NationStates Jolt Archive

So there I was, cooking a nice spaghetti dinner, I had closed the door because the smoke detector in the hall is really sensitive and I forgot to avoid turning on the one burner that has stuff burnt onto it. Just as my dinner is finishing, I hear this chirping noise in the hall. I figure that the cat is just up to something and ignore it for a bit. Then I open up the door and look at the cat. He's staring into the corner, but then he turns around and looks at me and meows. I look over at what he's looking at and he's cornered a fucking bat.

Now, I don't really know what to do at this point, so I go to my room, find the paper that has my roommate's cell phone number and give it a call, he wasn't there so I left a nice panicked message on the voicemail. Then the cat started chasing the bat around the apartment, so I made a hasty retreat into my room. I left my room for a bit to retrieve my food and a broom and saw that the bat was now over the door.

So the situation is basically this: I have a bat hanging out over the door leaving my apartment and going into the hall (unless he's moved since I finished eating). I can't chase him out that way otherwise he's still in the building (although he will cease to be my problem if I do this) and if I get him out that way the cat might also escape into the hall. I can maybe chase him out to the balcony, but this involves chasing him through much of the apartment. Of course I always have the option of hoping that my roommate gets my message and comes to help me deal with this, but this might not happen for quite a while. How do I remove this bat? I don't deal well with insects, let alone large flying mice.

I assume you're in America so I have no idea if you have any free Animal Control type people who you could call.

I saw an episode of COPS once where they got a bat out of some lady's house tho ;)

My 90 year old grandma always took care of them with hairspray and a broom :)

I assume you're in America so I have no idea if you have any free Animal Control type people who you could call.

I saw an episode of COPS once where they got a bat out of some lady's house tho ;)
I'm in Canada. I don't know if animal control is free... or if they come quickly... or how I would let them in if the bat is right above my front door.

My 90 year old grandma always took care of them with hairspray and a broom :)
Hairspray, eh? I have some of that. How do you use the hairspray on the bat, just spray him?

I'm in Canada. I don't know if animal control is free... or if they come quickly... or how I would let them in if the bat is right above my front door.

It won't touch you. They're pretty timid animals.

There is an episode the Office (US version) dealing with this... They called animal control.

Make sure you don't get bitten or scratched or whatever, though. Might seem obvious but you can get many diseases from bats, some fatal.

I suggest you create an inpenetrable suit from items in your room and around the house. Get a plastic bucket, cut two eye holes in it and cover them with clear plastic. Wrap your arms in several layers of coats etc. Then attack.

Hairspray, eh? I have some of that. How do you use the hairspray on the bat, just spray him?

Yeah to be honest it confuses them but I have a feeling it always hurts them be prepared to kill them if thats what you are going to do

Poor thing is probably terrified because it can't get out.

Can you grab the cat and lock it in, say, a bathroom, then open the front door and shoo out the bat? Preferably with a broom or by waving a BIG towel or something?

Yeah to be honest it confuses them but I have a feeling it always hurts them be prepared to kill them if thats what you are going to do
Aww... I don't want to kill it.

I was somewhat hoping that the cat would do that, but not overly, cleaning up a bat corpse would be just as bad as dealing with a living one.

So just the broom and a hooded sweater then...?

There is an episode the Office (US version) dealing with this... They called animal control.

Make sure you don't get bitten or scratched or whatever, though. Might seem obvious but you can get many diseases from bats, some fatal.

I suggest you create an inpenetrable suit from items in your room and around the house. Get a plastic bucket, cut two eye holes in it and cover them with clear plastic. Wrap your arms in several layers of coats etc. Then attack.

Also, if you go out, and it's turned into some pale dude in a cape, you probably want to do a runner ;)

Poor thing is probably terrified because it can't get out.

Can you grab the cat and lock it in, say, a bathroom, then open the front door and shoo out the bat?
I can probably shut the cat in my room or my roommate's room. But he can kinda open doors so he might not stay there.

Aww... I don't want to kill it.

I was somewhat hoping that the cat would do that, but not overly, cleaning up a bat corpse would be just as bad as dealing with a living one.

So just the broom and a hooded sweater then...?

Yeah if you dont want to hurt it just trying to shoo it with something long I would assume a broom would be pretty good

Call the super or maintenance?

Well, the positive -- it prolly snacked on any mosquitoes in the house. The bad -- the guano is awful for you, and you don't want a bite or scratch because of the possibility of rabies.

Poor thing is probably terrified because it can't get out.

