Bats Again

[vatmark]

I went to get some wood to set up my wood stove for our first fire and opened the cover on our rack to find 3 bats. Looks like 2 adults and a young one. We had 2 last year as well. Guess they added a family member. I'll be honest. I am a bit afraid to get wood. My husband tried blowing them with air, knocking, making noise etc but it did nothing. Will probably try to sneak a few pieces next to them and hope they don't move.

 

[begreen]

Bats are pretty harmless. They don't jump out an attack people like in the movies. They will do their best to avoid you, but there are cases where people panic and start flailing and that confuses them. It's possible then for them to bump into you and if they bump into a head of hair they might get tangled in it. Stay calm around them.

Maybe put up a nice bat house on the property? They will likely prefer that to the wood stacks.

 

[vatmark]

Bats are pretty harmless. They don't jump out an attack people like in the movies. They will do their best to avoid you, but there are cases where people panic and start flailing and that confuses them. It's possible then for them to bump into you and if they bump into a head of hair they might get tangled in it. Stay calm around them.

Maybe put up a nice bat house on the property? They will likely prefer that to the wood stacks.

I know I am being irrational. I don't mind bats but I do not particularly like being that close to them for fear they will fly into me.

We had thought about a bat house and I looked into it and there's so many requirements for them. Like what direction they face and how high. There is no good place on the property that meets the criteria. Although they like it under the cover of the small wood rack we have on our deck which doesn't meet any of those requirements. So there's that.

 

[all night moe]

I welcome them in the warm nights. I like watching them dance as they devourer mosquitos.
I hate skitters and some other flying insects.

I wish I could give you sound advice. Is it possible to place them in a box, under cover, somewhere close by?
If so, wear leather gloves and wait for a cool day.

 

[vatmark]

I welcome them in the warm nights. I like watching them dance as they devourer mosquitos.
I hate skitters and some other flying insects.

I wish I could give you sound advice. Is it possible to place them in a box, under cover, somewhere close by?
If so, wear leather gloves and wait for a cool day.

I really don't mind them but they always pick the worst spots to slumber. In the summer they take breaks right above my front door. We open our door to bat poop all over our door mat. We hung a compact disc(remember those LOL) above and that seems to have taken care of them resting there.

I removed the cover in hopes they would get a little chilly and move somewhere else. The young one moved to under and between the wood. I am not sure where one of the adults went but one started crawling all over the wood and I think it was looking for the young one and it may now be between the logs. My husband wanted to move the log that the adults were on but I was afraid they would't find the baby as he was not on that log anymore. I will recheck tomorrow and then just take my chances grabbing some wood.

 

[begreen]

I know I am being irrational. I don't mind bats but I do not particularly like being that close to them for fear they will fly into me.

We had thought about a bat house and I looked into it and there's so many requirements for them. Like what direction they face and how high. There is no good place on the property that meets the criteria. Although they like it under the cover of the small wood rack we have on our deck which doesn't meet any of those requirements. So there's that.

Mount one on the house high up. They'll find it. It might not be the ideal location but it sounds like these guys aren't too fussy. And hang some more CDs around the wood storage area.

 

[Wildflush]

Bats are pretty harmless. They don't jump out an attack people like in the movies. They will do their best to avoid you, but there are cases where people panic and start flailing and that confuses them. It's possible then for them to bump into you and if they bump into a head of hair they might get tangled in it. Stay calm around them.

Maybe put up a nice bat house on the property? They will likely prefer that to the wood stacks.

Bats are great. We have have a stream and pond on the property so put up Bat houses to combat the mosquitoes. They eat thousands a night in the summer.

So far no bats in the stacks but snakes that’s a different story. I’m not a snake guy.

 

[30WCF]

That dude is already on a stick for roasting.

 

[Caw]

Bats are great. We have have a stream and pond on the property so put up Bat houses to combat the mosquitoes. They eat thousands a night in the summer.

So far no bats in the stacks but snakes that’s a different story. I’m not a snake guy.

I'm not a huge snake person either but there are no venomous snakes native to my area of MA so the kids and I actually enjoy spotting them. It's mostly just garter snakes destined to become hawk food.

