How to get rid of a bat in the auditorium
- Thread starterchieftfac
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TimmyP1955
Well-Known Member
The trouble with a dog whistle is: How do you know if it works?
techieman33
Well-Known Member
You test it on a dog or a cat first. Or better yet go to the local zoo and check out the bat exhibit.
I used to work at a theater that was a very old building, and bats were a common sight... They loved to make their presence known during shows by flying around the catwalks, and swooping the stage... during scenes... with some very frightened actors trying to not break character.... we named it Bruce Wayne, then one day it found a buddy bat... of course we named that one Robin the Boy Wonder... we caught them multiple times but they always found their way back in... Remember kids, its illegal to kill bats (at least in Wisconsin). They certainly keep us on our toes, and provided hours of entertainment!
MarshallPope
Well-Known Member
I've had to catch bats in theatres... and have had the rabies shots to prove it. Last year, we had a pretty bad bat problem in one of our spaces on campus. It's not easy to catch bats in a 1500-seat theatre. They would fly around and swoop the stage during rehearsals and shows. A couple of them visited the stage during the finale of our pageant. That was an entertaining one. Here's a video of them swooping during a concert:
IIRC, we counted 5 or 6 in the air on that particular night. Eventually, we went up into the ceiling, climbed across a beam, and found a cluster of somewhere between 150 and 200 of the little guys inside a spot where the roof flashing had come loose. We had a sonic bat repeller that we left on during the nights, but it didn't seem to do that much good. If you can get them into a smaller space, though, they aren't that hard to catch. We were able to drive one from the stage into a hallway thanks to some color guard girls and their flags, and then I was pretty easily able to catch him in a sheet.
I also had one show up at my summerstock gig, unannounced - he dropped from the ceiling onto the drummer's knee. I took him outside wrapped in a paper towel. That is, at least, until he got tired of the paper towel and crawled out, and tried to nibble at my finger. I don't think he ever broke skin, but better safe than sorry - Rabies shots! Yay! /sarcasm
IIRC, we counted 5 or 6 in the air on that particular night. Eventually, we went up into the ceiling, climbed across a beam, and found a cluster of somewhere between 150 and 200 of the little guys inside a spot where the roof flashing had come loose. We had a sonic bat repeller that we left on during the nights, but it didn't seem to do that much good. If you can get them into a smaller space, though, they aren't that hard to catch. We were able to drive one from the stage into a hallway thanks to some color guard girls and their flags, and then I was pretty easily able to catch him in a sheet.
I also had one show up at my summerstock gig, unannounced - he dropped from the ceiling onto the drummer's knee. I took him outside wrapped in a paper towel. That is, at least, until he got tired of the paper towel and crawled out, and tried to nibble at my finger. I don't think he ever broke skin, but better safe than sorry - Rabies shots! Yay! /sarcasm
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Chris Chapman
Active Member
We had a bat in our house and we got rid of it this way.
1.) When sent high frequency feedback into the house mains, when the bat flew onstage, we dropped the main.
2.) We opened our loading doors to the outside world.
3.) Repeated the feedback onstage with monitors.
4.) Bat took off very very fast.
I was surprised how easy it was, since we didn't have chase the critter down, and swing at it, etc.
1.) When sent high frequency feedback into the house mains, when the bat flew onstage, we dropped the main.
2.) We opened our loading doors to the outside world.
3.) Repeated the feedback onstage with monitors.
4.) Bat took off very very fast.
I was surprised how easy it was, since we didn't have chase the critter down, and swing at it, etc.
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Let's not go off the deep end here and spread myths. Airborne rabies is extremely rare and is only documented to have happened a couple of times in caves with high concentrations of bats. Rabies is spread by being bitten or having infected saliva come in contact with open wounds.
Rabies transmission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Understanding Rabies : The Humane Society of the United States
I say drop a bat gobo into your favorite moving light or swiveling ellipsoidal, fly it around the room while playing a love song. Or maybe
Bats, Bats, Bats - YouTube
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