Comments on: GUEST POST: Dispelling Fear of the Phantom Bat

By: Hike & Seek Question: What Are Bats? : Wildlife Promise

Hike & Seek Question: What Are Bats? : Wildlife Promise — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:42:31 +0000

[...] can fly in complete darkness through a room crisscrossed with stretched lengths of string, compared to which a human is like the [...]

By: Bat Facts You Won’t Find in The Dark Knight Rises : Wildlife Promise

Bat Facts You Won’t Find in The Dark Knight Rises : Wildlife Promise — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:38:13 +0000

[...] fliers than birds, capable of more rapid and precise turns. Nerve receptors in the wings help bats sense changes in air flow and even to use their wings as nets to catch insect [...]

By: MBee

MBee — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:57:00 +0000

Ok, well I hadn’t considered that the comments engine here shears off links from any entries. I’m sure it’s to help prevent abuse by spammers and such. Shame on me for not thinking about that. The information/link I mentioned is on the website for the NC Department of Health & Human Services. Once there, check the “News & Notices”, then “Press Releases” section (it’s sorted by month and year) and look for the article named “Bats in your Attic?” dated July, 2010.

They discuss what I mentioned in more detail, and offer some links to other resources for you to use (including a local contact at the NCHHS Office). I’m not a wildlife, medical, or legal expert by any stretch of the imagination, so these folks, and other local professionals are your best bet for advice and strategies. Take care!

By: MBee

MBee — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:06:00 +0000

Although they’re good neighbors – bats are *not* good housemates. As charming as it may seem to you that they’re your roommates; you should really consider covering their points of entry into your attic (AFTER providing them other housing options in the form of bat-houses OUTSIDE on your house and surrounding structures and trees). Once that’s done, you may be relieved when you take a look at the piles of urine and guano (bat poo) that will appear underneath them. Because right now, the surfaces underneath the places they roost during the day is where their droppings, dead bats, mites/fleas, and the insects, mold and bacteria that feed on all of those bi-products that accumulate under their roost (including a fungal spore in their dropping which can cause severe respiratory problems when dust is stirred up near the droppings).

All of that will continue to pile up in your home. It may be in your walls, or simply accumulating on insulation in the attic (where the resulting moisture created will ruin it). These can also cause allergies, illness, stains and odors that move into the living areas, even if you “don’t use” your attic. You’d be astounded how tiny a space they can move through. Should they be seeking heat, or a lost offspring, they still could easily find their way into the inhabited areas of the house. That’s a lose/lose proposition for both them and you.

Bats are beneficial, and shouldn’t be treated as pests and destroyed. But they definitely shouldn’t be sharing living spaces with humans. It’s risky for them and you. A link follows that includes information for your area. There are times of year when it’s actually worse to try and move a colony – so you may want to discuss options with local agencies or professionals who know more about the species in your area, and any “Endangered Species” protections that may apply as well ()..

Good luck…

By: Crittersbybritty

Crittersbybritty — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 22:00:00 +0000

I remember going on a tomb tour in Egypt and the tour guide was afraid of bats (which seemed to me to be strange) as I explained to her at the time, bats are just mice with wings, there is nothing to be afraid of. I also remember sitting in a beer garden in Australia which had grape vines on trellises above the patio, and an incredible “whoof whoof” sound as the huge fruit bats came down to feast on the grapes. Here in NC I know I have bats living in my attic, (I see them squeezing out of the vents at dusk), I have NO intention of moving them, they are quite welcome to my attic. I never use it after all!