Can you grab the cat and lock it in, say, a bathroom, then open the front door and shoo out the bat? Preferably with a broom or by waving a BIG towel or something?

I'd second that suggestion. Following the suggestion to put on many layers of clothing, gloves, hat, etc. And shoo with a broom. If you get bitten by a bat, you need rabies shots (just as a precaution). And those SUCK.

Call the super or maintenance?
I don't know what those numbers are. I moved here like two months ago and my roommate has all that information. I never thought I'd have to chase a bat out of teh apartment so I never thought I'd need to call them.

Just get a fishing net and trap the little bugger. Soon as you got him netted release him outside.

On the other hand if you do not have a net let me suggest something else. If you have extra bed sheets you can do this. Get it into a room. Use bed sheets to create a barrier around it and then throw up bed sheets around the house to guide him to an open window or open door. Bats use radar to find their way and the sheets would make a wall for them. When I mean bed sheets you should hang them up with tacks or small finishing nails. Use a broom to push him toward the door or open window. If you have to rig up sheets or plastic for that matter to close him ever tighter toward the window or door.

Why don't you try and Tame it, and then you can use it to destroy your enemies with its awesome Batness.
But Seriously though, A Broom might work, but I think that Bed sheet Idea is brilliant.

Umm... so I poked him with the broom and he just chirpped more and moved slightly. How hard do I have to poke at him to get him to move off the doorframe and in a direction that is towards my balcony door without hurting him?

Net = bad idea if you want to free it -- because you would have to handle it to untangle it.

I'd go for shooing it with a broom whilst the cat's blocked in a bedroom.
Oh, look in the phone directory for the local SPCA?

How about calling the local police on the NON-emergency number?

I'd second that suggestion. Following the suggestion to put on many layers of clothing, gloves, hat, etc. And shoo with a broom. If you get bitten by a bat, you need rabies shots (just as a precaution). And those SUCK.

Yeah I have had them ... at least there are less of them then in the 60's or so when my dad had to get them

Its down to 6 if I remember right ... used to be 13 or 16 I dont remember what he told me lol

I used to shoo them out the door with a broom.....we got them a lot in AZ.

Lock the cat up, you don't want them getting into a tiff. I promise.

Could you not catch it in a jumper or towel on the broom? Then release it? Also, turning the lights out might help calm it down?

http://www.floridabats.org/ProblemBats.htm

http://www.pleasebekind.com/bats.html

These two sites suggest ways of evicting your unwanted guest without harming him or yourself.

http://www.floridabats.org/ProblemBats.htm

http://www.pleasebekind.com/bats.html

This part on the second website doesn't make much sense to me
A person standing in the middle of the room may feel that he is being attacked when actually all that is happening is that the bat is trying to stay airborne.
Why can't they just fly straight at the same altitude?

Also, my bat problem is on the way to being solved, I called one of my friends who is coming over to help. He asked me to have a towel ready so I think he's done this before. I couldn't bring myself to tap the bat any harder with the broom.

Pretend it bit you, and then slyly show signs of vamprism to a stupid family member.

Why can't they just fly straight at the same altitude?
Because bats are not exactly the most graceful fliers. They do more controled falls and mid-air bounces.

Kat's links are pretty good, especially the Florida Conservancy one. Assuming she just googled the link, she got pretty lucky. That's a fine organization.

The granddaddy of bat conservation organizations is Mervin Tuttle's Bat Conservation International. I've known him for years, and my caver friends and I are pretty much in agreement that he's the best there is. If you're interested in a straight read on bats, disease, benefit, etc from perhaps the most knowledgeable people in the US, check out the BCI site (http://www.batcon.org/home/index.asp?idPage=51).

Because bats are not exactly the most graceful fliers. They do more controled falls and mid-air bounces.
Ah.

This one did a series of short hops down the stairs of my apartment building. The cat might have injured him before I noticed that there was a bat in the apartment at all. Hopefully he'll be ok.

Is your bat problem solved?

I'm sure your situation is well in hand, but if it should happen again (and why wouldn't it) here's what to do:

I live in the country and bats are very commonplace. They have no desire to nest in your hair or suck blood from your neck. They're just lost and confused and as panicked as you are.

If you remember that they'll move toward heat, not light, you'll work it out.

Because one of the easiest ways to create heat quickly and in a very specific location is through a light or bulb, that's what you've got to do. (the bats are extremely sensitive) And you also want to diminish the heat in your immediate location. So, in your case, turning off the lights in your apartment, opening the door and having a light on outside the door (hallway, staircase) would do the trick...within seconds.

