Bats

[Magicman]

I noticed droppings under the carport and looked behind a wall decoration.  Yup, two brown bats had found themselves a home, but only temporarily.  They gotta go.


 


 
You can tell by the teeth that they were not happy. 

[LeeB]

We have little bitty bats in our cave. They are about the size of a big grape, or maybe the end of your thumb, when all folded up and sleeping. We don't bother them as they are an endangered species, the Arkansas miniature bat.

[Magicman]

I hated to bother these, but I don't want bat droppings in the carport.  I relocated them about 7 miles away.  I hope that they are not like Homing Pigeons. 

[caveman]

About two weeks ago, I was using the restroom in our shop and looked to my left and a bat similar to those that Magicman has was hanging on the shower nozzle.  Bats creep me out and this one was about two feet away from my head and I really could not get further away from it until 20-30 more seconds had elapsed.  As much as I appreciate them eating skeeters, this one had to go. 

[Magicman]

Those teeth looked like needles, and when they clamped down they did not want to turn loose.   :-\

[WDH]

Just think how good the guano would be for you tomatoes  :D.

[red]

when they are flying around inside a house you hit them with a tennis racket then throw a blanket on them

[fishpharmer]

MM, be careful with those bats.  A women in SC contracted rabies from a brown bat and she didn't make it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45700088/ns/health-infectious_diseases/t/bat-bite-traced-scs-st-rabies-case-years/

And LeeB holding out on us......he has his own bat cave.  :D

[sandhills]

when they are flying around inside a house you hit them with a tennis racket then throw a blanket on them

I lived in a house like that, but my oldest daughter (at the time 3) and I preferred the daisy bb gun and a flashlight.  They're about half dangerous flying inside and I don't much care for being bit, I'll take mice any day, at least they don't have wings and their teeth are only 1/2 size  :-\

[SwampDonkey]

I was moving last summer on the mower, and passed by the barn that had aluminum siding. Near a window a piece kinda opens up. Two bats were flushed from behind the siding. I have a bat house up by the beaver pond on the back of the woodlot. Different times I have looked and never found any bats in it.  :-\ I think they just have not found it. They like houses and buildings better because they are easy to spot. ;)

[LeeB]

MM, be careful with those bats.  A women in SC contracted rabies from a brown bat and she didn't make it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45700088/ns/health-infectious_diseases/t/bat-bite-traced-scs-st-rabies-case-years/

And LeeB holding out on us......he has his own bat cave.  :D

A little batty to be sure.  :D :D

[WDH]

Lee,

It is nice to know that you are, secretly, a Superhero  ;D.

[LeeB]

And a well kept secret it is. I didn't even know it. I guess maybe i am to my kids and Lindy anyway.

[Red Pill]

When I was a kid in Wichita, there were lots of bats that lived in the steeple of the Methodist church across from my school. We would go out at dusk and throw up handfuls of gravel to try to get them to eat one or knock one down. We only managed to get one in all our attempts. It flew into a tree and fell, where one of my buddies put a box over it. He took it to school to show to our science teacher, who warned us about rabies . . . and promptly got bit by the bat. He had to have the series of shots.

[Magicman]

When I caught these, I could hear the little popping noises that they make.  I think that is part of their navigation system.

[caveman]

The popping noise the one that startled me was a tad different.  It only began as I continuously struck it with the 4' sticker. I think I would rather deal with a venomous reptile than a bat.  Many years ago, one of my students was scratched or bitten by one he captured at school.  He, too, had to endure several rabies shots.  Caveman

[caver]

I used to explore caves with organized cavers (we don't use the term spelunker). I worked with a group at Carlsbad Caverns one weekend and got to experience the bat flight down just inside the entrance below the amphitheater. It was like a Stephen King movie with thousands of bats flying past me. We got out of the cave early that day and a bird researcher needed some help holding a mist net down in the cave entrance. The bat flight was our reward and it was pretty cool.

[Magicman]

So far they have not returned, so maybe I got rid of them.  I hope so.

[Magicman]

I just removed three more from the carport.


