Summer is bat season. Of all the creatures that regularly invade our homes – from ants and spiders to birds and squirrels – bats inspire a unique, almost primal fear.
Maybe it’s because they come out under cover of night, they fly, and they look like something out of a horror movie. Although I can hold my own against insects, mice and even snakes, I am mortally afraid of bats. The mere sight of them swooping across the sky at dusk makes me feel a little woozy.
“It’s really too bad they don’t look like cardinals or something, because they are actually very positive and helpful animals,” said John Festa, director of the South Orange Department of Health. Bats are prodigious eaters of insects, and can consume hundreds of mosquitoes an hour.
Festa reported that so far this summer, South Orange’s animal control officer Dick Ash has responded to ten calls from residents with bats in their homes; about average for a typical summer.
Last year, there was one reported case of a rabid bat in South Orange, which was chronicled here on Baristanet. There have been no reported cases this year.
Even though rabies-infected bats are relatively uncommon, homeowners should proceed with caution when dealing with a bat in their home.
“If you see a bat, leave the room and shut the door,” said Festa. “Call animal control immediately. We take bats very seriously, because of the threat of rabies.”
Because bats’ teeth are so tiny, there is often no way of knowing if you or your children have been bitten. In fact, Ash himself was bitten last year when removing a bat, and he could barely see the bite marks. (Ash and other animal control officers are regularly vaccinated against rabies).
Bats are so small and flexible they can slip through the tiniest cracks, such as holes in walls, gutters, attic fans and chimney flues. “A folded-up bat is thinner than a deck of cards,” said Festa. They often roost in attics.
If you think or know you have bats in your home, call an exterminator and possibly a carpenter to help plug up small holes, especially those in the attic or on upper floors.
Although it is less common to see bats in cold weather because they are hibernating, South Orange resident (and my neighbor) Nadine Kerstan had a bat in her home this past winter. Her young daughter was taking a shower and was startled to see she had a visitor in the bathroom.
“As soon as she was out of the bathroom I slammed the door shut and stuck a towel in the small space between the bottom of the door and the floor,” said Kerstan.
Ash came over promptly and collected the bat, which Kerstan and her husband had trapped in a carton. The bat was taken for testing, and the family received a letter and a phone call from the town stating that the animal did not have rabies.
Exterminator Jerry Buckingham checked out the house, and didn’t find any bats roosting; he speculated that the confused creature had entered the house and sought out the bathroom for warmth.
The New Jersey Department of Health has a very useful document about bats on its website. Here are the key points:
- The ideal time for bat-proofing is between Nov. 15 and March 15, when most bats are hibernating elsewhere.
- Once you determine how bats are infiltrating your home, you can seal openings over 3/8” with any of the following: ¼” hardware cloth, fly screen, sheet metal, wood, caulking, expandable polyurethane foam, or fiberglass insulation.
- Interior bat-proofing includes sealing spaces around the attic door; homeowners can also temporarily keep attic lights on use fans to disturb bats with air currents.
- Less than one percent of bats carry rabies, and attacks by bats are extremely rare.
- If you are bitten or scratched, cleanse the wound with soap and water and seek prompt medical attention.
- Make sure pets are current on their rabies vaccines.
Finally, here is a comforting statistic: in real life, bats almost never get tangled in people’s hair.
Illustration credit: 1904 drawing by Ernst Haeckel Wikipedia.
Photo credit to g_kovacs
the only rabid bats I’ve ever seen in Baristaville are usually in the Kings on Valley Road early in the morning (and you thought all the senior were at Denny’s at that hour)
It’s good to see the bat population rebound. Hoping they eat up all the mosquitos.
I love seeing bats flutter around at dusk. Have you ever seen chimney swifts during the day? They remind me of bats the way they swoop and flutter catching insects mid-sky.
