Bats around the lake

COWISLAND NH · 03-28-2008, 08:46 AM

We have plenty of bats living on Cow.....they love getting into our camp. We have built them, and bought them their own"Bat House" but still they love to come in our camp and make a mess. Never seen grown men crawl so fast out of a camp in my whole life..LOL

Irish mist · 03-28-2008, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by COWISLAND NH

We have plenty of bats living on Cow.....they love getting into our camp. We have built them, and bought them their own"Bat House" but still they love to come in our camp and make a mess. Never seen grown men crawl so fast out of a camp in my whole life..LOL

Bat-houses are a great idea. Lol, guess those men don't like to be so close to bats

Grant · 03-28-2008, 11:06 AM

I hung a bat house on a south-facing tree on our property one spring a few years ago. By July, it had become the home for an aggressive hive of wasps, so I sprayed them and took it down. The hope was to get some more bats to live along the shore to chow on mosquitoes. Still hoping to put it back up.

riverat · 03-28-2008, 11:50 AM

What happens to a Bat(if anything) when it eats a Mosquito that is carrying West Nile Virus?

SIKSUKR · 03-28-2008, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riverat

What happens to a Bat(if anything) when it eats a Mosquito that is carrying West Nile Virus?

It's hunger is satisfied.

Rattlesnake Guy · 03-29-2008, 09:17 PM

When we bought our piece of heaven on the island the real estate listing described it as "gently sloping". The reality is that a ladder would probably tip over on much of it. We are Lucky enough to have several small caves in the rock faces. The bats seem to really enjoy these just as much as in the movies. They also seem to like our closed umbrella on the deck. We open it slowly, look up and have a visitor 90 percent of the time.

tis · 03-30-2008, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

When we bought our piece of heaven on the island the real estate listing described it as "gently sloping". The reality is that a ladder would probably tip over on much of it.

LOL!

upthesaukee · 03-30-2008, 09:26 AM

We have a screened porch off our bedroom, which is on the back of the house overlooking our brook, and have a 300W halogen lamp that we turn on at night while we sit on the porch. The light attracts tons of bugs, mainly moths, but sometimes a few bats. We also have the opportunity to see deer and other wildlife in the woods on the far side of the brook.

One evening last summer, we were in the house, and I looked down the open area inside the front of our house, and our two cats were acting very "mousey". Suddenly, our 22 lb yellow tiger cat leaped into the air, trying to grab the mouse, a mouse with wings

!!!! It (the bat, not the cat) (with that little rhyme, I feel like Dr. Seuss

) flitted along the ceiling area, and while I went in search of my wood stove gloves and a broom, the bat disappeared from sight. We looked and looked, and couldn't see it, but the cats were both staring up at some dark brown paneling in a corner. The bat was almost perfectly camoflauged against the panelling. Now, I am terribly right handed, and the only way I could swing the broom to try to take down the bat was to swing left handed. Taking a deep breath, and putting on my best David Ortiz swing, I caught the bat squarely with my sweep broom, scooped it up before the cats could get to it, and took it outside. The next morning it was gone, so it was either stunned, or became a vital link in another animal's food chain.

Only bat we have ever seen in the house, and not really sure how it got in. I only wish I had video of the cats reaction to the mouse that flies!

JayDV · 03-30-2008, 11:17 AM

Some of the squeamish in my family emitted eagle-like screeches at the mere mention of bats so we began calling them night birds

. Some of the best island camp stories were of the night bird encounters experienced on the island. In the loft at bedtime (mind you there were no electric lights) trying to find the pesky thing with a flashlight in order to swat with the broom. Or inside the peak of the outhouse, tell me that didn't speed matters up a bit. Catch one in long hair? And of course the eave next to the slamming porch door? SLAM flutter flutter swoosh.

I wish I could hear the bats' stories of the people they scared. I could picture Belfry the bat talking about his adventures with Oh_my the human dummy.

Weirs guy · 03-31-2008, 12:17 PM

We still have plenty at the Weirs, as least as many as when I was a kid. Long will live the tale on my street of the night the bat in the house met the drunken Weirs Guy.

My cat actually caught one last summer on the back lawn and killed it. There everywhere!

CanisLupusArctos · 03-31-2008, 12:34 PM

If you have a shingled house with a 1-2 inch space under some of the shingles (which usually happens in any shingled house) the bats will crawl right up in there and sleep all day. At dusk we'll see them drop out of the shingles and start fluttering about. When we turn the porch lights on, the bugs all gather in the light beams and the bats fly back and forth through the bug-gathering, having themselves an insect massacre. Usually by late July we don't have any more mosquitoes near the house (most mosquitoes usually only fly a few hundred feet from where they hatch.)

I remember when I was a kid, we caught a bat (I think it got in the house somehow.) Dad had it trapped in a transparent container so we could look at it. Up close you could definitely tell it was a mammal, furry and kind of like a mouse. To think, they actually give birth to live young (pups) and nurse them with mother's milk.

