1

    I always prefer a badminton racket. It's a rush!

    .

    Excellence is its own reward!

  2. WayneL5 | Aug 08, 2003 03:35am | #2

    They're not harmful, just eerie.  Depends on whether or not you want to kill him.  You could whack him real good with a tennis racket.  You could sneak up on him with a waste basket and trap him underneath it then slide a piece of cardboard underneath and carry him outside.  If you turn the lights on tomorrow morning, he'll go asleep.  They like to hang up under things in a sheltered area.   Then you can sneak up on him.  They only need a 1/2" diameter hole to squeeze through, so it doesn't take much for one to get inside the house.

    Don't panic, it's not that bad!

    If you're afraid, send Mrs. T to do it.



    Edited 8/7/2003 8:37:06 PM ET by WAYNEL5

    1. Piffin | Aug 08, 2003 04:00am | #3

      Sneak up on a bat?

      That's a laugh!

      The sound of T's heart beating will wake him up..

      Excellence is its own reward!

      1. User avater
        IMERC | Aug 08, 2003 07:16am | #7

        Racing heart sounds more like it.

        1. steveh | Aug 09, 2003 12:03am | #19

          that is news to me . My son is a wild life vet and its news to him also.

          And as far as I know the bar guano is a concern but I believe it has to be a serious amount like when there is a huge colony nesting in an attic or such.

          If it were a serious vector for transmission any mamale feces would pose a threat since all mamales are susceptible to rabies.

          1. User avater
            IMERC | Aug 09, 2003 12:11am | #20

            That's what they said. Guano, that's the word I couldn't remember. The show was hosted / done by the BBC. Time for a web search. I'm not good at it but I'll give it a try.

            They also went into the processing the guano for make up too. (What women are never told... LOL.) The cycle of the bats and their habitats. (cave)

            They were also in caves with a mega number of bats. You must know not to use mammal / meat eater dung for fertilizer.

            Edited 8/8/2003 5:16:58 PM ET by IMERC

          2. User avater
            IMERC | Aug 09, 2003 12:23am | #21

            http://www.batcon.org/discover/rabies.html

            First one I found.

            What is rabies, and how is it transmitted? Rabies is an infectious viral disease that invades the central nervous system of humans and other warm-blooded animals. A wide variety of mammals can contract the disease, but it is most often noticed in dogs, cats, foxes, raccoons, skunks, coyotes, bats, and livestock. Worldwide, more than 30,000 humans die of rabies each year, 99% of these cases resulting from contact with dogs. In the United States, due to highly successful dog vaccination programs, transmission from dogs is now rare, eliminating the vast majority of human cases.

            Rabies is nearly always transmitted by a bite, though non-bite exposures can result from contact between infected saliva or nervous tissues and open wounds or the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, or mouth. Careless handling is the primary source of rabies exposure from bats.

            Rabies virus has not been isolated from bat blood, urine or feces, and there is no evidence of air-borne transmission in buildings. Two cases of aerosol transmission were reported in the 1950's in Texas caves that support very unusual environments. However, no similar cases have occurred since, despite the fact that many thousands of people explore bat caves each year. No such transmission has occurred outside or in buildings

            Hit #2

            http://www.batcon.org/discover/rabieschart.html

            Not such good news on this one.

            Human Rabies Cases Related to Bats in the United States | Rabies: Answers to Questions | Rabies: History of U.S. Cases |

            The following information was most recently updated on November 01, 2001.

            STATISTICS THROUGH 2002:

            40 deaths reported over 50 years

            No deaths reported in 29 of 50 years

            28 deaths since 1980, which is 2.3 deaths per year. Assuming an average human population in the U.S. of 267 million since 1980, the risk of contracting rabies has been less than 1 in 200 million.

            Of the 40 reported deaths, 4 were female children, 2 were male child, 26 adult males, and 8 adult females.

            Because many cases were post-mortem or late moribund diagnoses, exposure histories could not be obtained from the patients. The most likely explanation for these cases is an unreported bite.

            2000/TN/13-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Patient too ill to be questioned about exposure history, but family reported that he had found a sick bat on the ground and took it home.

            2000/CA/28-year-old male

            Mexican Free-tailed Patient comatose before rabies diagnosis made. Patient had killed a bat in his house earlier that month.

            2000/WI/69-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Post-mortem diagnosis. Friend said he had removed bats from his house with bare hands.

            2000/MN/47-year-old male

            Silver-haired Patient too ill to provide information regarding exposure history. Friend reported patient was bitten when killing a bat.

            2000/GA/26-year-old male

            Mexican Free-tailed Post-mortem diagnosis. Co-workers reported a bat had landed on him while he slept.

