New York City's Best Bat Removal

What are some of the symptoms of a sick bat?

Bats are one of the most common household intruders in the United States. With humanity expanding more and more, a bat's natural habitat has become more and more limited, thus forcing the creatures to find shelter where they can. Often, this means they sneak into your attic or your walls, looking for shelter. While that in itself doesn't sound so bad, a bat can be quite bad news for you and your family, since they're notorious carriers of disease. So in this article, we will look at some common symptoms of a sick bat.

Visible wounds

One of the best ways to tell if a bat (or any kind of animal, really) has become ill is to look for visible wounds. Similarly, if the bat is bleeding, that may also be a good indicator that it has recently been in a brawl with another predator and may have contracted a disease that way. Alternatively, the wounds might not be the result of an altercation, but rather symptoms of its disease (like sores). 

Aggressive behavior

Most people tend to assume that bats are dangerous predators, when in fact, that's not the case. It's easy to imagine that a bat will fly at you, ready for an attack, but bats rarely do that. For one thing, they have seriously impaired vision, which makes it difficult for them to see you. Second, you are much larger than a bat, so attacking you might not be such a good idea. Like many rodents (think rats or mice), a bat will usually attack only if it feels cornered, and like it has no other option. For bats, fleeing is much easier than fighting. 

All of that being said, if the bat on your property does decide to attack or displays unnaturally aggressive behavior, this might be a telltale sign of an underlying condition. Needless to say that in such cases, you need to avoid the bat at all costs and call a professional.

Foaming 

Foaming around the mouth is another really common sign of disease in bats. It most commonly indicates infection with rabies, which can and often does end up being fatal to the animal. It also causes irrational actions, which may endanger you, your family, and your pets.

Erratic flying

Bats are, by nature, excellent flyers. They may have poor eyesight, but they have an incredible sense of navigation to rely on when flying, so it's not common for bats to fly oddly. So if you do see a bat seeming disoriented or displaying unusual flying patterns, this may well be a sign of disease, which is impairing the animal's sense of navigation.

Similarly, an infection can also cause the bat to experience trouble flying altogether.

Self-mutilation

One of the most gruesome symptoms of disease in a bat is the fact that it may try to harm itself. This happens because it is experiencing severe disorientation and trouble focusing. Infection can cause the bat to misunderstand or misjudge a situation, and lead to such extreme displays of aggressiveness, not only towards others but also towards itself.

What can you do with a sick bat?

In general, if you find there is a bat on your property, you will want to remove it as swiftly as possible, to prevent infection, but also damage to your property. If you suspect that said bat might be ill, it's recommended that you call in a professional immediately, and do not attempt to capture the bat yourself. Doing so can be tricky enough with a bat in perfect condition, but if the animal is infected and confused, it can lash out at you, and cause serious damage.