Morning everyone. Travis here from Dick’s Nuisance Animal Control. It’s August 1st today and it’s the official start of the second half of the bat season for the year. Hard at her today. Got about 50 people lined up. So if you’re hearing things, you need to call me right away to get on the schedule.
The juveniles are already flying and that’s what we wait for. The blackout period is between June, July and sometimes August. The dates kind of vary depending on the weather.
But, I’ve gotten many calls. I’ve also talked to other operators and they’ve gotten many calls as well, that bats are getting inside the house and they’re flying around. The juveniles go the wrong way and don’t follow mom out, they’re still learning.
But, hey, here are a few tips in the meantime:
If you do get bats in the house, follow them, they will land eventually. When they land, they perch up upside down on a wall or something. You can take a net or a box and slide it underneath their nose. They’ll fall into it. They’re not like regular birds. Bats can’t jump to fly, they swoop. So when you place a net underneath them, they just fall down. Making them relatively easy to catch.
If you do get a bat in your house don’t let it outside. The CDC says, if you get a bat in a room while you’ve sleeping, you should get the bat tested. You possibly have to get a rabies shot. I know that’s a little extreme. But it’s important to catch it. Then you can bring it down to U of M and they’ll test the bat for $25. Once it’s tested then you’ll know if you have to get a shot or not.
If you’re concerned you may have a bat in the house, stick a towel underneath your door. They do crawl quite a bit and then they’ll crawl underneath your door. That’s how they get into some rooms. Even if people sleep with their bedroom door closed they can still crawl underneath.
A lot of times they originate out of the basement, about 95% of the time it’s out of the utility room. That’s where all the pipes are that go up and into the walls and they will follow the air flow. Make sure to have vents covered and the door to the basement shut with a towel underneath.
I hope these couple of tips help you if you have a bat in the house, but remember they won’t come after you. They’re not vampires. They don’t suck your blood or go for your hair. They’re just as scared of you as you are of them. But if you follow them around and you wait for them to land you can easily catch them or swat them out of the air. Being careful not to damage the head too much because that’s where they test for the rabies. So, towels under the doors, close your utility room door and door to the basement, and that will at least help keep them away from like your living areas.
If you do get a bat, give me a call, I can come and get them, but I need to know where it is. I’ve spent hours in houses looking and here it went back up into the wall. Although catching them is easy, finding them can be difficult even for me. So, on that note, happy bat season, everybody, enjoy the weather while it’s here and, maybe I’ll see you soon. Have a good day and don’t forget I walk on the wild side!