Anyone who receives a visit from a bat in their four walls should keep calm and simply bring them outside again. This is best done with gardening gloves and a cardboard box.
Bats sometimes flutter into apartments and frighten the residents there - but there is no reason to panic. They usually don't get too close to humans.
"Bats are completely harmless and do not fly into people's hair or face," says Prof. Theo Mantel, President of the German Association of Veterinarians. The animals fly away especially in August and September - the reason is probably exploration flights for possible winter quarters.
First and foremost, the tiny pipistrelle - the size of a matchbox - is drawn into buildings. There the animals hide behind pictures, curtains or in floor vases. If you don't leave the apartment right away, you can call the local nature conservation authority, nature conservation association or veterinary office. The experts advise or take the animals outside professionally.
Some people call the fire brigade directly if they discover a bat in their home in the evening or at night. "Keep calm and describe the case to the emergency services," advises Silvia Darmstädter from the German Fire Brigade Association. However, not all fire brigades were deployed because of a bat. In addition, any costs that may arise should be clarified over the phone.
If you want to help the animals yourself or find an injured or flightless bat on the street, you are not allowed to touch it with your bare hands. "Bats can transmit bat rabies," warns Mantel. It is better to either take the animal with thick work or gardening gloves or to wrap it carefully in a thick towel.
Then you should put the animals in a lockable cardboard box, fix the lid with a rubber band or adhesive tape and pierce the cardboard with air holes the size of a pin.
A stray bearded dragon would also not be a reason to panic. But a hobby gardener from Düsseldorf was surprised by such a lizard and thought it was a dangerous Varan.
dpa