How to get a bat out of your house (the easy way)

[Big Cliff]

We ended up with a bat in the house Friday night. Must have got in at some point when I left the door open for the dog.

 

About 2 am Mandy (our beagle and resident watch dog) decided that there was something going on and we could hear her moving around.

 

I thought she was chasing a bug or something, (she has been known to do that) Sue got up to see what was going on and discovered it was a bat and it was flying all over the house and Mandy was trying to catch it. (she got pretty close a few times)

 

I got up, turned on all the lights, opened the door and within about a minute the bat let itself out again. Forget trying to catch them, just open a door, they will let themselves out no problem!

Edited August 11, 2013 by Big Cliff

[Beans]

Reminds me of the time when Riley (our old dog) and our two cats were still alive shortly after we moved up here...

 

A bat got in and all hell broke loose with all three of them trying to catch it running from room to room...

 

I managed to hit it with a misquito zapper with my back hand after it swished past my head...it bounced off the wall but was stunned enough for me to grab it (gloves on ) and take it outside...

[ketchenany]

I had a squirell come in once. Never made it out alive! I warned him first, opend the door but he wouldn't listen

[Rich]

Ha, one time my dad had that idea at the cottage. 15 min later he had a bat AND a chipmunk inside to deal with. Lmao

[mattybculp]

^{I like to take the approach of John Candy from the great outdoors! lol}

[mercman]

I had a squirell come in once. Never made it out alive! I warned him first, opend the door but he wouldn't listen

lmao !!! Squirrels are like that.......can't get their attention long enough for them to listen!! I ha a sparrow fly into my dining room last summer. It landed on the lite fixture, crapped on my table and let me catch it and carry it outside.

[crappieperchhunter]

Funny thread you started Cliff. Debbe and the kids had one in the house once when I was working the night shift. The cat actually caught it a few times but just wanted to play with it so after a few seconds it would get free and fly around again. Debbe finally caught it by throwing her housecoat over it as it flew close to her. Then Jake opened the front door and Debbe threw her housecoat on the lawn. They watched the housecoat until the bat freed itself from it and then they brought the housecoat back in the house.

[steelhedrmatt]

^{I like to take the approach of John Candy from the great outdoors! lol}

 

Was thinking the same thing

[Twocoda]

ok im going to share too....about three weeks ago i left the bedroom balcony door open all night and just as i was drifting off i thought i felt something swish by me ...not two seconds later i felt it again but this time it was our cat and he landed on me ...making me think WTH...so i turn on the light and by now our whole farm of animals is involved...the bat flies into the ensuite bathroom and the two dogs are standing guard while the cat is closing in on the kill...concerned of the vet bill ill have to pay to get the cat checked out if things should go bad ...my better half decided I should intervene... (@#$%) ...so the manly man that i am i go to the kitchen to grab a grocery bag to capture this flying disease infested rat...(hoping the whole time the cat will get it or it would fly out the way it came in ...no such luck....so i get back to ensuite and the bat is cornered in the tub... GREAT its going to be an easy catch with my grocery bag...the thing hisses at me like no tomorrow and leaps up to take flight simotaniously as the cat lunges forward to go for the kill....(no is where i tell you i sleep naked)....cat misses the bat and claws me in the ass while the bat hits me in the face cuz im startled all to hell from my new ass cheek holes....i scream like a little school girl that obviously irrated the bat because he left the room in a hurry...My American bulldog jumps and grabs the bats wing and flicks it against the wall the bat is no cornered in the hallway with three animals ready to attack and now injured...cat moves in and gets a small peice of the bat as it goes back into the bedroom so i close the door real fast (manly like) grab the dogs and left the cat and the bat in the master bedroom as we went to basement to sleep in another bedroom....

Sometimes...ya just have to make the tough decisions and know when to quit ....(cat took care of the bat) and the vet bill to have him checked out was only 30 bucks...money well spent!

[Fisherpete]

Had it happen at my place about a month ago... the creepiest part is the swish by your head before you realize there is a bat in the house! I thought I was seeing things! To deal with it I brought in a medium sized fishing net with fine mesh... figured out what room he was in and got him on the second swing of the net. Laid the net on the floor so the hoop would hold things down... then got a big glass jar from the recycling bin... placed it by the edge of the net where the bat was, lifted the hoop slightly so he crawled out and into the jar (this was not as easy as I just made it sound - they are pretty quick!) Slid a piece of stiff cardboard under the open end of the jar... brought it into the bedroom to make the wife scream (this step is optional)... took the jar outside and put it down on it's side. He crawled out and flew away no worse for wear. Bats are our friends... mosquito gobblers!

[northernpike56]

One time an opossum got into our house. My dad had to get it out by shoving it across the floor with a broom. Those things seem to paralyze when they think they're in a bad situation. It looked like it was dead lol

[Big Cliff]

ok im going to share too....about three weeks ago i left the bedroom balcony door open all night and just as i was drifting off i thought i felt something swish by me ...not two seconds later i felt it again but this time it was our cat and he landed on me ...making me think WTH...so i turn on the light and by now our whole farm of animals is involved...the bat flies into the ensuite bathroom and the two dogs are standing guard while the cat is closing in on the kill...concerned of the vet bill ill have to pay to get the cat checked out if things should go bad ...my better half decided I should intervene... (@#$%) ...so the manly man that i am i go to the kitchen to grab a grocery bag to capture this flying disease infested rat...(hoping the whole time the cat will get it or it would fly out the way it came in ...no such luck....so i get back to ensuite and the bat is cornered in the tub... GREAT its going to be an easy catch with my grocery bag...the thing hisses at me like no tomorrow and leaps up to take flight simotaniously as the cat lunges forward to go for the kill....(no is where i tell you i sleep naked)....cat misses the bat and claws me in the ass while the bat hits me in the face cuz im startled all to hell from my new ass cheek holes....i scream like a little school girl that obviously irrated the bat because he left the room in a hurry...My American bulldog jumps and grabs the bats wing and flicks it against the wall the bat is no cornered in the hallway with three animals ready to attack and now injured...cat moves in and gets a small peice of the bat as it goes back into the bedroom so i close the door real fast (manly like) grab the dogs and left the cat and the bat in the master bedroom as we went to basement to sleep in another bedroom....

Sometimes...ya just have to make the tough decisions and know when to quit ....(cat took care of the bat) and the vet bill to have him checked out was only 30 bucks...money well spent!

I like my way much better LOL!

[Big Cliff]

What I found really neat was watching it flying around the house from room to room and then figuring out that there was an open path out of the house. I'm sure it was just as happy to leave as my wife was to see it go LOL. Actually I am pretty proud of Sue, she doesn't get too excited about things like that anymore. She just wakes me up tells me there is a bat in the house and goes back to sleep. Over the years we have had it happen a few times and I have tried different methods to get them out. This is by far the easiest and quickest.