Bats in West Somerville

[mikek21.livejournal.com]

I live right near Powderhouse circle, and got a bat in my house last night. Came flying through the living room while I was watching tv. After some effort, I managed to direct the bat through the house to the kitchen and out the back door. Whole effort took about 90 minutes.

I know that bats can squeeze through tiny spaces, so spending the day today trying to figure out where he might have gotten in, and closing those places up (could be around one of the air conditioners).

Anyway, my question is, how common are bats around here. I didn't think there were many in the area anymore. I never notice them at dusk or early evening when you think you might notice them flying around catching insects outside. I remember as a kid seeing bats flying around on summer nights. But this bat last night was the first one I have seen in years. And a little to up close and personal at that.

Anyone know how common they are in the area? Anyone else with recent experience with a bat in the house?

Comments

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

We had a bat in the house about two years ago. We were having renovations done, and I stopped by the house to close the third floor windows because i noticed the workers had left them open and screens down. While I was in the house, a bat flew in and fluttered throughout the house. My husband was able to snag him with the kids' butterfly net and some serious heavy duty gloves on, and release him into the night. We have occasionally seen them flying around, but not a ton.

Flying squirrels on the other hand.... apparently one was living in the house when we moved in and it scared the heck out of me when i discovered it under the sheets of the bed. took us almost an hour to catch and then release him. :)

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

We see them flying around frequently at dusk - based on the description I bet I live within a mile of you.

[sovay]

Anyone know how common they are in the area? Anyone else with recent experience with a bat in the house?

None in the house, but I've seen them at night all over the Somerville Community Growing Center on Vinal Avenue, which I think is wonderful.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

Quite a bit of information about bats in West Somerville here:

http://davis-square.livejournal.com/793638.html#comments

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I have had, I think, two inside over the ~15 years I've lived here (spanning 4 apartments).

They're kinda freaky. My poor cat was visibly torn between "prey! I should nom it!" and "OMG what is that THING, should I flip out?"

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

I live right behind the park, and see them all the time at night. They're definitely around.

And yeah, it can be pretty interesting getting them out of the house. A butterfly net and heavy gloves (very important as you're dealing with a small and quite likely frightened wild animal) can work, though I've usually just tried to herd them in the direction of a room I can close off from the rest of the house and then open all the windows.

[greyautumnrain.livejournal.com]

We had one in the house last year or the year before, I forget exactly. We live on Powderhouse. I guess the local bat population is doing OK.

[somergirl80.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen bats around here since the early 90's. I uses to see lots in the 80's and early 90's maybe they're making a comeback.

[rose_garden.livejournal.com]

You might need rabies shots. Bats can bite you without you feeling it!

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

Since Little Brown Bats are insectivores, they'll have no motivation to bite you unless you swing at it with a broom or something equally threatening and it freaks out.

[rose_garden.livejournal.com]

I'm sure healthy Little Brown Bats are logical like that. It's the rabies that concerns me.

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

Research at BatWorld (http://bit.ly/1t2Cgdo) and CDC (http://1.usa.gov/1pRjvrc) suggests it is physically possible, but unlikely, to be bitten by a bat without knowing it. At least one person was awakened from sleep specifically because they felt a bat bite.

Studies suggest (http://bit.ly/1vRxjHS) that the actual rate of rabies in bats is low. While most US rabies cases are bat-related, the total number of cases is lower than the number of people struck by lightning.

The total number of human rabies cases in the US from 1997-2006 was nineteen out of approximately three hundred million. Comparably, fourteen people in the US have been struck by lighting in 2014 so far.

In that very very rare case, an effective post-exposure vaccine series of four, sometimes five, injections is readily available from a doctor.

[rose_garden.livejournal.com]

I acknowledge that you've thought about this a lot more than I have. My resource was word of mouth, and the CDC is obviously more reliable.

The rates of rabies are low, I agree, but I think if I were bit by a bat, even if I had no reason to think the bat was rabid (other than the fact that it was biting me), I would still get the rabies shot.

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

I would too. And scary things are scary even when my amygdala can't do math.

[lightgamer.livejournal.com]

There are two common species of bat in Massachusetts (little brown myotis and big brown bat) and a handful of less common ones. The former two are widespread and are plentiful in many areas around Massachusetts, urban areas included. They're still common, but our bat populations are generally declining due to a fungal infection called White Nose Syndrome that infects hibernacula (the caves where bats spend the winter) and interferes with their hibernation, causing them to wake up and become active when there is no food, leading to starvation.

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid, I spent summers near a bat mega-cave (now several-times decimated from white nose) and the researchers liked to say "if you find a bat in your house, it's likely a teenage boy bat with poor judgment." Kudos on your open-door, dim-lights, let-escape strategy, which is what I was taught by bat-conservationists. I'm generally surprised that the houses here don't support more bats. We plan to get a bat house as soon as we're able.

[mcary219.livejournal.com]

Last month we had a bat, it was midnight, we are not sure how it got in but it was in the foyer. We also have two cats so we were afraid that the bat could bit them. Plus it was not moving. We called animal control but they were not available so we decided to call the police since it was not moving. They got it out swiftly. If you say you are not sure if it is injured, they will come. That is the lesson we learned. But also we didnt want our housemates upstairs at 7am to come down and step on it. We thought our best option was police. they were very polite about it.

[bettyw.livejournal.com]

A friend who used to work with them says:

"they can get all the information and help they need for removing a bat from Bat Conservation International, (http://www.batcon.org) where I used to work: 1-800-538-BATS (2287)"

An gave me this link from them about dealing with bats in buildings. (http://www.batcon.org/index.php/bats-a-people/bats-in-buildings.html)

How common?

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Just to add another data point, we get them in our house off the bike path about twice a year. Usually I don't sweat it, just catch it in a heavy towel and toss it out the window. But this time my cats got it and had been playing rough with it for a while before we found it. (We thought a squeeky toy was malfunctioning.)

Booster shots for the kitties and 45-day legally mandated quarantine from other animals (but humans are fine, so since they're indoor cats and our only pets, no actual impact except reporting obligation). Next time I know to keep the bat for testing.