Last night I had to evict a bat from my house. Although I didn't
examine it closely -- it wanted to be out of the house even more than
I wanted it out, so I tried to grant its wish as speedily as possible
-- my best guess would be that it was a little brown bat. This is the
second time in two years I've had a bat in the house. While that may
not seem like a lot, I've lived other places for much longer without
ever encountering an indoor bat.

Although I don't have any obvious holes anywhere, this is a very old
house (100+ years). My attic doesn't have usable space and I never
hear any noise in there or observe bats exiting, and both of these
bats have been found in the downstairs living area. Does anyone know
how large an opening a little brown bat might need to enter a house?
I'd really like to spare the bats, myself, and my dogs and cats the
excitement of another up-close interaction!

Jo Ann

Jo Ann wrote:
Last night I had to evict a bat from my house. Although I didn't
examine it closely -- it wanted to be out of the house even more than
I wanted it out, so I tried to grant its wish as speedily as possible
-- my best guess would be that it was a little brown bat. This is the
second time in two years I've had a bat in the house. While that may
not seem like a lot, I've lived other places for much longer without
ever encountering an indoor bat.

Although I don't have any obvious holes anywhere, this is a very old
house (100+ years). My attic doesn't have usable space and I never
hear any noise in there or observe bats exiting, and both of these
bats have been found in the downstairs living area. Does anyone know
how large an opening a little brown bat might need to enter a house?
I'd really like to spare the bats, myself, and my dogs and cats the
excitement of another up-close interaction!

Jo Ann

I had a bat come through the louvers in a door to my furnace room in
basement. My family room is there and I was watching TV when he came
through the door and I fell out of my chair. Never could figure how he
got there. You can open a door and chase them out but be careful as bats
can be rabid and if you get scratched and don't have the bat to test,
you'll need shots.

Frank

On Aug 3, 2:50 pm, Janet Baraclough
wrote:
The message .com
from Jo Ann contains these words:

Does anyone know

how large an opening a little brown bat might need to enter a house?

Just a minute crack :-) Bat houses which you can buy for the garden
here, are made with a very small crack entrance, you could just slide a
matchstick through.

Bats do fly by day though, and yours could easily get in through a
window or door left open.

Janet

Sounds like maybe I should just be glad that my little backyard
ecosystem is attractive to bats and accept the idea that I may need to
escort one back out there every so often :-)

Thanks for the input!

Jo Ann

"Jo Ann" wrote in message
oups.com...
Last night I had to evict a bat from my house. Although I didn't
examine it closely -- it wanted to be out of the house even more than
I wanted it out, so I tried to grant its wish as speedily as possible
-- my best guess would be that it was a little brown bat. This is the
second time in two years I've had a bat in the house. While that may
not seem like a lot, I've lived other places for much longer without
ever encountering an indoor bat.

Although I don't have any obvious holes anywhere, this is a very old
house (100+ years). My attic doesn't have usable space and I never
hear any noise in there or observe bats exiting, and both of these
bats have been found in the downstairs living area. Does anyone know
how large an opening a little brown bat might need to enter a house?
I'd really like to spare the bats, myself, and my dogs and cats the
excitement of another up-close interaction!

The following site has a wealth of information and great pictures,

Bat Conservation International
http://www.batcon.org/home/default.asp

· Bats In Your Home?

"On occasion, a solitary bat may accidently fly into a home, garage or
other building through an open door or window. Such incidents often involve
lost youngsters whose primary goal is a safe escape."
"They can enter through openings as small as one-half inch in diameter
(1.3 cm)."

On Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:19:51 -0000, Jo Ann wrote:

Sounds like maybe I should just be glad that my little backyard
ecosystem is attractive to bats and accept the idea that I may need to
escort one back out there every so often :-)

Thanks for the input!

