Live and let live, but not when it comes to bats in your house
Blame all the vampires out there, but bats have an unearned reputation for being terrifying creatures of the night. In reality, bats are gentle creatures that are important to the planet’s ecosystem. However, you still don’t want bats on or around your property, as the droppings are dangerous to pets and children, and these mammals occasionally carry rabies.
So, what do you do if you discover bats living in your home? Read on to learn how to get rid of bats.
Bats wander into a home looking for shelter, water, or food. If you discover bats in the attic, for instance, they are likely escaping the cold and preparing to roost. Bats much prefer a climate-controlled environment to weathering the outdoors, but they need an entry point. If you have obvious holes that bats can squeeze through, you’ve essentially offered them an extended invitation. Before too long, these critters can burrow through the insulation and make a home inside the wall cavity.
Droppings: Spotting feces in your home often conjures thoughts of mice and rats but can also point to bats. How do you tell the difference? Guano (bat feces) is shinier than rodent droppings, with a speckled appearance.
Squeaking sounds: Bats and mice create similar sounds when roaming around wall cavities, but bats are primarily active at night.
Urine stains: Look for milky-white urine stains on windows or near obvious entry holes, like cracks and crevices.
Grease and dirt: Bats often come into contact with grease, dirt, and debris during their travels, so look for tell-tale smudges of these substances at various entry points.
In some ways, bats are a boon for your home. They eat insects and tend to make themselves scarce, often hiding behind the insulation in the attic. However, these flying mammals require removal for a number of important reasons.
Disease: Bats carry some serious diseases that can spread to humans, including rabies and a fungal infection called histoplasmosis.
Increased allergies: Studies show that living in a home with bats causes allergic reactions in certain individuals, with severe symptoms like chest congestion and even asthma.
Structural damage: Bats can chew and claw their way through insulation to get through to the wall cavity, requiring expensive repairs, and their droppings slowly eat away at wood and related materials.
Foul odors: Bat guano and urine are smelly, and the odor tends to compound over time rather than fade away.
There are a number of DIY and professional methods to safely and humanely remove a single bat or an entire bat colony from your home. Remember, bats are a protected species in most parts of the country, so use humane processes to remove these pests, and always wear protective gear when dealing with these creatures.
In the wild, bats prefer caves, but in developed parts of the country, bats nest in chimneys, wall cracks, attics, roof eaves, and other cozy locations. Closing these entry points drastically reduces the chance of bats choosing your property as a nesting spot.
Seal up any obvious holes or cracks with a commercially available foam sealant while wearing the appropriate safety gear. As for chimney holes and roof eaves, install a specially designed metal mesh to dissuade the creatures from nesting. Local bat control pros can access high-grade versions of this mesh, but commercial options are available.
Many bat-repellent sprays on the market are safe for humans and their nocturnal roommates. Natural sprays made of unpleasant scents to bats, like peppermint and spearmint, can effectively keep bats away. When applied strategically, these sprays deter bats from nesting and roosting. Start by spraying entry points, resting spots, and any hollow spaces in which bats like to hang out.
Just like their fictional vampiric counterparts, bats loathe bright lights. Use this to your advantage and install bat-repelling lighting fixtures throughout your property. Invest in powerful strobe lights and face them upward toward your roof eaves or wherever else bats congregate at night. You can also install bright flashing lights in your attic if necessary.
Bats dislike temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, so install space heaters in and around nests in the attic, crawl spaces, and any other indoor location and crank them to the highest setting. Once installed, check on the heaters every few hours to ensure that the heat is contained and everything is safe and sound. Keep the heat pumping for one or two days.
Remove viable food sources, and you’ll also remove the bats. Different bat species boast differing dietary needs, so you must identify the bat type first. Some like insects, some like fruit, but most subsist on both.
Cover any fruits in your garden with bird netting to prevent access, and do the same for flower beds, as some bats sip nectar. As for insects, bats prefer beetles, moths, and mosquitos. Hire an exterminator near you to handle insect infestations and instruct them to use insecticides that do not harm bats or other animals.
Bat exclusion is the primary removal method used by pros and involves installing one-way openings near the nesting grounds. The bats fly out of these openings to feed but can’t crawl back in due to the nature of the one-way design. It’s best to start this process in late summer or early spring, as May finds pregnant females giving birth to pups who cannot fly and, thus, access the openings.
Begin by identifying entrance points and purchasing appropriately sized one-way openings purpose-made for bat exclusion. Leave your exclusion device up for at least a week to see results.
Bats are tricky, especially when an infestation has reached critical mass. Call in a local bat removal expert to handle the heavy lifting. Bat removal costs an average of $470, depending on the infestation’s severity and any accessibility issues. Pros are adept at removing populated colonies and use a combination of methods, such as exclusion, repellants, and sealing off entrance points.
Once the bats have flown the coop, do the work to ensure they don’t come right back. Here are some preventive steps worth taking.
Clean thoroughly: Clean any area that the bats call home. Use water and bleach for airborne pathogens and a non-ammonia soap or detergent for scrubbing. Make sure to wear rubber gloves and an N95 respirator as you do this.
Seal all entry points: Go around your property and double-check for any potential entry points. Seal them up with caulk or related materials as necessary.
Apply deodorizers: You want to eliminate any bat-related odors for two reasons. First of all, it stinks, but more importantly, the odor will attract wandering bats. Use enzyme deodorizers in areas where bat guano is concentrated.
Repair insulation: Bats love destroying insulation, so you’ll likely have a repair job on your hands once they leave. Repairing the insulation is a must for your home, but it also helps stave off any returning bats.
Stay vigilant: Bats can live to the ripe old age of 30 and have fantastic memories, so don’t let up once the bats are gone.
You likely noticed that many of the above methods are preventative in nature. That’s because DIY exclusion is a risky proposition best left to the professionals. These bat removal specialists have the expertise to not only identify the specific bat species, thus informing the exclusion process but will remove them safely and humanely. They’ll also be familiar with local laws regarding various bat removal practices. Professional bat removal can cost $500 or more.
Certain smells do repel bats, though this isn’t a foolproof method. Try applying essential oil sprays like mint, eucalyptus, cinnamon, or peppermint to possible entry points and throughout the attic. Mix together two cups of warm water with a half cup of sugar and a few drops of your preferred essential oil. Put this mixture in a spray bottle and go to town.
No, mothballs do not keep bats away. Not only are mothballs completely ineffective when repelling or removing bats, but using them could be illegal, depending on where you live. Remember, bats are federally protected, and it's illegal to use chemicals during the removal process, and mothballs tend to fall into this category.
This depends on if their needs are being met. They'll likely return night after night if they have access to food, water, and adequate shelter. If this changes, they’ll look for another roosting spot. This is why bright lights and other dissuading factors often work when removing bats from a property.