            2000/CA/49-year-old male

            Mexican Free-tailed Patient too ill to provide information regarding possible exposure history. Patient did not report contact with bat, but wife reported he had caught and removed bat from house.

            1998/VI/29-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Patient too ill to provide information regarding possible exposure history. Patient was prison inmate who repaired fences and fed cattle, worked in paper recycling facility and along roadsides cleaning up trash and debris.

            1997/NJ/32-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle On two separate occasions, patient captured bats in home by hand using a cloth and released them outside. Patient and wife did not recall whether or not he had been bitten.

            1997/TX/71-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle First report involving both victim and wife stated no contact; days later wife changed story to say that bat was found in patient's hotel room and landed on left shoulder.

            1997/WA/64-year-old male

            Big Brown Post-mortem diagnosis. Patient apparently not questioned, or too ill to provide information regarding possible exposure history.

            1997/MT/65-year-old male

            Silver-haired Post-mortem diagnosis. Family reported bat was in patient's house for several days and that patient often baited traps with killed animals. Patient apparently not questioned, or too ill to provide information regarding possible exposure history.

            1996/MT/49-year-old male

            Silver-haired Patient was a lumber mill custodian where bats were observed in area; denied having physical contact with bats.

            1996/KY/42-year-old female

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Patient denied history of animal bites.

            1995/CA/74-year-old male

            Silver-haired Post-mortem diagnosis. Patient sometimes handled bats; Patient apparently not questioned, or too ill to provide information regarding possible exposure history.

            1995/CT/13-year-old female

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Bat found flying in patient's home; patient denied history of animal bites.

            1995/CA/27-year-old male

            Mexican Free-tailed Post-mortem diagnosis. A family member believed a bat had landed on patient's chest and been brushed off, but was unable to provide specific details on the incident. Patient apparently not questioned, or too ill to provide information regarding possible exposure history.

            1995/WA/4-year-old female

            Myotis californicus or M. ciliolabrum Child apparently too ill to provide information regarding exposure history. Family members reported finding abnormally behaving bat in her bedroom and disposing of it; bat later retrieved and found to be rabid. Per CDC,"This strange behavior should have led to a strong suspicion of rabies."

            1994/CA/44-year-old male

            Silver-haired Post-mortem diagnosis. Patient cared for sick kitten that was not checked; patient apparently not questioned, or too ill to provide information regarding possible exposure history.

            1994/TN/42-year-old female

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Patient had many (26) unvaccinated pets; denied history of animal bites.

            1994/WV/41-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Post-mortem diagnosis. Bat described as a possible red bat, but likely was a reddish-colored pipistrelle. Family and friends reported patient shot and handled bat, running his fingers along its teeth. Patient apparently not questioned, or too ill to provide information regarding possible exposure history.

            1994/AL/24-year-old female

            Mexican Free-tailed Post-mortem diagnosis. Patient routinely removed dead/dying bats from place of employment.

            1993/TX/82-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Patient too ill to provide information regarding potential exposure. Patient was exposed to dying cow 3 months earlier..

            1993/NY/11-year-old female

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Post-mortem diagnosis. Caught and caged a possibly sick bat. Report unclear about whether or not patient was ever questioned about potential exposure history.

            1991/GA/27-year-old female

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Post-mortem diagnosis. Patient apparently not questioned, or too ill to provide information regarding possible exposure history.

            1991/AR/29-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Friends reported him bitten while catching and killing an abnormally behaving bat. Report unclear about whether or not patient was ever questioned about potential exposure history.

            1990/TX/22-year-old male

            Mexican Free-tailed Bitten while tormenting bat and did not seek medical attention.

            1984/PA/12-year-old male

            Myotis (probably M. leibii) Report unclear as to patient's coherence during questioning or who was questioned regarding potential exposure history.

            1983/MI/5-year-old female

            Silver-haired Patient reported bite to parents.

            1979/KY/45-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Patient reported no known exposure to potentially rabid animals.

            1979/OK/24-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Patient's occupation was woodcutter; although no exposure was reported, activities prior to illness provided potential for bite exposure. Unclear whether patient was questioned.

            1978/ID/37-year-old female

            Silver-haired Apparently post-mortem diagnosis. Rabies contracted through corneal transplant.

            1978/OR/39-year-old male

            Isolate unavailable (Donor for Idaho case above.) Post-mortem diagnosis. Patient not questioned; he was a professional lumberman and avid trapper.

            1976/MD/55-year-old female

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Bitten on the hand by a bat reported as a Big brown bat. Patient vaccinated forty-four hours after bitten, but died anyway. Postmortem findings suggested possibility of postvaccinal reaction from duck-embryo vaccine, direct viral infection, or both.

