There is a BAT in my apartment!!

trouts mom

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OMG.

Something woke me up in the middle of the night..it sounded like distant paper rustling..so I sit up in bed and look around the floor for Trout eating a bag or something..I see nothing.

I happen to glance at my bedroom door ...and there is a BAT clinging to the inside of the door!! (the part that would squeeze your fingers if someone shut the door)..

I could not beleive my eyes! It was like 3am, and all I could think was OMGOMGOMG. How do I even get rid of a bat!? I am terrified to go anywhere near it..

Then Trout reaches up and touches it..and it flies away!!


It proceeded to fly around my kitchen, while I was hiding in my bedroom..and I could hear little high pitch whistles as it was doing its thing in there.

Anyway, in my dead tired state, instead of trying to get rid of it, I decided that Trout would take care of business and went back to bed!!


So, I then had horrible dreams about Trout eating this bat, and the bat having rabies and then Trout would die or something..so I get up at 7am...and start calling for Trout..once, twice, three times.. I was get worried..Like "why did I let her eat the bat?? where is she?? Is she laying somewhere sick now because of the stupid bat?"

But then she comes running in all happy.

I get up out of bed..creep around my apartment waiting for there to be a dead bat corpse on my floor, OR maybe see it flying around somewhere. NOTHING.

It is nowhere to be seen, and now I have a bat in my house and I don't know what the heck I am going to do!!


P.S. If any of you remember my "there is a bat in my laundry room thread"..I am guessing the little guy upgraded the the nicer apartment...(AFTER A FULL YEAR
)
 
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trouts mom

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Originally Posted by lookingglass

Oh honey... I'm laughing and crying for you at the same time. Can you call your landlord?
You are laughing!?!?


I sent her a message..she is pretty good with these types of things..

I hope Trout finds it
 

jellybella

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Be careful!! I'm guessing that you haven't been vaccinated for rabies! I would look around the curtains, upper areas, it could be "hanging around"


We had one in our house this summer, DH smacked it silly with a broom, stuffed it in a kitty litter pail and escorted it out the window. Bella was very disappointed that she didn't get to catch it (she did 50 laps of the flat chasing it).

I would call the landlord. Wish I had that option, but I married him
.
 

lookingglass

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Originally Posted by Trouts mom

You are laughing!?!?


I sent her a message..she is pretty good with these types of things..

I hope Trout finds it
Sorry honey... I wasn't laughing at you, I was thinking about the time I had a bat in my apartment. I turned into a crying mess and my husband hand to shoo it out with a big sheet. It was horrible, but funny at the same time.
 

lunasmom

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In the meantime while you're waiting for response from the landlord, put on a hat. Then if for some reason the bat lands on you, it won't get tangled up in your hair.

Good luck!
 

swampwitch

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I thought this might put your mind at ease.

Myth 1: Bats are blind.
“There are no blind bats. They see extremely well.”

Myth 2: Bats get tangled in your hair.
In fact, Tuttle has tried to make this happen, but bats just won’t tangle. He notes that echolocation, their sophisticated sonar system, allows bats to dodge wires as fine as human hairs—in the dark.

Myth 3: Bats are rabid attackers of humans.
Bats are actually clean, meticulous groomers. They can contract rabies like most mammals, but as Tuttle advises, “you rarely have to worry about a sick bat if you just leave them alone and go about your business.” In 40 years of studying bats, he’s never been attacked or harmed by one.

Myth 4: Bats are bloodsuckers.
Most bats are nocturnal and eat insects. Some eat fruit, and a few are predators of small vertebrates. Only three of the one thousand or so bat species ingest blood. They live only in Latin America, and only one feeds on livestock while the others feed on the blood of birds.

Myth 5: Bats are rodents.
Bats are no more related to rodents than humans are. Evolution studies show that bats are more closely related to primates than to rodents.

Myth 6: Bats are ugly.
On this, Tuttle responds: “Realistically, there’s nothing more ugly than an elephant. Its eyes are too small, its nose too long, its ears too big. It’s heavy. But we love them, and that’s because we understand them.” Along those same lines, he mentions that photographing bats as they are most of the time—instead of in defensive, snarling positions—has greatly improved their image. “Many are cute, and all are fascinating,” Tuttle says.

Source: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/...ine_extra.html


The bat says, "Please don't hurt me.
I'm a little mammal just like your kitty."

To catch the bat, wait until it lands and put a small box over it. Slide a piece of cardboard between the box and wall, and the you can let the little guy go outside. That is, if you find him again. Good luck!
 

russian blue

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You really want to take care of this Nat, since Souther Ontario has quite a high incidence of rabies. If you do find it, it should be taken to get tested for rabies as well.

Go to this link for Fact Sheet on bats. Scroll down to the section on Diseases and it tells you what to do:

Fact Sheet
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

The bat says, "Please don't hurt me.
I'm a little mammal just like your kitty."
What a wonderful post.

Bats are such cute little animals, especially when they wiggle their little noses and ears. I bet the poor thing ended up inside trying to get out of the cold.