But there is a riveting debate (and I do mean riveting, entomologists are a zany bunch) whether bats really do control mosquito populations. Sure, they’ll eat them, but to me it makes sense that they would expend their energy on larger insects.
http://tachinid.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/do-bats-really-eat-mosquitoes/
Swifts and swallows are beautiful to watch, especially in open fields. We’ve had bats come down the chimney twice, not in MTC and amusing only in hindsight. Current issue is a colony of flying squirrels. Seemingly intractable problem. Old house. They’d been there for years before we knew about them since they’re nocturnal and not wildly destructive like regular squirrels, which we’ve had here. The problem is that there are lots of trees. I replace soffits and fascia boards, they eventually return home and chew trough them. We kind of live together.
There is a company doing bat studies from an area close to the National Water Gap all the way to Roseland. They set up fine nets and when a bat flies into the net it gets tangled. They tag it, weigh it, estimate the amount of food in the stomach and release it. So far, the results show a marked decrease of the bat population. Hopefully they will rebound.
I have never seen a chimney swift, Tudlow, or if I have, I’m not aware of it. I did see one once in my iPhone, in the Audubon app. Every bird I see turns out to be a sparrow of some sort. However, we do have a Tufted Titmouse this year, which I just love. I listen for it in the morning when I leave to take the early bus.
I have always loved bats in the summer. When I was a kid, the appearance of bats at dusk was always a wonderful moment, and we would spend an hour or so throwing pebbles into the air and trying to get them to dive after them, and seeing how low to the ground we could get one to go. Now that I think of it, I did notice them a couple of weeks ago after what seems like years (or maybe it was only one year).
That bats control mosquito populations seems too good to be true–too much like wishful thinking–for me to believe. But I’ve always wondered: do they eat fireflies? Can you answer that one, Tud?
I also remember seeing my first flying squirrel when I was in short pants. It was like seeing some mythical animal, like a unicorn. I’ve still only seen them a few times. Why don’t you have a party, deadeye, so we can stand around drinking Holly’s cocktails and watching your squirrels?
My grandmother used to tell me to watch out for bats, that they get tangled in your hair, lay eggs and make you go crazy. I was probably six, and even then I knew she was nuts.
speakin of bats in the belfry…so, dems, how’s that Obama thing workin out for ya?
You and my grandmother might have hit it off, Ice.
The only time I’ve seen one of the flyers up close, Roo, was in my linen closet. My wife was a little freaked out about a “large mouse” with big eyes. Sure enough, when I opened the door the little guy was bouncing off the walls. He had come in through a cut out in the sheetrock, I sealed it up and it never came back down. It’s strange, but they don’t bother me.
Yeah, I miss the good old days:
http://sierravoices.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/trickle_down.jpg
I too have had issues with bats. For the most part, I can shoo them out a window with a broom or a mop, but this one has been hanging around for months now and it won’t go away:
http://www.derangedshaman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Bachmann.jpg
I’m starting to get a bit frightened.
I like the Gang of Six allusion to China’s Gang of Four. Pretty brutal crew.
Now I know where you’ve been these many weeks, cro: taking a course in html. Well, it shows, both of those links work. Huzzah!
Luckily, I had one of those teachers who actually spent time between liberal indoctrination sessions and homosexual proselytizing classes to TEACH the stuff!
$12K in tuition well-spent!
Animals I otherwise love, deadeye, creep me out when they come indoors.
You went to an English boarding school to learn html? How strange.
Though it was indeed an English boarding school, ‘roo, the instructors were a nice American couple who, though rather “lefty-liberal” as ROc would say, were nevertheless wonderful teachers. Especially the husband, who went out of his way to spend extra time with the female students in order to make sure that they “got it”.
I snapped a photo of them on my last day before leaving for the airport:
http://www.americandigest.org/bill_hillary_hippies.jpg
POSTED BY Iceman | JULY 20, 2011 @ 11:01 PM
speakin of bats in the belfry…so, dems, how’s that Obama thing workin out for ya?
Pretty well, thank you, Ice. He is a president who is both a gentleman and a pragmatist.
Since you asked, Ice, how’s that loony bin you call the House of Representatives working out for you? When do you suppose Eric Cantor is going to throw his rattle across the crib?
Now back to topic……