"Bats should not be flying through your house, and the animal may be sick. If the bat has had contact with a person or pet, or if the bat was present in the room of a sleeping person, the bat should be captured and given to government officials for rabies testing. If you choose to let the bat escape, you may need post exposure rabies treatment."
- Bats can enter your house through very, very small cracks in your roof, chimney, fireplace, furnace, attic, vents or windows. The most likely entry is through loose areas in your soffit, the edge of your roof. Once a bat is in your house, it is unlikely they will find that tiny crack again to exit.
- Remove any pets to reduce the chance of them coming into contact with the bat, or causing more stress to the bat.
- When you're trying to catch it, a good solution is to get it into one area. If you know the bat isn't in a bedroom, lock the door so it can't fly there. By doing this, You can get the bat in one room where it can't fly away to other parts of the house.
- You may want to wet the towel before throwing it over the bat.
- Most house bats are brown. They have extremely sharp little teeth. They use their teeth to eat insects. Bats in your neighborhood will reduce the insect population. Build bat houses nearby.
- A fishing net is inappropriate to trap a bat. The bat can fit through the large webbing. A butterfly net is a good choice.
- Try not to injure the bat, open the door to let it out!
- Bats do not build nests in your hair. A sick or confused bat may accidentally bump into your head. This is undesirable to you and the bat.
- A baseball bat will injure or kill the bat. Please don't use this under any circumstances.
- A tennis racket is an appropriate tool to catch one in flight, but use gently, then place an empty oatmeal container over the bat, slide over racket gently until bat is inside and secure the lid with a few holes poked into it.
- Rabies from bats are the leading cause of human rabies. People are sometime bit while sleeping and are not aware of the bite. Bites from bats may not be visible the next morning. If a bat is found in a room with a sleeping person, contact your physician.
- A very small percentage of bats may have the disease rabies. An infected bat bumps into walls, furniture, people and objects or is unable to fly. Avoid a bat on the ground. Rabies can be transmitted by biting.
- Rabies is 100% fatal if not treated; but 100% preventable. Do not wait until you have symptoms, by then it will be too late!
- When trying to get a bat to leave on its own, turn off anything that makes noise. They "see" by sound. Loud noises (such as music) often confuse bats. Turning off anything that makes noise (not just TVs and radios, but clocks and other devices) will go a long way in helping the bat find its own way home.
- In the UK there is the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 – which protects bats and their roosts throughout the UK, making it illegal to kill, injure or disturb a bat and this includes blocking up any entrance holes they may be using. If you need help, contact The Bat Conservation Trust.
- Try to keep contact between you and the bat as limited as possible; as they may carry rabies.
- If you can imitate the air flow of a cave, for example opening a door downstairs and a door upstairs, the bat will follow the air flow up and outside.
- If a bat can't fly use it to your advantage. Grab a cup and slide a cardboard piece under then take it into a place with fruits and trees.
- Bats have sharp teeth, so keep your fingers clear from their mouths.
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