Bats? (Austin, Tyler, West: houses, live in, dangerous)

[destin04]

We recently moved to East Texas, north of Tyler. The last 3 nights around 8p we have a bat fly under our front porch and cozy up in a corner and it sits there with it's back to us. It was still there at 10:30 last night. When we wake up in morning it is gone. It doesn't return until about 8pm again. I don't know a lot about bats....but can it hurt us? A neighbor said to leave it alone because it will eat bugs and mosquitos.
Anyone have advice? Will he start bringing his friends? I hope not!

[Trainwreck20]

Bats eat bugs - including mosquitos, which in my book makes 'em a good thing. If you see a bat that appears 'aggressive', disoriented, or sick, then avoid it and probably call 311 or whatever, since bats can carry rabies.

[Pontificator]

My son would want me to tell you about one of his favorite sites:
http://www.batcon.org

Those bats are a great part of the eco-system, and probably with the advent of the West Nile Virus, should be doubly appreciated! But I'm with you, I'd still have the willies if one took up residence on my porch!!

[emailvasally]

When I first started seeing them in VA I totally freaked out.
the neighbors were talking about how great they were so I did some research and now I dont mind them. I had even thought about making some "bat homes" to coax them in!

anyway I live in texas now and have seen a few but not a lot. I would leave it alone. mosquitos get bad around here. You need all the help you can get.

[destin04]

Can we still walk out our front door and he will just leave us alone? He doesn't seem to be bothered by our activity. The porch light doesn't bother him...but it just worries me...because they are furry little things......

[emailvasally]

in my experience and the little bit of reading done, they wont bother you at all. They will just ignore you unless you get to close. Just leave him alone.
I suggest you start reading up on them. they are fun to watch too.

[BlosmTX]

Oh I think you're so lucky! My husband and I are actually considering building a bat house (similar to a bird house) in our back yard because we'd love to attract some to the house! They aren't dangerous, eat bugs, and I think they're actually pretty cute
They're not usually aggressive, so don't worry about going out on your porch, but I wouldn't pet one either since they can carry various diseases.

[love roses]

I wouldn't worry either. Just watch him for odd behaviors like Trainwrecked says. But it sounds like he's just a healthy bat who likes your front porch. Maybe it would be a good idea to put a bat house up and see if he moves into it.

[jeffari-al-texani]

Bats are fantastic creatures, but I think that's already been covered. They will eat flying insects, which makes them ACE in my book!

I was supervising a remodel in Austin, and we used to see them flying around the parking lot at night. Watching them zoom in on their prey was a very interesting sight.

[destin04]

Lowes Hardware carries "bat houses" so I'm going to go get one today.