Going batty over bats?  Although having bats in your attic probably won't directly cause structural damage to your home, the droppings, or guano, left behind by even a small colony, could result in unpleasant odors and an unsightly mess.

 

There is also the slight possibility that bats may pose a health risk related to the transmission of rabies.  On the other hand, some people may just feel uncomfortable knowing that they are sharing their home with bats.  Call it the "creepiness factor".

 

Since insect-eating bats can eat thousands of bugs in a single night (you'll appreciate them on a hot summer evening), one should take special care to deliver them safely back into the environment once removed from the home.

 

Here are some tips on removal and exclusion:   

• Locate the access points that the bats are using to gain entry
• Install one-way exits to remove the bats
• Seal the entry points
• Clean-up
• Provide an alternate home for the bats

In general, bat exclusions should not be conducted from May through early August. Exclusions occurring during this time period may separate mothers from their young, leaving the pups to die of starvation. Frantic mothers, searching for an opening to reach their pups, may enter adjacent living spaces and be more difficult to deal with than what you started with. Also, by trapping the flightless young inside, you risk creating another problem involving the smell of dead animals.

 

See below for some recommended solutions to support your bat exclusion efforts.  Or, if you prefer go shopping and use the following coupon code at checkout for any products ! 

Want to learn more about inspecting a home for bats, bat removal tools, and bat exclusion methods?  WCS offers an informative DVD, Bats: Removal & Exclusion Simplified, featuring Alan Huot, founder of WCS, and Jim Dreisacker, bat exclusion expert and innovator of the BatCone line of products.  Between them, they have over 60 years of wildlife control experience!  Learn from the experts!

 

The remaining bats and future bats will still find their way into attics or similar roosting space until you seal up all access points. Note that bats are not rodents and therefore will not chew their way into a structure if you close off the opening. They use only existing openings.

  

 

         

  

STEP 4 - BAT HOUSES: During a successful exclusion, the bats will have a good chance of staying nearby. Why should you care if they stay? A single bat can eat 1,000 or more mosquito-sized insects in one hour and the equivalent of the bat's own body weight per night. As that is just a single bat, you can imagine what a colony of 20 to 100 bats can eat in one night. Bats will NOT attack you while you are enjoying an evening on your porch. Instead, they are enjoyable to view as they capture thousands of insect pests that would normally be interrupting your relaxing night outside. You can enjoy the benefits by providing bats with an alternative place to live.