            1973/KY/26-year-old male

            Silver-haired/Eastern Pipistrelle Patient was aware of being bitten on the ear by a bat while in bed; bat not recovered and patient did not seek medical attention.

            1971/NJ/64-year-old male

            Species not reported Man reported being bitten on mouth by abnormally behaving bat while on his porch; bat not recovered but he was given duck-embryo vaccine.

            1970/OH/6-year-old male

            Big Brown Boy bitten on hand while asleep. Bat tested positive for rabies. Patient vaccinated with duck-embryo vaccine and survived. (SURVIVED)

            1959/WI/44-year-old male

            Species not reported Man reported being bitten on ear by bat while asleep; killed and disposed of bat without testing.

            1959/CA/53-year-old male

            Mexican Free-tailed Alleged aerosol Texas caves. Patient denied history of animal bite but a Friend reported seeing blood on his face he presumed to have been from a bat bite while in Frio Cave.

            1958/CA/53-year-old female

            Silver-haired Woman reported being bitten while handling abnormally behaving Silver-haired bat. Bat later tested positive for rabies; vaccinations not begun until one month after bite.

            1956/TX/38-year-old male

            Mexican Free-tailed Alleged aerosol from Texas caves. Patient denied history of animal bite but was a State rabies investigator and had handled thousands of bats.

            1951/TX/43-year-old female

            Species not reported Post-mortem diagnosis. Woman bitten while handling sick bat she picked up off the road.

            Edited 8/8/2003 5:25:54 PM ET by IMERC

            Edited 8/8/2003 5:28:54 PM ET by IMERC

            Edited 8/8/2003 5:32:06 PM ET by IMERC

          3. Don | Sep 03, 2003 11:49pm | #29

            IMERC: Interesting compendium of info. One thing left out by research articles. Rabies virus lives & travels through nerve sheaths. Hence doesn't show up in blood or guano. Also - doctors can give some very wierd advice to potential exposure victims. I know - my son & I are two. Son shot a coyote while deer hunting in MO. Got it right between the eyeballs w/ a 12 guage slug. Splattered coyote brains ove most of the county. We, being stupid, skinned the carcass out, nicking ourselves w/ a knife. I went to a Dr. several days later when smarts returned, and the chief of infectious deseases at a major hosp told me "I don't think you've been exposed. Go home & stop worrying." My Vet told me I'd better get treatment. I'd gone to her first. Finally went to an ER at a smaller hosp, and explained the circumstances to the ER Dr, trained in Poland, of all places. She didn't let me finish the story before ordering the shots for me. Had a little more trouble finding a place for son to be treated. Called the dinky little rural hosp we passed while on the way to hunting site to get advice on where to send him. Nurse on duty had a cow when I told her the story; told me where to send him. He likewise had the shots. We both survived. BUT - no one could tell me the probability of survival, given the shots. Likewise, no one could give any quantitative answer on how long you have before it becomes too late. Depends on where you are bitten & actual physical distance to the brain. Head/neck - better be minutes. Finger/big toe, you have a bit longer. Son & I were about 5-7 days from potential exposure. They also gave us a whopping, "lie across the bed, you can't take this standing up" slug of Gamma Globulin w/ the general viscosity of peanut butter in the rump to give some immediate protection while the vaccine worked. Total treatment - $1200.00 each. Much cheaper than a funeral.

            We should reiterate - protocol for treatment is if you have contact w/ a bat, whether or not you KNOW you were bitten, get treated. Especially if you wake up in a room w/ a dead bat in it or you were asleep in a room known to have a bat pass through. Batteeth are very small and very sharp and you can be bitten w/o knowing it.

            Wonder when this subject will come up again?

            DonThe GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!

            Edited 9/3/2003 5:09:11 PM ET by Don

          4. User avater
            IMERC | Sep 04, 2003 01:11am | #30

            I had the rabies treatment when I was 11. That was 43 years ago. 17 injections in the lower abdomen. One injection every other day in alternate sides. Very very long needle. Remember it well.

            Now I fall back in a hurry and don't even slow down to punt. NEVER AGIAN!!!!

            Amazing that Seveh never stopped to pick up his mail after he told me I was pumping salt.

            That was an interesting show and it was on Discovery and not Animal planet. 

            Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....

          5. User avater
            Dinosaur | Sep 04, 2003 02:15am | #32

            I find them routinely when stripping old roofs up here; they like tucking themselves up under cornices and overhangs when they can't get into the attic through the gable vents.