According to this internet site, they are the only mammals that can fly (flying squirrels don't count because they don't have the ability to gain altitude - only glide.)

http://icwdm.org/handbook/mammals/bats.asp

Island Life · 03-31-2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayDV

I wish I could hear the bats' stories of the people they scared. I could picture Belfry the bat talking about his adventures with Oh_my the human dummy.

I was reading in bed to my kids one night when a bat swooped in on us. We all jumped out of bed and ran to a nearby screen-door to get out. We didn't know it, but the door was latched and we stood there for many seconds, struggling against the netting to get out. An animated version of this would have our bodies squish through the screen and come out the other side. When we finally liberated ourselves we ran to a neighboring house - my kids were completely naked but young enough not to care. If bats can laugh, this little guy probably had a good chuckle over that.

Since then I keep a short fishing net in the house to snag any flying friends. We have no electricity, so it will be a real challenge if I need to do it.

SIKSUKR · 03-31-2008, 01:55 PM

Islandlife is right on.Don't try to swat bats with a broom if they are in your house.The fastest and safest way for both you and the bat is to use what most people who fish have at their lakehouse already.A fishing net.I have one with a long extension handle I added.They work great and you can let the little guy go and do his job outside.

MJM · 03-31-2008, 02:45 PM

I've always heard that a good trick is to simply toss an open towel (not bunched up - hold it at the corners and try to fling it flat) into the air when the bat is flying around. They almost always fly into it for cover, and it falls to the floor, covering the bat. You can then scoop up the towel and throw it outside.

Haven't done it personally, but have heard it from a few different sources.

We love being "dive-bombed" by the bats while boating in Wolfeboro at/just past dusk! The kids' screaming is a Summer joy!

ITD · 03-31-2008, 03:18 PM

We had a bat in our cellar this fall, came in on an umbrella we had just brought in. We just closed all the doors to keep him out of the main part of the house and opened the door to the outside. Took a few minutes but he wanted to be out as badly as we wanted him out. At night during the summer we have plenty of bats flying around, during the day they sleep under our 2nd floor deck, usually 3 or 4 at a time. Kids love to see them, they seem not mind us, although we keep our distance.

dan · 03-31-2008, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJM

I've always heard that a good trick is to simply toss an open towel (not bunched up - hold it at the corners and try to fling it flat) into the air when the bat is flying around. They almost always fly into it for cover, and it falls to the floor, covering the bat. You can then scoop up the towel and throw it outside.

Haven't done it personally, but have heard it from a few different sources.

We love being "dive-bombed" by the bats while boating in Wolfeboro at/just past dusk! The kids' screaming is a Summer joy!

I knocked one down in a neighbor's house that way last year. I waded up a dish towel and threw it. I thought I made a great throw and now I find out the bat hit the towel. Son of a gun, It was the bat that had the good aim.

chipj29 · 04-02-2008, 01:24 PM

The warm weather had the bats flying around last night, and they sure were making a racket. They must be hungry, with no bugs around.

03-28-2008, 11:06 AM	#3
Grant Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Pennsyltuckey, Tuftonboro, Moultonborough Posts: 1,505 Thanks: 385 Thanked 232 Times in 126 Posts	I hung a bat house on a south-facing tree on our property one spring a few years ago. By July, it had become the home for an aggressive hive of wasps, so I sprayed them and took it down. The hope was to get some more bats to live along the shore to chow on mosquitoes. Still hoping to put it back up. __________________ "When I die, please don't let my wife sell my dive gear for what I told her I paid for it."

03-28-2008, 11:50 AM	#4
riverat Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Alton, NH Posts: 722 Thanks: 337 Thanked 280 Times in 123 Posts	What happens to a Bat(if anything) when it eats a Mosquito that is carrying West Nile Virus? __________________ Waking up in the morning is the greatest, everything after that is a bonus

03-30-2008, 09:26 AM	#8
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,614 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,483 Thanked 1,987 Times in 1,087 Posts	One in the house We have a screened porch off our bedroom, which is on the back of the house overlooking our brook, and have a 300W halogen lamp that we turn on at night while we sit on the porch. The light attracts tons of bugs, mainly moths, but sometimes a few bats. We also have the opportunity to see deer and other wildlife in the woods on the far side of the brook. One evening last summer, we were in the house, and I looked down the open area inside the front of our house, and our two cats were acting very "mousey". Suddenly, our 22 lb yellow tiger cat leaped into the air, trying to grab the mouse, a mouse with wings !!!! It (the bat, not the cat) (with that little rhyme, I feel like Dr. Seuss) flitted along the ceiling area, and while I went in search of my wood stove gloves and a broom, the bat disappeared from sight. We looked and looked, and couldn't see it, but the cats were both staring up at some dark brown paneling in a corner. The bat was almost perfectly camoflauged against the panelling. Now, I am terribly right handed, and the only way I could swing the broom to try to take down the bat was to swing left handed. Taking a deep breath, and putting on my best David Ortiz swing, I caught the bat squarely with my sweep broom, scooped it up before the cats could get to it, and took it outside. The next morning it was gone, so it was either stunned, or became a vital link in another animal's food chain. Only bat we have ever seen in the house, and not really sure how it got in. I only wish I had video of the cats reaction to the mouse that flies! __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

