Bat Advice
Posted on August 31, 2008, by Conor O'Neill, under Cork, Ireland.
That has to be the strangest blogpost title I’ve ever used.
We arrived back from our much-needed and many-years-delayed holiday to France yesterday (long blog post to follow soon on that). A few hours later Catherine picked up a j-cloth in the kitchen sink to find……a bat!
It was absolutely tiny, barely bigger than my thumb and we had no idea what to do with it. I gently picked it up with a cloth (are they disease carriers?) and brought it outside down to the far corner of the garden. It made no attempt to fly but just slowly crawled across the patio.
A few hours later I was feeling bad about it and went in search. I found it half way up the back wall hanging upside-down. My worry was that some of the horrible local crows might eat it. So I nudged it onto a stick (squeamish huh?) and carried it to our shed. I gently put the stick up against the corner of the roof and it climbed into a nook. Happily for it, there was a spider there. I think it’s now an ex-spider.
This afternoon, I went for a look and discovered it was still there, well hidden in the nook, which was a relief.
But is that it? Do I leave it alone? Is it a small breed or a baby? Might it be hurt? Are they rare? What is their natural habitat? And most importantly of all, how the hell did it get into our sink? Down the chimney? All thoughts and pointers appreciated.
Here’s a wee pic of the little guy in his current lodgings:
11 Replies to "Bat Advice"
Conor O'Neill on August 31, 2008
It was nearly as big as the bat 
calvin141170 on August 31, 2008
Hi Conor,
Bats are great little creatures… and completely harmless.
The best thing to do is to leave it where it is now that it’s safe and hidden away. It’s probably an adult — bats are pretty small.
Make sure you leave the shed door open so it can get out, and you’ll probably find it gone in the morning.
See the page on injured bats on the Cork County Bat Group website for more info (also deals with what to do if you find a bat in the house, and has a handy YouTube video to demonstrate).
The site is worth a look too if you want to find out more about Irish bats. Fascinating creatures!
Conor O'Neill on August 31, 2008
Thanks Calvin. The little nook is outdoors on the “porch” of the shed so he can leave if he likes whilst still being safe from cats etc. Still there 24 hrs later. I’ll pop the Bat Group a mail.
JD on August 31, 2008
I know a few aul bats you could hang in your porche for me, if you wanted to, Conor…
denise cox on September 1, 2008
was just going to post this
http://www.corkcountybatgroup.ie/home/
and see someone already has..
Conor O'Neill on September 2, 2008
I just checked and Bob appears to have moved on. I assume this is a good sign. On the other hand, the giant spider is still there. Maybe he won the face-off, or ate Bob………
Conor O'Neill on September 2, 2008
You’re not going to start Mother-in-law jokes now JD, are ya?
Grannymar on September 2, 2008
In UK bats are a protected spieces! Once settled they cannot be removed, even if they are in the loft. Is there an old building near by? We used to see them fly on late summer nights – when we had summers. They were lodging in the old Flax Mill near by.
Conor O'Neill on September 2, 2008
I think they are protected here too. No old buildings really near but plenty of trees and walls.
JD on September 3, 2008
Ha ha! No mother-in-law jokes indeed.
Having spent many summers as a kid in Ardmore, Co Waterford I have to admit being very nervous around bats. There was (is) a swamp area near the main caravan park and late in the summer you could watch the bats fly to and from a disused house near the swamp. I suppose we were fed stories that if they fly too low they’ll stick in your hair etc. I’m still not sleeping right!
Gamma Goblin on August 31, 2008
And what about the poor spider!