Bats! how do I get rid of ......

[MarcMcCarron]

I was greeted by 10 or more bats living under my
sail covers. My boat is on a mooring. The little suckers
stained my mizzen and left me with bat guano on the poop deck...
(couldn't resist) . How do I get rid of them? My spider population
did take a dive though. Earlier in the summer I was gifted with
4 giant eggs nested in a coil of line on my bow. Ain't nature grand.

I love my ketch.

[Neil Gordon]

I had a bat in the house once... called a friend and asked him what I should do. He suggested that I move!

Okay... I'd start by taking the sail and sail cover off for a bit. Take away their home and they'll likely relocate to somewhere else in the mooring field.

[Joe Montana]

What a coincidence; I just saw this article in a recent edition of "Old House Journal." It makes you wonder if "your" bats didn't lose their established home, because apparently they don't like to move! I can't believe a sailboat would be their first choice!


http://www.oldhousejournal.com/magazine/1473

[barfwinkle]

If I could take them I would. I have two bat houses and they will not use them. I think they are just too cool.

I was cleaning the pool strainer on a friends pool the other day and stuck my hand down into the opening to retrieve the basket and said "hmmm what is that black thing"???? "Damn its a bat"! I relocated him and went on about my business (swimming in the extreme heat of the time).

Nature is just too kewl!

[Russell]

Neil makes sense to me. Rather then try some weird way to convinct them, take away their home. Remove the sail cover and the sail (sounds like the sail needs cleaning anyways), wouldnt they be forced to find a new home? Or do you think they would be stubborn enough to live on bare poles until their home returns?

Or you can try my solution and get a cat! I never have critter or bird poop problems! Not terribly practical for most though

[LangSmith]

I had the same problem --bats staining my brand new main sail. There were tons of bats at this marina and the more seasoned sailors told me to take some old nylons and cut them into small squares and use the squares to make pockets filled with a few mothballs. I tied those to the boom in a few places.

[Tod M]

talk the marina operator into allowing some houses to be put up?

http://alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/Ecology/bathouse.html

[Mark Yashinsky]

Be careful, because bats can and do carry rabies. You might want to check with your health department.
Had one in the house (down the chimney, because teh damper was not shut) and the daughters did a catch and release using a plastic container. Then they checked with the county health department, who would have liked the bat and INSISTED ON and paid for rabies shots.

[M. R. Bober]

Odd timing.
I took some friends out on RESPITE yesterday. When we rolled out the yankee, it appeared that two starling took to flight. Not so. They were bats, and a third was still hanging near the clew.

I suspect the furled sail made a perfect bat house (covered above, dark, and opened below) with lots of tasty treats near the dock.

Live and learn.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where--apparently--not all bats are old), VA

[MarcMcCarron]

It's official! The bat community has passed on the word that CD's
are "the" classic proper yacht to be seen on.........

[lubeckmaine]

From Yarmouth, NS to Lubec early Tuesday two bats probably lost in the fog joined our crew off Machias Seal Island and were with us when we landed at Lubec at 6 am. We didn 't declare them at customs but it wasn 't easy coaxing them off Diapensia, in fact we just gave them some gentle shoves and they sort of swam somewhere. I felt bad because they're really not too well equipped for water sports. Needless to say we were pretty tired ourselves so I just wished them well and thanked them for their company....Any other time when I've had bats in the house, I've just opened the windows and eventually off they go.