            Usually they're so sleepy they just sort of lie there on the roof mewing like a cat for a minute or two. I take a piece of shingle, scoop it up, and carry it down to place it gently in the grass away from the house so it won't get hurt by falling strip. I like bats--I figure one bat alive = a couple of zillion mosquitoes and black flies dead....

            I'm always wearing gloves when I'm stripping, anyway--for the knuckles, ya know??

            Dinosaur

            'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?

          6. User avater
            IMERC | Aug 09, 2003 12:39am | #22

            Now do you suppose once is too often. IT IS FOR ME. 

            I used Google   bats+rabies+caves. A bunch of hits. The 2 links I listed were the first two and a little lenghty. I try not to play the odds. Especially when the out come leaves a lot to be desired.

          7. DougU | Aug 09, 2003 03:31am | #23

            IMERC and Steveh

            There was a case of a woman in Iowa that swept up the attic area that was thick with bat dung, she did this without any type of dust mask. It left her with some sort of neurological problems, she was a high school teacher, she had to give that up. That came to my mind when you said that the rabbis could be transmitted through the air, not saying that is what she had just thought it was coincidental.

            Doug

          8. mem | Sep 03, 2003 11:20am | #25

            Once you get symptoms, rabies is 100% fatal, so whatever this woman had it wasn't rabies. If you are immunized before you get symptoms, everything is ok.

          9. Don | Sep 03, 2003 04:46pm | #26

            Steveh: Sorry your name is on this. My system won't let me select "All."

            Aerosol transmission of rabies. I first heard of it in NM in 1963 while a student at New Mexico State Univ. (Yes, for the geographically challenged, it is in the US of A.) I met a man we called the "Bat Man." He did bat research for the Univ. The discussion that lead to aerosol transmission was prompted by a dead bat I found on the floor outside my office in a short hallway that han NO obvious entry other than the door. He said they had investigated aersol transmission by taking mammals into caves in west TX & eastern NM that they knew to be inhabited by rabid bats. They ensured that the test mammals could not be bitten and left them in there long enough that they were confident they would be infected. It happened. They concluded after the tests that it took relatively still air and an infection rate of about 17% among the bats. I'm sure he published on it.

            This is a bit long ago; but, it is first person recall of a fairly long conversation w/ the man who did the work, not urban legend several people removed from the investigator.

            His guidance was NEVER, EVER, handle a bat w/ bare hands, whether it be alive or dead, regardless of where you find it. If you do not know what you are doing, don't handle one at all. Call for help from a pro.

            I also second the comments about treatment. I've had it, and not too uncomfortable.

            DonThe GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!

          10. User avater
            Longhair | Sep 03, 2003 07:28pm | #27

            hey t i hear you can catch a bat upside the head if you go messin with jeffs stuff lol

          11. DCassII | Sep 03, 2003 11:08pm | #28

            We get them in the house on occasion.  For what it is worth, a lot less often now that the Fireman's carnival no longer happens  the next block over.

            I don't do so well with bats, so the Mrs. gets rid of them.  She turns out all the lights, opens the doors and windows, and usually the damn thing flies out on its own. 

  3. wflather | Aug 08, 2003 04:02am | #4

    I used to freak out when a bat got into the house.  They I got over it.  They are simply too good at flying around cluttered places to fly into things.  Now I relax and enjoy the show.  I follow the bat until it flies into a room with curtains, then I shut the door ( I have never had one make a mistake and fly into me).

    I wait a few minutes, grab a heavy towel and go into the room.  The bat is always hanging on to one of the curtains,  so I get a chair, climb up and carefully use the towel to grab the bat.  I have never had one spook and fly off. 

    Bat teeth are too small to bite through the towel, but if gloves make you feel safer, wear them.  Take the bat in towel outside and let it go.

    Then figure out what crevice it crawed in through and seal it.

  4. steveh | Aug 08, 2003 07:01am | #5

    I'd be carefull of bats and I would advise against catching it with a glove towel or anything but a trap Bats are a serious source of rabies

    along the east coast .

    I'm not an alarmest and Ive done some caving where there are bats hanging around but I would make darn sure to stay well clear of one in my house.

    1. User avater
      IMERC | Aug 08, 2003 07:20am | #8

      Rabies can be transmitted through the air. You can get rabies by breathing the contaminated air. You also can get rabies from contact with bat dung. Your caving days over.?

      Being bit by a bat is the least of your problems.

      1. hpthree | Aug 08, 2003 07:33am | #9

        I've switched from opening a window and trying to hit the bat out with a tennis racket to dropping a dish tub or wastebasket on top and sliding a record jacket underneath to cover the opening before inverting. (Here's where those Captain and Tenille LPs come in handy.)