One time we did find a really cool eastern rat snake sunning itself on the driveway though. It was huge, almost 6 ft! Very rare for my area. Hopefully it's still around hunting all the mice. As long as he stays outside and in the woods/wood we can be friends.

 

[Beer Belly]

View attachment 322800

OH HELL NO !!

 

[Wildflush]

I'm not a huge snake person either but there are no venomous snakes native to my area of MA so the kids and I actually enjoy spotting them. It's mostly just garter snakes destined to become hawk food.

One time we did find a really cool eastern rat snake sunning itself on the driveway though. It was huge, almost 6 ft! Very rare for my area. Hopefully it's still around hunting all the mice. As long as he stays outside and in the woods/wood we can be friends.

View attachment 322800

Nice pic. We had a 3 ft Eastern Milk snake on our pavers this summer. Had to confirm it was a not a Copperhead by confirming the black outline. We have the Copperhead and Timber Rattlesnake in the Blue Hills in Mass.

 

[Caw]

Nice pic. We had a 3 ft Eastern Milk snake on our pavers this summer. Had to confirm it was a not a Copperhead by confirming the black outline. We have the Copperhead and Timber Rattlesnake in the Blue Hills in Mass.

Yeah those don't make it this far east. I'm east of Worcester. I can approach a snake pretty safely knowing it won't be venomous.

@vatmark as everyone has said, bats are mostly beneficial. I'm sure you guys can come up with a plan to move them out of your wood but still keep them happy. They are bug eating machines. Each adult can eat up to 1,000 mosquitos a night. I realize you don't have an ideal spot for a bat house but I wonder if even an OK spot would work. We had one that held 300 bats at our old house. We were on wetlands and they really helped control the mosquitoes. Kids enjoyed tossing balls up and watching them dive bomb them.

They are more afraid of you than you need to be of them. They won't hurt you flying into you. The only time you need to be really worried about bats is if you wake up with one in your room. This happened to us once and its why we got the bat house, they were living in our attic. I

f you wake up with one in your room you're supposed to assume it bit you and that you were potentially exposed to rabies. They have such small mouths they can bite and not wake you up and you wouldn't see a wound. So, the correct thing to do it kill the bat and send it to the state for testing. We didn't know that and shoo-ed it out a window so it could live. Whelp. That kindness earned us a full series of rabies immunoglobulin injections. 2 in the ass, 2 in the arms, and let me tell you....that $#!t hurts.

So. TLDR - bats are good unless in your house. If you find one where you sleep kill it and get it tested. Your ass will thank you lol.

 

[Wildflush]

Yeah those don't make it this far east. I'm east of Worcester. I can approach a snake pretty safely knowing it won't be venomous.

@vatmark as everyone has said, bats are mostly beneficial. I'm sure you guys can come up with a plan to move them out of your wood but still keep them happy. They are bug eating machines. Each adult can eat up to 1,000 mosquitos a night. I realize you don't have an ideal spot for a bat house but I wonder if even an OK spot would work. We had one that held 300 bats at our old house. We were on wetlands and they really helped control the mosquitoes. Kids enjoyed tossing balls up and watching them dive bomb them.

They are more afraid of you than you need to be of them. They won't hurt you flying into you. The only time you need to be really worried about bats is if you wake up with one in your room. This happened to us once and its why we got the bat house, they were living in our attic. I

f you wake up with one in your room you're supposed to assume it bit you and that you were potentially exposed to rabies. They have such small mouths they can bite and not wake you up and you wouldn't see a wound. So, the correct thing to do it kill the bat and send it to the state for testing. We didn't know that and shoo-ed it out a window so it could live. Whelp. That kindness earned us a full series of rabies immunoglobulin injections. 2 in the ass, 2 in the arms, and let me tell you....that $#!t hurts.

So. TLDR - bats are good unless in your house. If you find one where you sleep kill it and get it tested. Your ass will thank you lol.

Actually one bat can eat over 1,000 mosquitoes per hour! 6,000-8,000 per night.

 

[Caw]

Actually one bat can eat over 1,000 mosquitoes per hour! 6,000-8,000 per night.