Not every bat you're going to see is rabid, that would be like expecting every stray cat or dog you see to be rabid. Either gently catch and call a wild life sanctuary/animal control or call someone who knows what to do with it. Please don't hit it or try to kill it, the bat doesn't deserve death for getting lost.
 

duchess15

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

What a wonderful post.

Bats are such cute little animals, especially when they wiggle their little noses and ears. I bet the poor thing ended up inside trying to get out of the cold.

Not every bat you're going to see is rabid, that would be like expecting every stray cat or dog you see to be rabid. Either gently catch and call a wild life sanctuary/animal control or call someone who knows what to do with it. Please don't hit it or try to kill it, the bat doesn't deserve death for getting lost.
Bats have such horrible stereotypes and are so misunderstood. Yes, they can carry rabies, but most of the time they will leave you alone. Please try to find a wildlife rehabilitator or animal control to come and have it removed safely for both the person and the bat.
 

gailc

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They hide in the smallest of places. I remember Dad having a bat house mounted to their house and the bats used the space behind the bat house as a residence. I would check your closets.
 
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trouts mom

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Originally Posted by GailC

They hide in the smallest of places. I remember Dad having a bat house mounted to their house and the bats used the space behind the bat house as a residence. I would check your closets.
Check my closets


Noone will ever see me trying to make a bat come out of hiding. I understand they won't hurt me..but I am still terrified to see it again.

I hope my landlord will just get someone in to take care of finding it..I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway because its winter I can't let it outside..it will die
 

hopehacker

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

I thought this might put your mind at ease.

Myth 1: Bats are blind.
“There are no blind bats. They see extremely well.â€

Myth 2: Bats get tangled in your hair.
In fact, Tuttle has tried to make this happen, but bats just wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t tangle. He notes that echolocation, their sophisticated sonar system, allows bats to dodge wires as fine as human hairs—in the dark.

Myth 3: Bats are rabid attackers of humans.
Bats are actually clean, meticulous groomers. They can contract rabies like most mammals, but as Tuttle advises, “you rarely have to worry about a sick bat if you just leave them alone and go about your business.†In 40 years of studying bats, heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s never been attacked or harmed by one.

Myth 4: Bats are bloodsuckers.
Most bats are nocturnal and eat insects. Some eat fruit, and a few are predators of small vertebrates. Only three of the one thousand or so bat species ingest blood. They live only in Latin America, and only one feeds on livestock while the others feed on the blood of birds.

Myth 5: Bats are rodents.
Bats are no more related to rodents than humans are. Evolution studies show that bats are more closely related to primates than to rodents.

Myth 6: Bats are ugly.
On this, Tuttle responds: “Realistically, thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s nothing more ugly than an elephant. Its eyes are too small, its nose too long, its ears too big. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s heavy. But we love them, and thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s because we understand them.†Along those same lines, he mentions that photographing bats as they are most of the time—instead of in defensive, snarling positions—has greatly improved their image. “Many are cute, and all are fascinating,†Tuttle says.

Source: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/...ine_extra.html


The bat says, "Please don't hurt me.
I'm a little mammal just like your kitty."

To catch the bat, wait until it lands and put a small box over it. Slide a piece of cardboard between the box and wall, and the you can let the little guy go outside. That is, if you find him again. Good luck!
That little bat is so cute. It looks sort of like a puppy.
 

jcat

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Do you have leather gloves, Nat? They're very useful when you're trying to get a petrified bat back outside. Sorry, but I really do have to laugh,
, as we've had our own experience with "bats in our belfry". Our back balcony is cat-proofed, meaning secured with netting, but there's a space right up under the eaves where bats and birds can get in. Jamie loves to catch bats on the balcony, take them downstairs to the living room, and let them go. It's a lot of fun, as far as he's concerned.

A couple of years ago, a colony of "dwarf bats" infested the crawl space over our garage. Since they're a protected species, we couldn't use the garage, and had to wait for them to migrate months later, which they did. Talk about having to fumigate!

Seriously, though, if you think the bat is still in your apartment, you can do the following. Check every inch of your bathroom, and then confine Trout there. Then take the screens out of your windows well before dusk, have all the windows and doors to rooms other than the bathroom open, and hope that the bat escapes on its own.
 

jennyr

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One came into my bedroom a few months ago. I just let it sleep (hanging from the central light fitting) and then when it woke at dusk I opened the windows and closed the door and it went off to do its bat things. If you can find where it is just isolate it and offer it a way out and it will go.
 

stacyd1987

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Use gloves and catch it with a sheet. The gloves will protect you against its bites and the sheet will make it easier to catch and hold without harming it. But, make sure it's an old sheet in case it goes to the bathroom in your hands.

That's how my Dad and I caught a chimney swift that came into our house via chimney. It's a tiny bird but it's the second fastest bird in the world! You could call an animal control place to see if they would want to check it for rabies too. They can also give you more catching and handling advise.
 
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