 
I would hate to tangle with those teeth, that plus the rabies shots.   :-\

[Radar67]

You think it is the same three? You must have some magic dust they like. 

[sparky1]

Ihate them critters. I have bats in my attic as well. Ive managed to get rid of 50 plus over the past few years, but im sure theres plenty more!!! it is my goal this year to get rid of them all!  Magicman, good luck gettin rid of em. if ya got one you could have many more!!!

[Magicman]

There were 2 the first time and I relocated them 7 miles away.  This time there were 3.  I can think of another way of "relocating" them, but I am not really that mad at them.  Just want them gone.

[WDH]

You could coax up an incantation, maybe throw a hex on someone that you wish ill on, if you could come up with some eye-of-newt to go with the bat wings  .  I will check and see if I have any eye-of-newt down at the shop and let you know  .

[Magicman]

Newt ain't giving up either of his eyes.  He is too busy eying Mitt.   :D 

I could ship them down to New Orleans to Marie LaVeau's followers.  That ugly witch needs all of the help that she can get.  Marie LaVeau videos

[Riggs]

Like 'em or not, you have to admit they are a fascinating little critter, notice I didn't say pretty...Anyways, I'm glad you're trying to relocate them.

[Magicman]

I think that I noticed a "bat deficiency" in Durant where I am sawing, so I'm going to improve their breeding herd.  115 miles away should be sufficient to prevent these from returning.   ;D

[SwampDonkey]

The little brown bat is just about wiped out up here it seems. They have been surveying caves for years. Once in the thousands in these caves, was recently found to have about 22 bats remaining. One year was a massive die off with the cave floor littered with dead bats.

[WmFritz]

The little brown bat is just about wiped out up here it seems. They have been surveying caves for years. Once in the thousands in these caves, was recently found to have about 22 bats remaining. One year was a massive die off with the cave floor littered with dead bats.

Rabies?

[Magicman]

My little population seems to be stable.  I am still trans-locating a couple every few weeks.  I notice droppings and will find a couple hanging behind the wall ornament.  They get put into my cricket box and taken on a journey.   ;D

[SwampDonkey]

Rabies?

That fungal snout disease, whatever it's called.

[thecfarm]

White nose??

[drobertson]

We kinda  like these critters, not in the garage!  put this up this winter,

 

[SwampDonkey]

I have one similar on the woodlot beside a beaver pond. I'm not out there often enough to see if there are any residents.  ;D




Wow, it's been 7 years.

[Ron Scott]

RE:  U.P. BAT DEATHS

Contact: Dan O'Brien, 517-336-5035 or Ed Golder, 517-284-5815

First bats to die from white-nose syndrome this winter reported in Keweenaw County

Today, the Michigan DNR announced that it has received the first reports this winter of bats dying from white-nose syndrome. Members of the public found dead bats outside the opening of an abandoned copper mine near Mohawk in Keweenaw County and reported it to DNR field staff.

White-nose syndrome was first discovered in Michigan in late winter 2014 in Alpena, Dickinson, Keweenaw, Mackinac and Ontonagon counties. Widespread die-offs of hibernating bats are expected in all of these counties, and potentially others, this winter. Experience with white-nose syndrome in northeastern states suggests that most dead bats will be found within 100 yards of the openings to the mines, caves or other places in which they hibernate (called 'hibernacula'), but some bats may travel a mile or more before dying.

Because most of the major bat hibernacula in these counties are in relatively remote areas, most people will probably not see the bat die-offs. However, in towns like Iron Mountain, Hancock and Norway, where large numbers of bats hibernate in mines within the city limits, area residents may see dead and dying bats. These bats may be on the ground, or roost on trees, buildings or other structures close to humans and domestic animals.

While there is no connection between white-nose syndrome and rabies, bats can carry rabies, a virus that infects the central nervous system of mammals, including people, and causes death if not properly treated. Rabies is most commonly spread by the bite (or contact with the saliva) of an infected animal. Bats are the animals most commonly found infected with rabies in Michigan, although the disease is relatively rare even in bats.

