I think I'm living with bats!

[WTF99]

Opened my loft hatch this morning, to find a summer dress as my summer clothes are stored up there, and this fell out! Fortunately it was deceased and didn't land in my hair.
Blimmin marvellous....first time ever my wardrobe is organised and I've got bat lodgers in my storage space.
Any advice from seasoned bat fans?? Can I charge them rent?

Crikey! Think bats are protected so you'll have to get used to your 'lodgers' 😞

I really hate to be the first one to say this, but you know they're protected and you can't get rid of them if they are living in your property? I realise this may not be what you want to hear I'm far from an expert but I don't think they are anywhere near as problematic as lodgers as many other creatures.

RIP little bat, BTW.

Why do they want to.live with meeeeeee?? I live alone (apart from the cat) and quite happy with that....bastards moving in uninvited.
I've heard that they don't like strong smells so have been testing out which is the most offensive of DPs aftershave to spray in the loft so hopefully they leave. We have settled on Obsession for Men....he's had it a long time and it's.......pungent

Have you seen live ones up there?

Its probably really cruel and illegal to spray those bat babies with your husbands repulsive perfumes to be honest.
YOu do realise that is some kind of bat maternity hospital>?

Contact your local animal shelter that deals with wild animals or a local vet. Either of them might have contact details of the local expert on bats. Contact that expert and go from there. They are protected by law and it is really unwise to handle even deceased ones yourself.
Or try here www.bats.org.uk/support-bats/bat-groups

I found they were helpful when we had batgate.

Jesus no! The dead one dropped on my carpet then I legged it up the ladder quick as I could to get my dress and scarpered back down again before the little gits woke up.

FYI their droppings are highly acidic. You may want to remove anything important from the loft or cover it with a plastic sheet.

I had to handle the dead one as it was obstructing my access to the bathroom and was in danger of coming to the attention of my usually docile but potentially ferocious cat.
Wrestling a dead bat from the jaws of my usually sweet cat was more than I could contemplate at 8am this morning.
But is currently reclining on my dustpan and in my garage

Make sure you wash your hands well. The
reason for caution is although extremely rare, they can carry rabies. Contact the bat people and don’t dispose of the bat in the bin until they say it’s fine to do so.

To be fair people pay good money for that repulsive perfume so the bats should be grateful really but yes, I take ypur point ....and I used to he an NCT antenatal teacher so good maternity care was a campaigning issue for me.....not appertaining to bats though if I'm honest.
Was just gonna spray the environment....not the actual babies
And he's not my husband....just for the record

My cats just looked at the bat flapping around in the bedroom and waltzed out - shooting me a look which said “your problem, we’ve done our bit”. 🤣

oh yes sorry not husband - these mother bats need care and nurture and have chosen you for that, so be flattered and start investigating what extra snacks or facilities they might need and stop spraying your not-husbands perfume at them....

You can put a bat box near your house and pray that the bats prefer it to your loft.

Whaaaat?? Rabies?? It looks pretty innocent and I've it could totally just go in the bin.

You had a bat in your bedroom? Was it just visiting or looking to take up residence?

Typical cat attitude 🙄

Think it came in through the window. May have been helped by the cats🤷‍♀️. Under guidance from our local bat expert it was watered and returned to the wild. It was so happy, we had a repeat performance the next day!
yes bats can carry rabies even in the uk, hence the advice to not touch them. The bat expert will advise what steps you need to take next. You are privileged to have bats, they are extremely fussy little darlings.! Much more frightened of you than you are of them.

if you can’t find your local expert, try not he local church (it must have ringing bells) , ask for the tower captain and ask them to direct you to someone with the relevant licence to deal with them.
anyone handling bats must have a licence to do so.

All I've done so far is to scoop up the body and remove it from the potential attention of the resident cat, who was invited to stay and didn't just move in uninvited
I'm not sure I'm totally up for bat maternity wing with luxury catering. I'm about to retire from the NHS after 35 years. I've done my share of caring. Supervising a bat cave was not in my plan

Look at this way - rats or bats?

I’ll take bats any day!

I might try this, thank you. I do actually love having the bats about but would rather not share my house with them

Yes, definitely bats any day of the week!
Thanks for your comments

They can carry rabies and are very protected so you need to be careful of yourself and them.
We had bats in our house growing up, they were noisy when they had babies but not any huge trouble.
There is a bat society you can contact for information.

I would follow this up as quickly as possible. They can do real damage to your house. The faeces can damage the joists in your roof space.

Yes, they are protected, but the right people are licensed to remove them and house then somewhere more suitable. It may cost money, but that's a while load cheaper than rebuilding your house.

I live in the US where they are also protected. We were able to get people in to inspect and then put in one way exits for them in some of the roof tiles. Then we had the roof space inspected for any damage. It was several years ago and I think it cost around 600 pounds.

My neighbours have bats in their roof. Last night at dusk we counted 63 of them leaving. They can't do anything about it. It's illegal to.block their nests even once they leave when this summers babies are grown. They've just had to get used to the rustling noises. As the bats aren't in the living areas of the house and the house isn't being damaged they're just having to be the neighbourhood bat nursery.

Yes please be careful IP. My freinds husband got rabies or near-rabies from a bat bite in the UK and ended up in hospital. He was pretty poorly but pulled through.