When a bat is in my home, I turn off the lights, open a door or large window near the bat and turn on an outside light. Within a minute or 2, the bat is gone. Swinging brooms, towels, etc. only causes more panic and interestingly, is creating more heat in the immediate location.

Enjoy the darkness, have a glass of wine, get into the balance of it all, and voila! Gone.

Eh, just deal with it the old fashioned way: a baseball bat to the head. If you lack a baseball back, a racket for tennis or badmitten works wonderfully too! With a racket though, you may not kill it, so it would work best to take a towel, wrap the bat up, take it outside (while thinking of it not as a flying rat but as a simple, small, furry creature in need of help), put it in a safe place, and let it wake up on it's own.
Sorry if I sound violent, it's just how I've been taught to deal with the critters.

Is your bat problem solved?
Yes.

This one did a series of short hops down the stairs of my apartment building. The cat might have injured him before I noticed that there was a bat in the apartment at all. Hopefully he'll be ok.

I got a friend to come over and help me shoo him out the door. He did a much better job than I could have, although the cat might have hurt the bat so I'm not sure if he'll be alright. I'm hoping he was just disoriented and stunned from being inside and being pushed with a broom down a couple flights of stairs a bit at a time.

Yes.



I got a friend to come over and help me shoo him out the door. He did a much better job than I could have, although the cat might have hurt the bat so I'm not sure if he'll be alright. I'm hoping he was just disoriented and stunned from being inside and being pushed with a broom down a couple flights of stairs a bit at a time.

He's probably licking his wounds and plotting his revenge. *nod*

He's probably licking his wounds and plotting his revenge. *nod*

Agreed. And remember bats are shy, quiet creatures. It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for because they have forever to plot.

Have you checked your cat isn't hurt?

Have you checked your cat isn't hurt?
Nah, the cat's fine. I think he swatted at the bat a bit and chased him around but largely kept his distance. Like when I first saw the bat, the cat was about a foot away from it, but it was cornered between the bathroom door and the wall. The bat was pretty small so it's unlikely that it could have done anything to the cat.

Nah, the cat's fine. I think he swatted at the bat a bit and chased him around but largely kept his distance. Like when I first saw the bat, the cat was about a foot away from it, but it was cornered between the bathroom door and the wall. The bat was pretty small so it's unlikely that it could have done anything to the cat.

What sort of cat is it? I image it being white for some reason. Do you have pics? This should turn into a cat thread.

What sort of cat is it? I image it being white for some reason. Do you have pics? This should turn into a cat thread.
Haha. He's a black kinda fluffy cat. Apparently his mother was some variety of fancy cat and his father was a stray.

He's my roommate's cat and he's really smart. Here he is trying to do my homework for me.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/vajaradakini/IMG_1725.jpg

Hairspray, eh? I have some of that. How do you use the hairspray on the bat, just spray him?

You have to spray the bats hair. The bat only came inside because it was having a bad hair day.

I'm sure your situation is well in hand, but if it should happen again (and why wouldn't it) here's what to do:

I live in the country and bats are very commonplace. They have no desire to nest in your hair or suck blood from your neck. They're just lost and confused and as panicked as you are.

If you remember that they'll move toward heat, not light, you'll work it out.

Because one of the easiest ways to create heat quickly and in a very specific location is through a light or bulb, that's what you've got to do. (the bats are extremely sensitive) And you also want to diminish the heat in your immediate location. So, in your case, turning off the lights in your apartment, opening the door and having a light on outside the door (hallway, staircase) would do the trick...within seconds.

When a bat is in my home, I turn off the lights, open a door or large window near the bat and turn on an outside light. Within a minute or 2, the bat is gone. Swinging brooms, towels, etc. only causes more panic and interestingly, is creating more heat in the immediate location.

Enjoy the darkness, have a glass of wine, get into the balance of it all, and voila! Gone.

Why not keep the bat as a pet? :confused:

This story seems familiar. Wasn't it a Garrison Keillor essay in Time?

Have you checked your cat isn't hurt?

It was a radioactive bat, who bit the cat. And now the cat will turn into:

Batcat! The greatest hero that NS has ever known :D

Why not keep the bat as a pet? :confused:

Please tell me you're kidding. :(

Why not keep the bat as a pet? :confused:

Good idea; that's what I did with the baby someone left on my porch.