That's a monster they don't get that big up here .

Them recluse spiders cause some massive skin damage . I've seen with my own eyes unreal bites Get infected the size of a paper plate with nickel size green puss heads milking out this infection . The bites I've seen we're all on kids that got bitten in there sleep . Unreal sight poor kids felt bad for them .

I got attacked by bat bugs moving a bat house one time . They went to feeding on the back of my neck not good feeling and kinda scary seeing who there last meal was . That was my first encounter with this demon bug . Thought they were some kinda tick at the time . Never again will I try to move a active bat house or will I suggest hanging bat house around people's yards . Got a video some where on a old phone of the bat house being moved . The one bat couldn't even fly off because it was wieghed down by these red demon bugs .

I could see how you could get them on you in a bad way moving a bat box without bats present, a blood meal is a blood meal even if your preferred meal is bats.

I've had dozens at a time fall from roosts during surveys and they (when bats are present) are always quick to go back up the toward the roost, have yet to bring one home with me and good PPE is a practical practice regardless for fleas and other external parasites on any wildlife we work with.

Having a bat box in the yard shouldn't be a problem for folks in a house 30-50 feet away, plenty of folks have boxes on their chimneys and have had for decades without seeing issues as well.

Too many variables exist....do what you are comfortable with I suppose... I would like to see the pic of the bat who can't fly due to bat bugs on it, it is well documented that bats will roost switch when parasite loads get too heavy at one location.

Wow, great topic. Ron, do you know of any studies done on correlation between bat colonies/bat bugs/brown recluses?