When you encounter a bat (or bats), unless you are very familiar with them, it can be difficult to determine what is normal behavior. Below, I've listed tips for handling some common situations that have been reported to me.

BCI Bat Rescue Rehabilitators in the U.S.

	Do not handle wildlife of any kind. Animals may bite in self defense, even if your intention is to help. Any wild animal you can approach without its escaping has a higher than normal chance of being sick or injured.
	See the table below for information on how to deal with some common situations involving bats.
	For more information on bat boxes, exclusions, or what to do when you encounter a bat, use the links above-right or contact me.

Scenario	Explanation	Action to Take
There is a bat hanging on the wall outside my house.	The bat did not make it home last night.	Wait to see if the bat leaves at night.
The bat is still hanging on the wall at night.	The bat may be sick or injured.	Contact me or click links to Bat Rescue and Rehabilitators in the U.S.
I opened a door to an old building and bats fell to the ground, shivering.	Bats drop their body temperature and heart rate during the day. They warm up by shivering.	Give the bats a few minutes to warm up and fly away.
Some of the shivering bats flew away, but some are still on the ground.	If it is late spring or early summer, they may be flightless young.	Contact me. I will help you get them back in the roost or in an alternative roost.
There are many bats roosting in my eves and I would prefer not to have them there.	If it is spring or summer, this may be a maternity roost where mothers raise their young (bats have 1 pup each year). Young bats take 2-6 weeks to learn to fly.	Find where the bats are exiting and count them. When the number of exiting bats doubles you can conduct an exclusion* without trapping flightless young inside.
I want to conduct an exclusion, but haven't been able to confirm the number of bats in the roost.	Fall is a good time to conduct an exclusion. If you put up a bat box prior to the exclusion, you retain the benefit of having the bats present and eating nocturnal insects.  The more time the bats have to locate the box prior to the exclusion, the greater the chances of successfully relocating them.	Go to the BCI link & click on "Bats in the Home?" for a description of this low-cost procedure.
There is a bat flying around inside a building.	It entered accidentally, possibly chasing an insect.	Open doors and windows for it to exit. (If you stand in the middle of the room, it may appear that the bat is flying toward you as it tries to gain altitude. Try standing near the same surface so it can fly away from you.)

stremington@earthlink.net