"We understand the public will be concerned, and we share their concern for the plight of these bats," said DNR wildlife veterinarian Dan O'Brien. "Unfortunately, there is nothing that the public can do to help the bats that are now dying. There is currently no practical way to treat the large number of bats affected by white-nose syndrome. For public health reasons, it is very important that people not touch bats with bare hands, and to keep children, pets and livestock away from bats. Pets and livestock can also be protected by making sure they have a current rabies vaccination."

The DNR asks that bat die-offs this winter be reported on the DNR website or by calling 517-336-5030. The DNR will not be collecting and disposing of bat carcasses where die-offs have occurred. The public can safely dispose of dead bats by picking them up with a shovel or heavy gloves and placing them in plastic trash bags for routine garbage disposal.

Rehabilitation of bats is prohibited in Michigan because of the potential for exposure of humans and domestic animals to rabies.

Long-term, the public can best help bat populations recover from the effects of white-nose syndrome by staying out of mines and caves where bats hibernate (unless proper biosecurity precautions are taken), becoming educated about the critical ecological roles bats play, and supporting bat research and conservation.
For more information on bats and white-nose syndrome, visit www.michigan.gov/wns and www.whitenosesyndrome.org.

[WmFritz]

Thanks for that article Ron.

A few years ago I had about 50 brown bats hanging living in my attic. I put netting up on suspected entry points with loose places to get out, but made it hard for them to get back in. I also put up a couple bat houses to keep them around for mosquito control. Last summer I only had two or three bats on our lot.

[Ron Scott]

RE:  NORTHERN LONG-EARED BAT - US FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE

Much has been said about the NLEB and possible impact to forestry and the forest industry. 
The following link goes to the FWS site with comprehensive information. 

http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/mammals/nlba/index.html

[Gary_C]

Ron, what do you see as the effect of the new proposed rule on logging?

It looks like there will be an approval process with the FWS for all logging jobs.

[beenthere]

Spotted owl, woodpeckers, rats, and now bats.  FWS keeps busy dreaming this stuff up, and they could care less what the effects are on working people.

[coxy]

Spotted owl, woodpeckers, rats, and now bats.  FWS keeps busy dreaming this stuff up, and they could care less what the effects are on working people.

x2 SSS ;D

[Gary_C]

As I read thru the proposed rules it scares me to see the powers the rules will grant the Fish and Wildlife Service. Even though it grants exceptions for taking of bats and disturbing habitat under certain circumstances, the rules defacto grant the FWS the power to make a determination to see if any activity is lawful under the regulations. So even though forestry practices are granted exemptions for incidental take and some limited disturbance of habitat, the rules may put another layer of approval of any logging practice.

The last thing we need is more government scrutiny of every activity. And the next thing the FWS will ask for is more money in their budget to watch over us.

[Ron Scott]

I'm sure that there will be mitigation measures required by the FWLS which landowners and loggers will be required to meet when implementing any timber harvests.

[SwampDonkey]

Canadian bat house survey. This a NGO survey partnered by the Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo in New York) and the Canadian Wildlife Federation. What it is about, in link below.

https://wcsbats.ca/Our-work-to-save-bats/Batbox-Project/BatBox-Project-Canada-wide

They are conducting bat house surveys in the summer months up here in Canada. Anyone interested is asked to go to the link below where the survey is.

Canada Bat Box Project (qualtrics.com)

[Magicman]

Wow, this topic is 9 years old and my bat situation is still the exact same.  We still have the wall ornament and I still occasionally see bat droppings and know that I may have a couple of temporary residents. 

We now have a "WYZE" camera under the carport and we get an alert several times a week and a video showing one fluttering by.  I suppose that they are just doing their job.

