Bats can be roused fairly easily from hibernation, and often are able to fly 10-15 minutes after being handled. Most favor cave zones having the lowest stable temperature above freezing. During winter, bats may awaken and move about within a cave to zones of more optimum temperature. In many caves, bats of several species hibernate together. A number of misconceptions exist about them.
Bats are no more apt to contract rabies than other warm-blooded animals.
A host of scientific studies indicate that healthy bats do not attack people, and even rabid bats rarely become aggressive. Bats need to keep themselves extremely clean to fly. They host no more parasites than other animals, and parasites that do afflict bats are very specialized and rarely pose problems to humans. Histoplasmosis, caused by a soil fungus that can grow in accumulated bird and bat droppings, does not, as a rule, survive in hot dry attics. However, as a precaution, it's recommended that you wear a respirator when stirring up dust in bat quarters or cleaning out large accumulations of droppings.