# Should I be afraid of bats (the flying kind, not the baseball kind)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 19, 2002, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-afraid-of-bats-the-flying-kind-not-the-baseball-kind/119834 "2002-07-19T16:51:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-afraid-of-bats-the-flying-kind-not-the-baseball-kind/119834/21 "2002-07-20T18:37:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by perspective \* > **Keep in mind that squirrels can contact rabies too, but you probably aren’t afraid of them.** That’s because squirrels don’t have wings that look like they belong on Satan or a fire-breathing dragon! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-afraid-of-bats-the-flying-kind-not-the-baseball-kind/119834/22 "2002-07-20T21:22:05Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s because squirrels don’t have wings that look like they belong on Satan or a fire-breathing dragon! C. S. Lewis once pointed out that angels are pictured as having bird wings and demons bat wings because most people like birds better than bats. But he likes beaurocrats even less than either, hence the demons in _The Screwtape Letters_. ---
**Author:** ![katie1341](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-afraid-of-bats-the-flying-kind-not-the-baseball-kind/119834/23 "2002-07-20T22:57:52Z")
Geez, now I feel a little silly for even being creeped out. In retrospect, they may not have been that close, but it sure seemed like it, compared to how far away they usually are. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-afraid-of-bats-the-flying-kind-not-the-baseball-kind/119834/24 "2002-07-21T00:18:57Z")
“[Texas](http://www.batcon.org/discover/txguide.html) is the home of not only the largest known bat colony in the world, near San Antonio, but also the most famous urban bat colony, in Austin.” ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-afraid-of-bats-the-flying-kind-not-the-baseball-kind/119834/25 "2002-07-22T01:34:49Z")
**Chandeleur** We put up a standard size bat house on the west side of our house. No baiting was necessary, the little mosquito hunters just moved right in. This link will provide all of the info you need. [Bat house](http://www.batconservation.org/content/bathouse/bathouse.htm) By the way, we once rented a cabin in Maine for a week. On the first night there Mr. Honey and I were in bed when a bat went hell-bent-for nellie around the room. He then took his position on the window frame about 6 feet from our heads. He shared that cabin with us for the rest of the week. We went to sleep each night with his little mousy face peering down at us from that window frame. I have to say, he was the best roommate I’ve ever had. Bats are good. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-afraid-of-bats-the-flying-kind-not-the-baseball-kind/119834/26 "2002-07-22T21:30:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Honey \* > \*\ ***Chandeleur** > > We put up a standard size bat house on the west side of our house. No baiting was necessary, the little mosquito hunters just moved right in. > > This link will provide all of the info you need. > [Bat house](http://www.batconservation.org/content/bathouse/bathouse.htm) > > By the way, we once rented a cabin in Maine for a week. On the first night there Mr. Honey and I were in bed when a bat went hell-bent-for nellie around the room. He then took his position on the window frame about 6 feet from our heads. He shared that cabin with us for the rest of the week. We went to sleep each night with his little mousy face peering down at us from that window frame. I have to say, he was the best roommate I’ve ever had. > > Bats are good. \*\* Heh, that’s kinda funny, cuz I live in Maine now. It’s pretty rural where I live, and there’s plenty of bats around; we’d just like to have them close to the house. Thanks for the info & link! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-afraid-of-bats-the-flying-kind-not-the-baseball-kind/119834.md?page=1)