(Our old New England house has bats; most do. We encounter bats a couple of times a year. We have a safe bat extraction process. The drawers have been sanitized and the linen is being rewashed. I’m an ecologist. Bats are helpful neighbors. Hopefully that anticipates the most common replies.)
Thank you for taking care of bats ! <3
Sky puppy? Love it.
Bats, rats, and wolves - three of the most misunderstood and misrepresented mammals on earth.
Add in snakes & spiders to that list.
Yes, my original post made it a mammal list because mammals are largely seen anthropomorphically as cuddly, apart from a few regularly demonised ones such as wolves and rats, but of course arthropods and reptiles should definitely have their own list.
Pretty much any animal that is demonized/villified.
But what about the uncommon replies, such as, "what did you name her?"
“Angry Mama” 😅 (I don’t know why, but I think it’s a roosting female).
Thank you so much for your very responsible and humane handling of this situation. I feel that you are very lucky to be able to have these close encounters with these amazing animals.
I appreciate that folks are concerned about my health. I’d hoped my footnote would prevent dozens of folks telling me to get a rabies shot. The bat wasn’t handled directly. We removed the drawer, covered it, and carried it outside. The bat was asleep until I evicted it. We both wore leather gloves.
(Lots of) People lose their minds when bats are the subject.
Thanks for taking the time to explain. I am freaked out by the number of people who think it’s ok to handle bats or who don’t understand bat exposure. I live in the county that had the last bat-exposure rabies death in TN, back in 2002.
Heartbreaking death of 13 yo boy who found the bat and kept it a secret.
We handled at least a dozen bats in ten years the same you did and, right, it's not a problem. They are amazing animals.
..... I kind of want to make a joke about the bat wearing leather gloves, now, because of "...we both wore leather gloves"....(sorry)
Ha! I like it.
Was the bat somewhere like the attic crawlspace? And how did you get it into the kitchen drawer? (I have dealt with bats a long time back and it’s hard to catch them!)
This one was sleeping in the drawer. I think it came up through a vent somehow. They sometimes get into the basement via an opening in the wall above.
I don't think most folks appreciate how intertwined with nature Maine is.
I'm just muting the replies at this point because the number of people telling me to get a rabies shot is undercutting any small joy I got from seeing a beautiful bat. There's a lot of misinformation and outdated information out there. Here's the up-to-date science: doh.wa.gov/sites/defaul...
TIL! When we found a bat in offspring's bedroom as a baby about 14 years ago, we were definitely told by NY state health authorities to get various shots.
According to the guidelines, that would qualify for PEP, because a baby can't report whether they've been bitten. I'm glad you did!
Our house is covered with vintage old aluminum siding, and seems to be an ideal nesting place for bats. Occasionally one gets turned around and ends up inside. Waking up with a bat flying around your room can be a little alarming, but we’ve learned how to safely escort them out an open window.
And I can't help but wonder if I'd have had as many people telling me (incorrectly) to get a rabies shot after seeing a bat in my house if I was a man.
Thank you for caring for the bats!
Miserable people can suck the joy out of almost anything. We have a LOT of wildlife where we live. Here's a link to a cool little vignette that played out in our meadow: bsky.app/profile/dhum...
we have bats in the barn and had to build a weird blanket structure out of an old saw horse and a disused horse blanket for moving bats. Get them to climb up the blanket then carry them out of the way. No touching involved
I mean if it’s asleep during the day and in a drawer and Reasonably Coherent modulo Bat Hangover Vibes
Looks like a big brown. They have the most adorable puppy faces when they’re asleep.
It was really darling asleep!