[SwampDonkey]

A rare bat, the silver-haired bat, was recently discovered when removing an old growth danger tree, eastern white pine.  The top had broken off the 100 ft tree. 160' from the river bank of the Saint John. It was host to the little critters. No records of them breeding here ever. Very rare that specimens have even been collected anywhere.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/silver-haired-bats-donald-mcalpine-new-brunswick-museum-1.5955064

[SwampDonkey]

My barn here is host to 4-6 bats, every summer. I see them just before daylight when drinking my morning coffee in the summer. I'm a long way from any water, besides a trickle of a brook. My porch is screened in. ;) My uncle's attic at grandfather's place was full of bats. He was maybe 300 yards from the river. :D

[metalspinner]

Magicman , have you considered removing the wall
Ornament?😂

Several years ago our Boy Scout troop went caving. In a steep spot, one of the scouts reached his hand out to brace himself on the cave wall.  His hand went right into a bat that was clinging on the wall.
Even though he wasn't bit, he had to go through the rabies shots as a precaution.

[Will.K]

I've come out of several cave passages with bats clinging to my clothes. Before the majority of little brown bats died off, it was very common to run into dense hibernacula and well populated roosts. No more. Bats are excellent at avoiding contact with people when in flight, but it's hard to squeeze through some places without disturbing or dislodging them. Sometimes we have to take them off the ceiling and put them elsewhere. A few weeks ago I was walking through a TN cave and heard a persistent squeak. I thought it was water squelching in my boot until the little critter climbed onto my neck. Their tiny claws are wonderful. 

Bats are one of those animals (along with snakes, coyotes, spiders and more) for whom there exists a wildly imbalanced and irrational fear/loathing to actual threat ratio. 

[petefrom bearswamp]

I think I posted this before but here goes
about 10 or 12 yrs ago I was going to the mill in the AM, mug of coffee in hand.
when I slid the door on the pole barn open, a bat fell directly into my coffee mug.
Neither of us was very happy.
I dumped him on the ground and went back to the house for an other cup.
He/she was gone when I got back.
in the days before white nose syndrome I often had them in my lumber stacks.
They are no longer common here except one gets into my garage about every year.
I put a bat house up but they prefer my garage.

[Magicman]

Magicman , have you considered removing the wall Ornament?

Oh no, that won't happen.


 


 
These were recovered/salvaged from the produce section in a grocery store that closed.

[SwampDonkey]

Those are awesome.

[Chuck White]

I built a bathouse yesterday and gave it to my MIL.

At first she started complaining about she hates bats flying around, then I asked what she hated the most, mosquitos & black flies, or bats!

She said she has to paint a bat on the front of it, then put it up in the gable end of their garage!

[KEC]

You can easily make a fuctional bat box to put under a roof overhang. Cut a piece of scrap plywood (3/8" or 1/2" is fine) about 1 foot wide and ~2' long. Cut some 1" full thickness pieces of lumber into 1 1/2" strips, about 6 linear feet will do. Staple a piece of fiberglass fly screen to one side of the plywood, bats love to cling to it. Now nail or screw a 2' piece of the 1x2 along one edge of the plywood on the side with the flyscreen. Cut 2 pieces of 1x2 about 6" long and fasten them along the edge of the ends of the plywood. Now cut 2 pcs. of 1x2 and fasten these to connect between the 2 shorter pieces, but leave a 2" gap in the middle. Now cut a piece of plywood to just cover the 1x2's and fasten it to the 1x2's. Put it up under the roof overhang of a barn, shed, house or whatever. No worry about the weather as it should stay dry. The gap in the 1x2's goes facing down. You may want to put a 6" long piece of 1x2 inside about 2" above the gap/entry hole to keep it dark inside. Hope I explained this OK, it is really simple and you can make it longer to hold more bats. I have given some to people and they got bats in them. I don't think the bats care for the boxes that resemble a bird box. Let us know if you build a box and get bats. Oh, the bats fly up, land on the exposed flyscreen and crawl through that gap and up to the top. They seem to have an uncanny knack for finding that entry hole.

[SwampDonkey]

Wow, another 7 years and the bat house is still up on that post. ;D  14 years now.

[aigheadish]

I have an aunt and uncle who used to live in a house which backed up to a school yard. In that school yard were probably 10 crabapple trees. We'd go back there around dusk with sharp sticks, jam the sticks into rotting apples that had fallen from the trees and fling them into the sky, where relatively big bats would often catch them in mid-air. Too cool!

[Will.K]

I hold my hand in the air and click my fingernails to make insect sounds and provoke a dive.