Jo Ann

Good for you, Jo Ann! A bat cannot fit through a spot the size of a
matchstick as Janet said, but they can fit into very small areas. If
it's a Mexican free tail, it is about the size of a thumb, so tiny.
Still wouldn't fit into a matchstick hole. My bathouse has eight rows
of housing, spaced by about an inch or so. They like heat and
confined areas. Just never handle one and you will be okay.

Frank frankdotlogullo@comcastperiodnet wrote in news:Sc-
:

Jo Ann wrote:
Last night I had to evict a bat from my house. Although I didn't
examine it closely -- it wanted to be out of the house even more than
I wanted it out, so I tried to grant its wish as speedily as possible
-- my best guess would be that it was a little brown bat. This is the
second time in two years I've had a bat in the house. While that may
not seem like a lot, I've lived other places for much longer without
ever encountering an indoor bat.

Although I don't have any obvious holes anywhere, this is a very old
house (100+ years). My attic doesn't have usable space and I never
hear any noise in there or observe bats exiting, and both of these
bats have been found in the downstairs living area. Does anyone know
how large an opening a little brown bat might need to enter a house?
I'd really like to spare the bats, myself, and my dogs and cats the
excitement of another up-close interaction!

Jo Ann

I had a bat come through the louvers in a door to my furnace room in
basement. My family room is there and I was watching TV when he came
through the door and I fell out of my chair. Never could figure how he
got there. You can open a door and chase them out but be careful as
bats
can be rabid and if you get scratched and don't have the bat to test,
you'll need shots.

Frank

People are often bitten and don't realize they've been bit. The girl who
survived rabies quite recently didn't realize she had been bitten. Bat
teeth are razor sharp and very small. Best not to handle it at all. If
you get them in your house regularly, invest in a butterfly net.

After removing one from my cabin with the help of a relative, she later
mentioned that even that much exposure to a bat (we caught it with a
towel) meant we should have gotten shots. She's a doctor. I thought it
was very nice of her to mention it WEEKS later. She said bites and
scratches aren't the only way to get rabies from a rabid bat -- any body
fluid will do it. That's why dead rabid animals are still dangerous
animals.

FragileWarrior wrote:
Frank frankdotlogullo@comcastperiodnet wrote in news:Sc-
:

Jo Ann wrote:
Last night I had to evict a bat from my house. Although I didn't
examine it closely -- it wanted to be out of the house even more than
I wanted it out, so I tried to grant its wish as speedily as possible
-- my best guess would be that it was a little brown bat. This is the
second time in two years I've had a bat in the house. While that may
not seem like a lot, I've lived other places for much longer without
ever encountering an indoor bat.

Although I don't have any obvious holes anywhere, this is a very old
house (100+ years). My attic doesn't have usable space and I never
hear any noise in there or observe bats exiting, and both of these
bats have been found in the downstairs living area. Does anyone know
how large an opening a little brown bat might need to enter a house?
I'd really like to spare the bats, myself, and my dogs and cats the
excitement of another up-close interaction!

Jo Ann

I had a bat come through the louvers in a door to my furnace room in
basement. My family room is there and I was watching TV when he came
through the door and I fell out of my chair. Never could figure how he
got there. You can open a door and chase them out but be careful as
bats
can be rabid and if you get scratched and don't have the bat to test,
you'll need shots.

Frank

People are often bitten and don't realize they've been bit. The girl who
survived rabies quite recently didn't realize she had been bitten. Bat
teeth are razor sharp and very small. Best not to handle it at all. If
you get them in your house regularly, invest in a butterfly net.

After removing one from my cabin with the help of a relative, she later
mentioned that even that much exposure to a bat (we caught it with a
towel) meant we should have gotten shots. She's a doctor. I thought it
was very nice of her to mention it WEEKS later. She said bites and
scratches aren't the only way to get rabies from a rabid bat -- any body
fluid will do it. That's why dead rabid animals are still dangerous
animals.
Wife's friend, a doctor in Pittsburgh, had a bat fly at her leg and
scratch her in a hospital parking lot at night.
She had to have the shots.
Frank