I find a few of these every winter as I load out the boiler. I'm always thankful when I hear them hissing or squealing and find them realatively uninjured. Though, I am sure they are shaken up a bit with their hibernation spot shifting around. Brown Bats. I keep telling myself that I need to build some bat houses for these guys. They do us such a great service, especially with a pond in the back yard.
Yikes! and i thought finding a snake or mouse was interesting! Ive encountered them many times on the roof but never in a woodpile/shed! How alert was it? Had one get in my former house years back. GF at the time freaked out, but me and the cats thought it was cool!
buZZsaw BRAD , It was not alert at all. It could hardly move. But I heard it soon enough that I know that I didn't crush it. Our dog, Harley, was very interested in the noise it was making. She came in trying to liberate a split, and heard the bat squeaking. I moved the split it where it was clinging to another location, in the shed. It will probably stay there until we have another warm day and move on elsewhere.
One day I was resting on a rock outcrop during a spring canoe trip for the May fishing opener in northern MN. The lake ice was melted along shore enough to get to our campsite. It was probably the first really "warm" day in the spring time. Anyways while I was taking in the lake views I noticed something working itself out of crack in the shield rock. It was a bat. It came out and laid there by me until it warmed a bit, then stretched it's wings. It was still laying there enjoying the warmth when I got up to set up camp. Later it was gone, but I suspect it crawled back into it's crack until the next warm day which, which was not the next day as it got cold with sleet and snow showers, followed by a cold NW wind until we left a few days later.
Cool bat. I usually find spiders in my piles. The big ones creep me out. Like wolf spiders? I think. Big for here anyway. But I try to save them by using some bark or a stick and setting them off somewhere where they can go away.
A couple years ago, I was fishing on a lake of a few thousand acres and was in the middle, so, it was a long way from shore. The shallow lake, probably averages 8 feet, is full of cypress trees. Fish are around the trees. Duh. As I neared a snag, I couldn't believe my eyes. The biggest non-tarantula spider I have ever seen! It looked kinda like a wolf spider but was real camoflauged gray/black. I took pictures, I hope I still have them. It was probably 3-4 inch leg span. I would like to ask an entomologist about that spider! Better yet, an arachnologist!
How about a wood spider from my stacks? Rather ironic for a hoarder! My stepson found this spider while on a family picnic over the Summer. Biggest ive ever seen! Both were released, unharmed!
I guess it's just me but any spider with meat on it's bones like that one on your finger is a dead one if I have any say.
Hugely beneficial critters, creepy as they are; maybe you could try to learn not to kill them. Just find something like a long paper towel or stick and let them climb up, take them outside. Same thing with snakes, I do not kill snakes. They just trying to get out of the way 99% of the time.
i was doing a roof years back. It was late November. Tearing off the old shingles. Lifted an old piece of metal flashing to find three bats hibernating. I had work to do, didnt want to harm them so i pushed them into the attic onto the blanket of loose fill insulation. The section of attic was inacessable from inside. I later told the homeowner who wasnt too happy with my decision.
I noticed thick black smoke coming from our oil furnace chimney (I know,I know) about 2 weeks ago. Thought it might be a bad nozzle. Called the repair dude. He pulled the burner out to check the nozzle and when he shined his light in the burner he found the problem. Poor bat. He said they come down the chimney and see the burner glow and head for it. Said he has found dozens in burners.
I built some bat boxes for my wife's garden club years ago. Ironically we never ended up with one of them. They are easy to build and plans are all over the internet for whatever size you want. I had even painted the outside black on them and stencilled yellow batman logo's on them... The bats didn't care what they looked like though...
