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[CLKD]

Bats are protected so do contact your local bat group as they are registered handlers.  We had a regular visit from our bat man and I would send our annual count to him to log.  They will tell you if they are likely to be beginning to settle for Winter, however, ours are out and about.  There are no health concerns unless you can see poo - small mouse droppings - in the house.  It will be interesting to tell your G.kids ;-).  If the attic is well sealed they won't get in. 

In the Summer we had pippestrelles - Mums with babies.  They came and went as they have several roosts.  They would hang the babies up in the evening, we would sit on the patio and could hear them muttering: almost "It's your turn out first I went last night"  .  I counted over 100 out one evening, never was awake in time to count them in 

We could hear ours this evening but couldn't see them! 

🦔 s - 2 thus far.

[CLKD]

Could it be mice Ju Ju?   If a pencil can be pushed through a hole/gap, a mouse can squeeze through.  Bats won't go through holes, they require free flight as they use sonar to locate space and where to land.  They might crawl through a space but unlikely.  Send DH up there again for a further investigation ?

[Ju Ju]

Flying mice?  DH was alerted by a bat flying when he went up to the loft and turned the light on. He saw a smaller bats, possibly babies, in a cluster in the corner. He didn’t know what kind of bats just from his observation. We know there are pipistrelle bats and a rarer species of bats residing in the woods behind us.

I was concerned about the fungal spores carried by the guano (poo) which can cause a lung disease called histoplasmosis, a lung disease. Maybe an over top reaction, but then I have become allergic to aslergillosus mould which is all around us anyway. Possibly why I’m struggling a bit with asthma at the moment.

[CLKD]

Has he contacted your local Bat Group?  Usually the poo is dry.  If I lived closer ;-).  If they are babies with mums they will probably move on.  Our maternity colony certainly did.

Do they whitter when disturbed? 

[Ju Ju]

They weren’t there late afternoon! Still daylight. Have to check in the morning. Unless they have sneaked into the main attic, where we store stuff. Intrigued as to how they got in. Windows and doors have been replaced. No windows in the attic.

[CLKD]

I am intrigued.  If I lived closer ...........

[Ju Ju]

  I hate going into that attic as you have to use a ladder wedged by a very heavy tool box. Must work on DH to get a ladder like the one to the main attic which you pull down. There  must be a way in as we did get mice in via a tree. The branches were touching the roof. Now cut back. Or through the rotten window frame and door, now replaced.

[Taz2]

They weren’t there late afternoon! Still daylight. Have to check in the morning. Unless they have sneaked into the main attic, where we store stuff. Intrigued as to how they got in. Windows and doors have been replaced. No windows in the attic.

They can squeeze through a gap which is about the thickness of a pencil so they don't need much of an opening.  I've just been outside with my bat detector and there are quite a few flying around. Pippestrelle mainly.

[jaypo]

What are the bigger bats in this country? We have the little ones(that swoop my head) but we had a big one once,it landed on our conservatory roof  slid down a little then flew off again,I'd say it was the size of a rat

[CLKD]

In the UK - Durbentons I think ?  come in Taz ?

Fruit bats however  'flying foxes'

5 🦔 s with us last night, we spent over an hour sitting quietly: apart from the occasional cough : watching and listening.  We could see bats on the detector but not in the air 

[Ju Ju]

Never forget going to see fruit bats in the botanical gardens in Sydney. Very, very noisy! They might have been hanging upside down, but I don’t wondered whether much sleeping was going on!

[CLKD]

Is bat poop toxic?

Scattered bat droppings (guano) do not pose a risk and can be safely swept up or vacuumed. Of course – the dust often found in attics may be an irritant, and you might be wise to wear a dust mask – there is very little risk of Histoplasmosis.   27 May 2019


Lots of info on the Bat Conservation website. 

[CLKD]

We sat out last night, not a bat to be heard  .  3 hedgehogs muttering around ......... one sniffed DH's sock, then scurried away.  Fast 

[C.C.]

So I thought I'd move the skunk under the porch story to this thread. 
This morning the wildlife guys dug up a storm in the garden and one of them crawled in the massive den under the porch but didn't see any skunk but he sure smelled it. Apparently, it's not dead like we thought.  They didn't see the skunk but there is evidence that he had moved to another spot deeper down by the footings. They nailed up mesh to block the openings, installed a one-way door so the skunk can get out and nothing can go in.  The door will stay up for 2-4 weeks to give the skunk time to scram. Then if there is no evidence of a skunk, they'll take out the door and mesh the opening.  My garden is now nothing but a partially covered trench and a few scraggly plants lol.

[CLKD]

What do skunks eat?  Could you tempt it out ............

I trod on a hedgehog last night  .  It scuttled away.  I need 2 go out and feed them later.