        Henry

        1. jimblodgett | Aug 08, 2003 09:10am | #10

          They don't like light or noise.  So if you turn on all the lights and play a little Led Zeplin that will get it flying around.  Open as many windows and doors as you can and it will fly out in no time (unless you play "Ramble On", no one wants to leave when that's playing).

          1. MisterT | Aug 08, 2003 01:27pm | #12

            No need all!!

            Came down stairs and he was hanging on the sceen door, Opened the door, and off he went.

            I usually put on some gloves and use a towel to knock 'em out of the air, so I can pick em up and take 'em outside.

            But when he went down to the basement I figgered I'd never find him till he dropped on me and started sucking my blood!!

            We got a 30"x50" louvered vent on both ends of the attic.

            I watched 15 -20 bats come out of one at dusk one night.

            I guess I should make sure the screens are secure on the inside of them!!!

            I'm gonna make a screen cover for the whole house fan too.

            Jim Wouldn't Country music work best?

            ONE BATTY-BAT, TWO BATTY-BATS AH AH AH, THREE BATTY BATS......Mr T

            Do not try this at home!

            I am an Experienced Professional!

          2. User avater
            goldhiller | Aug 09, 2003 06:55am | #24

            No problemo.

            Next time just toss a couple of bull snakes down there and wait a couple of days.

            Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.

        2. hasbeen | Sep 04, 2003 01:53am | #31

          Record jacket!  You'll have to add another option cause CAG won't know what a record jacket is......     ; )Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

      2. Robrehm | Aug 08, 2003 05:00pm | #13

        Unless you can provide some research I haven't seen, rabies transmision through the air is unfounded. I have been through a ton of papers on the subject & have found nothing to support aerosol transmission.  The only reference I did find dealt with a lab where several researchers were infected. A conclusion was drawn that the only possibility was aerosol transmission. the environment was highly (?) controlled  and every one was sure protocol was followed in handeling of the bats. I have been able to find no supporting documentation any where on this subject. If any one can point me in the direction of some I would love to see it.

        As far as getting rid of them, has any one tried a bat a pult?

        1. User avater
          IMERC | Aug 08, 2003 05:31pm | #15

          Animal planet was my source.

          A whole hour of it. Part of series similar to the Blue Planet.

          Already knew about bites and dung.

  5. caseyr | Aug 08, 2003 07:04am | #6

    Bat Conservation International has an information piece on catching bats in houses.  Go to http://www.batcon.org/ and page down, then click on "Most Request" "got a bat in your house"

  6. mem | Aug 08, 2003 12:48pm | #11

    Contact a bat rescue person. Most large areas have them. They will come out and get the bat without harming it. Look on the Net for bat rescue, or wild animal rescue. If you live in the SF bay area like I do, contact the Lindsey Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek. They will observe it for rabies, which occurs in bats, but rarely. If it has rabies, you will still be in time to get immunized against it. Modern rabies vaccination is not painful (like 6 shots), not dangerous, but it is expensive. It would be convered by your health insurance if your doctor ordered it.

  7. Texfan | Aug 08, 2003 05:15pm | #14

    Cover yourself in Liquid Nails and make noises like a mosquito?.........  ; )

    "I am not young enough to know everything."

    - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
  8. User avater
    Rugby | Aug 08, 2003 08:38pm | #16

    Coincidentally I found a dead bat right smack dab in the middle of my driveway this morning. Hmmm.

  9. User avater
    Luka | Aug 08, 2003 08:50pm | #17

    Wouldn't you just use the same method you would to catch an umpire ?

    A good heart embiggins even the smallest person.

    Quittin' Time

    1. MisterT | Aug 08, 2003 10:40pm | #18

      An Umpire Bat????

      Blahhh strike one!!!(Bela Lagosi accent)Mr T

      Do not try this at home!

      I am an Experienced Professional!

  10. woodbutch | Sep 04, 2003 06:23am | #33

    Mr. T,

    I pitty the fool that has a bat in there house.Try this, a bat navigates by radar, string fishing line across your room in differnt directions loosely, he will fly and pick up the fishing line on his radar and get tangeld thinking it's food, then take the rat with wingd outside and let him free. Another job well done! Hack.

    1. mosseater | Sep 04, 2003 08:29am | #34

      Remember, nothing sucks like Electrolux! Let him settle down and roost. Then ease up with the long extension. When you get about 2" away, hit the switch and watch the surprised look on his little bat face as he vanishes into the tube. I`ve done it twice with a '61 model horizontal bagger. No bat can handle the 29" suck storm from 'The Lux.' And get under that sofa while you have it out...

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