BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!

Subject: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: Bee
Date: 06 Dec 06 - 08:52 PM

Any suggestions? We have one of those propane wall mounted fireplaces, hooked up but we rarely use it. The exhaust outlet is a three inch pipe that ends a good fifteen feet up the back wall.

As I sit here typing, something is banging around in there somewhere (I can't see it) every few minutes. It isn't talking (as in bat chittering or weasel squeaking), but other than mice, the only critters that have tried to move into our house have been weasels and bats. Of course, The Man is away and The Cat is too young to cope.

Perhaps I should sing to it, thus frightening it back up the pipe?

Subject: RE: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: Rowan
Date: 06 Dec 06 - 09:44 PM

Your reference to "weasels and bats" might mean you're in the northern hemisphere with winter coming on. Where I am (the Australian New England) such sounds are usually made by birds looking for nest sites in spring, so my comments may be irrelevant.

In my experience the flapping has been caused by wings against the inside of the flue and the bird can't get out at all unless you detach the flue from the wall, far enough for it to "fall" out of the lower end of the flue. This can be tricky and it can be even trickier to reattach the flue properly. A cap of chicken wire over the top of the flue after your last fire will keep birds (and weasels or bats) out, and won't impede flue gases much if you forget it and light your first winter fire with it in place.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: Bee
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 12:51 PM

It's bats. I ended up chasing one out of the house last night. I strongly suspect there are more, though all's quiet this morning.

It had been very cold for a few days and got very mild last night, so I think their hibernating was a little disturbed. Will figure it out when me mate gets home.

I daren't light a fire in it - it's propane and likely the fumes would leave the critters unconscious and blocking all manner of things guaranteed to start a fire or send propane where I don't want it.

Fortunately, I ain't a-scairt of bats.

I'm real scared of propane, though.

Subject: RE: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: bobad
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 12:54 PM

Some screening at the end of the chimney would fix that problem.

Subject: RE: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: Bee
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 01:10 PM

Bobad, far as I can tell, there is screening up there. I think the bats have used another route, up though the wall into the back of the device. Skin's not real tight on this house, bats don't need much room.

Subject: RE: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: Rowan
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 05:15 PM

One way to get them out may be to heat up the flue to the stage where they leave because it's just too hot to stay there. A safe (but inconvenient) way to do this is to get an electric blanket, set it at the hottest possible setting, wrap it around the flue without blocking their exit route, plug in the lead and turn it on.

If their entrance is not near the top of the flue you may have to poke a temporary block (tin lid nailed to the end of a curtain rod?) down to just above their exit route, and then just heat up that section below them.

Don't do it in the rain, though. And a certain amount of noisy banging on the outside of the flue may help them decide early, once they're warm enough to get moving.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: ranger1
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 05:25 PM

Bats only need a quarter of an inch crack to squeeze into. Try checking with your local fish and wildlife folks to see what they have to suggest.

Subject: RE: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 06:37 PM

Bee, where are you located?

As I said in my PM, our bats leave for the winter and return in late February or March.

The skin's not real tight on our house, either, but we just got a new roof and the roofers closed up where the flying squirrels get in. Unfortunately, they didn't seal up the spaces fore and aft where the bats get in, despite saying they were going to. (Our ladder doesn't reach and besides, it's way up there.)

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: Peace
Date: 07 Dec 06 - 06:44 PM

"All bats in Indiana hibernate. Depending on the species and the temperature control, they may overwinter in a basement or attic if not removed. Having bats in general is a good thing -- they eat many bugs and garden/yard pests, and their feces (guano) makes wonderful fertilizer. However, your opinion of bats may be less favorable if you find them in your living quarters.

First thing, do not use pesticides. One bat species in Indiana is federally endangered, and all are worthy of protection. Adult bats leave their roosts to feed every night and don't need to be coaxed out. If this is a nursery colony, wait until the young can fend for themselves. This doesn't take long -- about five weeks. Most bat pups are born in late June or early July; so by mid-August, even the youngsters should be weaned and well on their way to independence.

Assuming you didn't do anything to knock him down, a bat on the floor is probably sick. It should not be handled with bare hands. Contrary to folklore, bats are no more likely to carry rabies than any other woodland creature. However, taking the chance is foolish. Unlike birds, most bats find it difficult to take flight when lying on a horizontal surface; they normally get airborne by falling instead of flapping their wings. So you should be able to scoop it up in a shovel or dustpan and take it outside.

Healthy bats are very mobile and you probably aren't going to be able to catch them. The best way to get rid of them is to determine where they are getting in and out. You can usually figure this out by the guano on or below the entrance. Wait until they leave to feed, then nail or staple a screen or fine hardware cloth over the opening(s). Do not use netting -- they can get entangled in it -- and they are very good at getting around any fabric. You will be rid of most of them after the first night. If you have some stragglers, they will get very hungry very quickly. Take down the hardware cloth the following evening, let them out too, then put it back up. If the rest of your residence or outbuilding is bat-tight, that should take care of it."

From the www

Subject: RE: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: Gurney
Date: 08 Dec 06 - 01:55 AM

Maybe birds. Once a bird starts down a flue it can only get to the bottom, because they can't do a vertical take-off and they can't climb.
If it is a bird, they don't take long to starve to death.
If you do dismantle the heater to let it out, open all the windows and doors first, and draw the curtains/drapes over the unopening ones. -Unless you like the idea of a panic-stricken sooty bird in your lounge.
Chimneys originally built for open fires often have a side-step just above the fireplace. Maybe it is sitting on there.

I think birds fall asleep and topple off the perch. It wouldn't matter up a tree, but chimneys, now.....

Subject: RE: BS: Weasel or bats in the heater - Ack!
From: Bee
Date: 08 Dec 06 - 07:33 AM

Oh, it's bats. The one I chased (more like opened the doors and encouraged it towards them)out was quite healthy. The thing is, I don't think they are in the flue. I think they are in the back of the wallmounted fireplace, and possibly in the wall. This item is about 40 years old, quite large, and is probably yet another example of the poor skills of a previous owner; there's possibly a small crack or hole around the flue exit.

I'm in Nova Scotia: our bats mostly hibernate. We seem to have a good sized local population where we live. Thanks all for the kind advice!