I stand corrected...but in a good way! They are really cool creatures. Except in your bedroom. That really sucked.

 

[Wildflush]

I stand corrected...but in a good way! They are really cool creatures. Except in your bedroom. That really sucked.

agree the kids always enjoyed watching them flutter around from our deck at dusk. Like little dive bombers.

 

[vatmark]

The bats have moved on thankfully.

As far as snakes we have those too but I haven't found one in the wood stacks "yet". We have copperheads and timber rattles snakes around here but mostly see Black Rat snakes. I never realized what good climbers they are. We watched one climb a tree. One also got on top of our outside table.

 

[bigealta]

@vatmark as everyone has said, bats are mostly beneficial. I'm sure you guys can come up with a plan to move them out of your wood but still keep them happy. They are bug eating machines. Each adult can eat up to 1,000 mosquitos a night. I realize you don't have an ideal spot for a bat house but I wonder if even an OK spot would work. We had one that held 300 bats at our old house. We were on wetlands and they really helped control the mosquitoes. Kids enjoyed tossing balls up and watching them dive bomb them.

They are more afraid of you than you need to be of them. They won't hurt you flying into you. The only time you need to be really worried about bats is if you wake up with one in your room. This happened to us once and its why we got the bat house, they were living in our attic. I

f you wake up with one in your room you're supposed to assume it bit you and that you were potentially exposed to rabies. They have such small mouths they can bite and not wake you up and you wouldn't see a wound. So, the correct thing to do it kill the bat and send it to the state for testing. We didn't know that and shoo-ed it out a window so it could live. Whelp. That kindness earned us a full series of rabies immunoglobulin injections. 2 in the ass, 2 in the arms, and let me tell you....that $#!t hurts.

So. TLDR - bats are good unless in your house. If you find one where you sleep kill it and get it tested. Your ass will thank you lol.

YUP this happened to my wife's friend in NW Ct. Rabies shots don't sound fun.

 

[bigealta]

Yikes Not a Fan of snakes at all.

 

[vatmark]

I was wrong. Just went and got a few more pieces of wood and the young bat was under one piece.

 

[ozarkoak]

Wonder what the BTU of a bat is?
For the more sensitive members I'm just kidding. LOst of bats around here snakes too. Eat my eggs.

 

[Caw]

YUP this happened to my wife's friend in NW Ct. Rabies shots don't sound fun.

Felt like getting hit hard with a baseball bat in each butt cheek and shoulder. Was sore for a week. 0/10 don't recommend.

 

[vatmark]

Felt like getting hit hard with a baseball bat in each butt cheek and shoulder. Was sore for a week. 0/10 don't recommend.

Yikes

 

[Tonty]

I'm not a huge snake person either but there are no venomous snakes native to my area of MA so the kids and I actually enjoy spotting them. It's mostly just garter snakes destined to become hawk food.

One time we did find a really cool eastern rat snake sunning itself on the driveway though. It was huge, almost 6 ft! Very rare for my area. Hopefully it's still around hunting all the mice. As long as he stays outside and in the woods/wood we can be friends.

View attachment 322800

Lots of snakes around our house, also. We have a pond 50’ or so from our house, so that’s one reason why. I watched one evening while one caught and ate a toad. Took awhile, and I wondered if it would even get its mouth to unhinge far enough, but it managed. Also have had small (Massasauga) rattlesnakes against our house and in the garage. My sister nearly disonwned me when I told her I had caught one and released it away from our property in a unpopulated area.

 

[Caw]

Snakes are impressive creatures. Look at the size of that toad! I may feel differently about enjoying them in my area if they were venomous though.

 

[Wildflush]

Lots of snakes around our house, also. We have a pond 50’ or so from our house, so that’s one reason why. I watched one evening while one caught and ate a toad. Took awhile, and I wondered if it would even get its mouth to unhinge far enough, but it managed. Also have had small (Massasauga) rattlesnakes against our house and in the garage. My sister nearly disonwned me when I told her I had caught one and released it away from our property in a unpopulated area.


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View attachment 322927

Wife has a snake phobia and we also have a pond and stream so we have, Eastern Milk snake, Garters and black racers. Have not seen anything else yet.