Catch a Bat in Your House

Bats should not be flying through your house, and the animal may be sick. If the bat has had contact with a person or pet, or if the bat was present in the room of a sleeping person, the bat should be captured and given to government officials for rabies testing. If you choose to let the bat escape, you may need post exposure rabies treatment.

Steps

  1. Take care using your hands directly. Wear leather gloves to protect against rabies. 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. 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.
  10. Open the door, leave the porch light on, turn off the lights in the room, and go to the end opposite the door to scratch on the bottom of something like an empty yogurt container. The sound waves will help the bat see the outline of the door and it will fly out on its own. The bat was probably just chasing bugs when it flew into the house.



Tips

  • Remove any pets to reduce the chance of them coming into contact with the bat, or causing more stress to the bat.
  • When you're trying to catch it, a good solution is to get it into one area. If you know the bat isn't in a bedroom, lock the door so it can't fly there. By doing this, You can get the bat in one room where it can't fly away to other parts of the house.
  • 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.
  • You may want to wet the towel before throwing it over the bat.
  • 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.
  • A fishing net is inappropriate to trap a bat. The bat can fit through the large webbing. A butterfly net is a good choice.
  • Try not to injure the bat, open the door to let it out!
  • 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.
  • A baseball bat will injure or kill the bat. Please don't use this under any circumstances.
  • A tennis racket is an appropriate tool to catch one in flight, but use gently, then place an empty oatmeal container over the bat, slide over racket gently until bat is inside and secure the lid with a few holes poked into it.

Warnings

  • 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.
  • A very small percentage of bats may have the disease rabies. An infected 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.
  • Rabies is 100% fatal if not treated; but 100% preventable. Do not wait until you have symptoms, by then it will be too late!
  • When trying to get a bat to leave on its own, turn off anything that makes noise. They "see" by sound. Loud noises (such as music) often confuse bats. Turning off anything that makes noise (not just TVs and radios, but clocks and other devices) will go a long way in helping the bat find its own way home.
  • Rabies from bats are the leading cause of human rabies. People are sometime bit while sleeping and are not aware of the bite. Bites from bats may not be visible the next morning. If a bat is found in a room with a sleeping person, contact your physician.
  • In the UK there is the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 – which protects bats and their roosts throughout the UK, making it illegal to kill, injure or disturb a bat and this includes blocking up any entrance holes they may be using. If you need help, contact The Bat Conservation Trust.

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