Battling the bats to a stand-off
The Albany Times-Union has a piece on their website today about an Upstate couple who paid $15,000 to rid their home of a bat infestation.
Ironically — given that I’ve spent the last three years covering the deadly white nose syndrome bat epidemic — I too have an on-going and all-too-intimate relationship with these flying mice.
They love the eaves and soffits of the old farmouse I own in the Champlain Valley. When we moved in, they had pretty much destroyed the attic.
I spent the better part of two weeks last spring tearing out dung-and-urine soaked wood paneling and insulation. Ugh.
At times, it has seemed like every last remaining bat in the North Country wanted to live in my attic.
The good news is that we’ve fought the animals to a draw: only a few get into the attic proper every year; and it’s a rare occasion (usually caused by a window left open at dusk) when one zips inside the house.
A lot of the bats seem to have settled happily in the little bat houses we installed in nearby trees.
And in the evening it’s kind of reassuring to see squadrons of the little critters zinging out into the yard, plunging and pirouetting.
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We typically have 3-4 flying around at dusk at our home in Dekalb, and, yes, it is nice to watch them scarfing down insects. We think they live in an old barn across the road. If we take a late evenign dip in the pool, they’ll occassionally zip by our heads, attracted by the ‘skeeters that are attracted by our breathing.
They will occassionally roost in a patio umbrella. I can always tell they’re there from the scat on the table.
I see so many less bats north of Plattsburgh in east Beekmantown and in Saranac Lake flying about at night for at least two years.
Yet you see them in Westport and the other commentator in Dekalb.
Have other locations in the region seen a decline?
We had a pretty serious bat problem in our old house. We had this guy come out who sealed the holes and put these pipes into the airways where they would leave but could not get back up the pipes once they left the attic, it was pretty cool it took care of the problem. When they were gone he came back and removed the pipes and sealed the holes.
I like bats, just not in my bedroom or my kid’s rooms. We killed them when that happened and took them in for testing for rabies. But they are gone now and we and the bats are happy.
Sure wish I had some bats around here in Bolton especially with all the deer flies around.
I made a large bat-house years ago and it’s never been occupied. It’s a Cadillac. 3 x 5 overall with 5 chambers.
In the evening I’ll go down in the clearing and flip a coin up in the air to attract them. It’s very rare that I do see one and the situation is very sad.
they are not flying mice.
Rodent teeth are very different then bats.
Rodents have two front teeth that are very long and flatish.
Bats have a dental structure that looks something like canines.
Their DNA is reported to be closer to primates.
They live about 30 years; cave bats generally have one baby per year and have two mammary glands. Tree bats can have more.
These creatures are very social and very intelligent.
WNS has now affected nine species and something like 19 states.
Scientists believe this is the worst ecological disaster in recorded history. We are looking at the extinction of several species of bats in a very short time. The best we can hope for is only endangered status
Fortunately I’ve seen a few more bats this spring and summer than the past two seasons. I love watching them hunting the night skies for bugs of all sorts. I live in central Lewis County in the town of Watson. I too have found bats nesting under my deck umbrella. However, they usually roost in my attic. I’ve never had problems with them getting into the actual living areas of the house and so have never made an effort to try and eradicate them. Especially with the White Nose Syndrome killing many the past few years. I make a point to check every so often that they’re not doing any real damage to the attic and have never noticed any real problems. I’m just glad they seem to be surviving the white menace.
We moved here 15 years ago…although I didn’t keep any records or anything, I’m comfortable saying the numbers, though low, are fairly constant.
We used to have bats but they they would only come when my sister-in-law was visiting. My sister-in-law visits less frequently now and any bat problems have disappeared.
I am not making this up.