03-30-2008, 11:17 AM	#9
JayDV Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Fairfield, CT & island vacation Posts: 97 Thanks: 8 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Ahh yes, night birds Some of the squeamish in my family emitted eagle-like screeches at the mere mention of bats so we began calling them night birds . Some of the best island camp stories were of the night bird encounters experienced on the island. In the loft at bedtime (mind you there were no electric lights) trying to find the pesky thing with a flashlight in order to swat with the broom. Or inside the peak of the outhouse, tell me that didn't speed matters up a bit. Catch one in long hair? And of course the eave next to the slamming porch door? SLAM flutter flutter swoosh. I wish I could hear the bats' stories of the people they scared. I could picture Belfry the bat talking about his adventures with Oh_my the human dummy. Last edited by JayDV; 03-30-2008 at 11:18 AM. Reason: typos

03-31-2008, 12:17 PM	#10
Weirs guy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Weirs Beach, NH Posts: 1,067 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	We still have plenty at the Weirs, as least as many as when I was a kid. Long will live the tale on my street of the night the bat in the house met the drunken Weirs Guy. My cat actually caught one last summer on the back lawn and killed it. There everywhere! __________________ Is it bikeweek yet? Now?

03-28-2008, 08:46 AM	#1
COWISLAND NH Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 35 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	We have plenty of bats living on Cow.....they love getting into our camp. We have built them, and bought them their own"Bat House" but still they love to come in our camp and make a mess. Never seen grown men crawl so fast out of a camp in my whole life..LOL

03-29-2008, 09:17 PM	#6
Rattlesnake Guy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,254 Thanks: 423 Thanked 366 Times in 175 Posts	When we bought our piece of heaven on the island the real estate listing described it as "gently sloping". The reality is that a ladder would probably tip over on much of it. We are Lucky enough to have several small caves in the rock faces. The bats seem to really enjoy these just as much as in the movies. They also seem to like our closed umbrella on the deck. We open it slowly, look up and have a visitor 90 percent of the time.

03-31-2008, 12:34 PM	#11
CanisLupusArctos Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Center Harbor Posts: 1,049 Thanks: 15 Thanked 472 Times in 107 Posts	Under The Shingles If you have a shingled house with a 1-2 inch space under some of the shingles (which usually happens in any shingled house) the bats will crawl right up in there and sleep all day. At dusk we'll see them drop out of the shingles and start fluttering about. When we turn the porch lights on, the bugs all gather in the light beams and the bats fly back and forth through the bug-gathering, having themselves an insect massacre. Usually by late July we don't have any more mosquitoes near the house (most mosquitoes usually only fly a few hundred feet from where they hatch.) I remember when I was a kid, we caught a bat (I think it got in the house somehow.) Dad had it trapped in a transparent container so we could look at it. Up close you could definitely tell it was a mammal, furry and kind of like a mouse. To think, they actually give birth to live young (pups) and nurse them with mother's milk. According to this internet site, they are the only mammals that can fly (flying squirrels don't count because they don't have the ability to gain altitude - only glide.) http://icwdm.org/handbook/mammals/bats.asp

03-31-2008, 01:55 PM	#13
SIKSUKR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5,075 Thanks: 215 Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts	Islandlife is right on.Don't try to swat bats with a broom if they are in your house.The fastest and safest way for both you and the bat is to use what most people who fish have at their lakehouse already.A fishing net.I have one with a long extension handle I added.They work great and you can let the little guy go and do his job outside. __________________ SIKSUKR

03-31-2008, 02:45 PM	#14
MJM Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 262 Thanks: 0 Thanked 23 Times in 11 Posts	I've always heard that a good trick is to simply toss an open towel (not bunched up - hold it at the corners and try to fling it flat) into the air when the bat is flying around. They almost always fly into it for cover, and it falls to the floor, covering the bat. You can then scoop up the towel and throw it outside. Haven't done it personally, but have heard it from a few different sources. We love being "dive-bombed" by the bats while boating in Wolfeboro at/just past dusk! The kids' screaming is a Summer joy!

03-31-2008, 03:18 PM	#15
ITD Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 2,941 Thanks: 481 Thanked 699 Times in 390 Posts	We had a bat in our cellar this fall, came in on an umbrella we had just brought in. We just closed all the doors to keep him out of the main part of the house and opened the door to the outside. Took a few minutes but he wanted to be out as badly as we wanted him out. At night during the summer we have plenty of bats flying around, during the day they sleep under our 2nd floor deck, usually 3 or 4 at a time. Kids love to see them, they seem not mind us, although we keep our distance.

04-02-2008, 01:24 PM	#17
chipj29 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bow Posts: 1,874 Thanks: 521 Thanked 308 Times in 162 Posts	The warm weather had the bats flying around last night, and they sure were making a racket. They must be hungry, with no bugs around.