With September among us, that means bats are preparing for hibernation by eating as much food as possible and searching for a place to roost. If you’re unlucky, they might move into your home, claiming it as theirs. For one Lake Tahoe woman, spooky season arrived early when she discovered an unwanted resident in her apartment.
In an eight-second clip uploaded by @reggiebabie, she walks toward her glowing blue UV Zevo, plugged into an outlet in her apartment. A Zevo is a plugin pest control trap that lures and catches critters, such as flies and gnats. However, what she finds is no ordinary pest.
“I go to unplug my Zevo and what do I find?” When she zooms in on the other side of the plugin trap, there’s a tiny bat curled into the adhesive. “That is a bat,” she says deadpanned.
To lighten the situation, the content creator jokily captions the video, “@Zevo add ‘bat catcher’ to the description bc what is going on rn.”
Viewers react in the comments section
The video amassed 1.2 million views. Many urged @reggiebabie to head to the emergency room.
“BESTIE YOU HAVE TO GET RABIES SHOTS. Take the bat to animal control and have it tested for rabies,” one viewer implored.
“Please please go to an ER and let them know you’ve had a bat in your home. You’ll need several rabies shots,” another echoed.
Furthermore, she wasn’t the only one to find a bat in their home.
“We had a bat in our apt hallway the past couple of days but it’s gone now,” one commenter shared
“I had a bat in my apartment that fell in from the chimney. I was mortified,” a second recalled.
“A few weeks ago I had 3 bats in my house at night time! (3 different nights). They have all gone to be with our dear lord,” a third disclosed.
What did she do?
In a follow-up video, she sits on the couch in her apartment. She did listen to viewers’ advice, revealing the band aids on her arms.
“I have four rabies shots on this arm,” she says, gesturing to her right arm. “And one on this arm,” she adds, nudging her left arm. But the ‘excitement’ doesn’t stop there. “I’m gonna have to go back three more times to get three more rounds of shots,” she says. “The reason I was not surprised is because I’m currently fighting demons in my apartment right now.”
Then, the content creator moves the camera to point to the heater in the corner of the room. “There was a creature in my heater on Saturday.” To prove it, she shares a quick clip from Instagram of a creature squirming around behind the unit. After a trip from the maintenance worker earlier in the day, the mysterious culprit turned out to be a rat. On the flip side, @reggiebabie plans to drop the bat off at a shelter.
“So, the little guy was already deceased,” she says. “The bat is in a nice, safe place and he’s gonna be taken to the wildlife shelter tomorrow.” She adds, “How did the bat get in here? I think it was the heater.”
How does a bat enter buildings?
Unlike most critters, bats don’t need a large space to get inside a building. Since they are flexible and have an eye for entryways in buildings, they can fit through tiny openings. In fact, they can squeeze through a half-inch opening, which is the size of a dime, according to Alpha Wildlife. As a result, they can slide through cracks, roof edges, vents, chimneys, eaves, and more.
How to safely remove a bat
Since bats are a protected species and mishandling them is a penalty, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services offer five techniques to get rid of bats humanely:
- Contact the state department of natural resources
- Open any windows or doors to allow the bat to escape on its own
- Wear thick work gloves to capture the bat with your hands, a sturdy container, a tight-knit material or bag, and release it
- Do not release them in inclement weather or below 50 degrees Fahrenheit
- Get the shot if exposed to rabies
@reggiebabie @Zevo add “bat catcher” to the description bc what is going on rn #zevo #bat #spookyseason ♬ original sound – reggiebabie
The Mary Sue reached out to @reggiebabie via TikTok comment and direct message.
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