Holy Rubber Gloves, Batman!

Nothing like catching a bat to get you going in the morning. Early morning. Very early morning. As in 4 a.m.

I hear the dog stirring in the bedroom above me. Within seconds, my Youngest Son comes bounding in my room.

“There’s a bat in my room.”

“A what?”

“A bat.”

“A bat?”

“Yes, a bat. Brady’s trying to chase it.”

Oh, great. Nice. Wonderful. Whatever happened to that guy who was supposed to seal up the house before we moved in?

Second Son, Youngest Son and I stood around the room for about half an hour trying to figure out how to get this thing out. Meantime, Youngest Son took photos and video of the little bugger as it rested on the white wall and fluttered about our heads. Thankfully, none of us are squeamish or easily frightened. The bat was definitely more freaked out than we were. We all found this little darling very fascinating. I don’t know why, but I think it was a female.

We examined her closely as she sat on the newly drywalled wall just above our heads. She had a soft velvety coat of deep brown fur and very daintily pointed ears that wiggled around not unlike the fox terrier watching intently below her. She lifted her little head for a look around, then decided to make for the scent of fresh air.

She fluttered like a lumbering butterfly across the room and lighted on the screen of the open window, no doubt hoping to escape into the cool night air. Finding no way out, she crawled into the corner of the window, likely awaiting rescue.

I came downstairs to hopefully discover how to get her out. I found this article, www.wikihow.com/Catch-a-Bat-in-Your-House:

1. Open your door or window. The bat is looking for a way out. Open a door and leave it open to give the flying bat a clear path. The bat may sense the fresh air and fly out of your house.
2. Allow the bat to land. Stay out of its way and watch for it to land.
3. Pick up the bat if necessary. If the bat lands low, toss a towel carefully over the bat. It will not be able to take off again. The towel should cover the bat without causing injury.
4. Scoop up the towel. Keep the bat wrapped inside. You should expect to hear clicking noises when the bat is frightened. It is best to presume that the bat might try to bite through the towel, so put on gloves or oven mitts to be safe.
5. Coax the bat down from high places. If the bat lands high on your wall or ceiling, place a coffee can or plastic container over the bat. Slide the lid of the container cautiously between the bat and wall. Keep the container as close to the wall as possible. Do not pinch the bat.
6. Carry the towel or container outside. Set the trapped bat on the ground some distance from your house. Close your door so that the bat does not accidentally fly inside again.
7. Remove the towel or container carefully, so that you can see the bat on the ground. Walk away and watch. The bat will attempt a few hops, then become airborne. Bats have some difficulty taking off from the ground.
8. Help the bat if it seems fatigued. If the bat is too tired or scared to take off, you may want to place it near a tree. The bat will climb the tree where it can drop into flight.
9. Take care using your hands directly. Some people find it easier to use their hand to pick up a resting bat from the floor or wall. You should wear a leather glove. Do not squeeze too tightly. Place the bat on the trunk of a tree. It will grip the bark and climb away.

Tips

* You may want to wet the towel before throwing it over the bat.
* A fishing net is inappropriate to trap a bat. The bat can fit through the large webbing. A butterfly net is a good choice.
* A tennis racket or baseball bat will injure or kill the bat. Please don’t use this under any circumstances.
* Bats do not build nests in your hair. A sick or confused bat may accidentally bump into your head. This is undesirable to you and the bat.
* Bats can enter your house through very, very small cracks in your roof, chimney, fireplace, furnace, attic, vents or windows. The most likely entry is through loose areas in your soffit, the edge of your roof. Once a bat is in your house, it is unlikely they will find that tiny crack again to exit.
* Most house bats are brown. They have extremely sharp little teeth. They use their teeth to eat insects. Bats in your neighborhood will reduce the insect population. Build bat houses nearby.
* Remove any pets to reduce the chance of them coming into contact with the bat, or causing more stress to the bat.

Warnings

* A very small percentage of bats may have the disease rabies. An unhealthy bat bumps into walls, furniture, people and objects or is unable to fly. Avoid a bat on the ground. Rabies can be transmitted by biting.
* Bat droppings, guano, can grow a fungus that can infect a human. Histoplasmosis occurs when mold spores are inhaled. Symptoms are like pneumonia and may lead to very serious complications, even death. This problem is not likely to occur just because you see a bat in your house. If you have a bat colony in your house, you should have the bats removed and the roosting area sanitized.
* On one occasion, a man opened his door to allow a bat to escape. Another bat flew in through the open door after hearing the sound of the bat inside the house. Regardless, this still seems to be the simplest method.

We opted for the towel and thick gloves method. Second Son donned the bright orange rubber gloves and overlayed his cupped hands with a thick towel. He slowly made his way over to the window, carefully brought his armed hands up and over the frightened bat, causing her to squeal and wriggle in panic. Second Son remarked, “Holy cow,” as he pressed to grip the bat more tightly. The poor bat wriggled and squealed and clicked, not knowing we were trying to rescue her.

Second Son managed to engulf all but the bat’s little butt within this trap. I covered her entirely with the ends of the towel and we hurried down the stairs and out the front door to the boulevard.

We had intended to fling the towel toward the tree, but it didn’t turn out that way. When Second Son threw the towel up, it got a bit tangled and just dropped to the ground. In the pre-dawn dimness, we couldn’t tell where the bat ended up. We gently pulled the towel to unfold it and then drag it across the grass until we had lifted it up. It hung limply with no sign of any life form. When we were satisfied that the bat had been deposited, we brought the towel in to be washed and put the rubber gloves away.

Upon careful inspection at sunrise of the area where we dropped the bat, I am happy to report she got away.

We did what we could at five in the morning to seal up at least the upstairs. Second Son found a wide open gap that once held a light switch. We duct taped it shut. We also finished duct taping the huge gap left by the previous owners in Second Son’s closet. He had stapled vapour barrier over the spot, but now, after the bat came in, followed my advice to seal the thing up tightly.

This house is anything but sealed up. Today will be spent trying to figure out where the bat got in, if there are more in the attic, and how to fix this problem so it doesn’t happen again, both for the bats’ sakes and ours.

But first, zzzzzzzzz…..