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How to Get Rid of Bats

September 15th, 2006 by admin
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1. Holy Bats, Batman! What are Bats Anyway?

Bats are mammals, the only mammal that has evolved the capability of true flight. They are also a common object of phobias, but of the more than 1,000 known species of bats less than 10 feed on the blood of other mammals. The vast majority of bats feed on insects and fruits. Most bats that live in the US feed exclusively on insects – in fact, every night a single bat can consume its body weight in insects making them a very useful and natural insect-control measure and a vital part of our ecosystem.

If you find yourself in an area swarming with insects, you might consider erecting a bat house to attract these animals to your property. This will give the bats a safe-haven and help control your local insect population – but this article is about getting rid of them. If you would like more information about buying or building a bat house, check out the PDF documents available on this website: BatCon.org.

2. What Attracts Bats to Your Property?

Bats, like most animals, follow the path of least resistance. They flourish in areas abundant in food, shelter, and the absence of predators. If you live in an area that is uniquely habitable for any particular species of bat, don’t be surprised if they try and move in.

Bats usually roost in dark, quiet, enclosed spaces where they are least likely to be disturbed by predators or inclement weather. Their natural habitats are caves and other such secluded areas and this is why your barn, shed or attic can be so attractive to a bat in search of safety. Some species are less picky and will roost in trees and dense foliage.

Bats roost for three reasons:

  1. To digest the night’s meal: After a long night of feeding, it’s not uncommon to spot a lone bat hanging from an awning or off a tree as it digests the night’s catch. Technically this is resting, not 'roosting'.
  2. Hibernation: During the colder months, depending on your geographic location, bats will seek out secluded spaces with stable conditions to hibernate and wait out the cold season. They often roost in groups and make use of each other’s body heat to keep one another warm.
  3. Breeding: Bats will choose protected environments for the creation of nursery colonies. Nursery colonies are where female bats nurse their babies to self-sufficiency. It’s common for several hundred mother bats to share the same roost with each other creating a ‘colony’ of babies and mothers. Maternity season for bats in the United States and Canada is usually from late April to late August.

Bats can fit into openings as small as 1/2" making almost every man-made structure a virtual smorgasbord of potential hiding places. Some of the places that bats have been found in man-made structures include but are not limited to:

  • Attics
  • Storage sheds
  • Barns
  • Unused and open structures (Dog houses - Learn how to build a dog house, stables, etc)
  • Chimneys
  • Louvers
  • Soffits
  • Siding
  • Eaves
  • Roof tiles and shingles
  • Behind shutters

3. What to do if You Encounter a Bat

Bats are relatively timid creatures that normally go out of their way to avoid contact with humans. This is why you should be extremely careful if you encounter one up close and personal. Less than 1/2 of a percent of bats carry rabies, but those that do are more likely to become sick or disoriented increasing their likelihood of coming into contact with someone. Of the few rabies cases reported each year in the U.S., over half of them are caused by bat bites, so be very cautious when in close proximity and do not handle the bat with bare hands.

Bat Bites

Bat bitesBat bites aren’t always noticeable, they usually aren’t very painful so it’s possible for somebody to get bitten while they are sleeping or otherwise distracted. If you or anyone in your household has been exposed to a bat and you aren’t 100% sure that they weren’t bitten, it should be captured and brought with you to your doctor to be tested for rabies. This is especially important in the case of a child who is found with a bat as they may not admit to getting bitten or understand the potential risk. Don’t panic – rabies is still extremely rare, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, right?

Getting a Bat Out of Your House

If a bat wanders into your home through an open door or window, the best way to usher it out is to seal it off from the rest of the house by closing the doors to adjacent rooms and opening all of the windows in the room in which it resides. Just give it a few hours and it will usually leave all by itself. If it decides to stick around or you simply don’t have the patience to wait for it to leave, you can capture the bat and release it outside.

How to Capture a Bat

If you find yourself in a situation where you must capture a bat to either bring it to your doctor or release it outside of your home, the most important thing to remember is not to handle it with your bare hands. If you’re not particularly squeamish around bats then you can dawn a pair of heavy work gloves and use them to grab it and transport it out doors. A more agreeable method to those who would rather not get so close would be to take a small container such as a coffee can or shoebox, place it over the bat, and then slide a rigid piece of cardboard underneath to trap it in the container. You can then open the container outside to free the bat, or tape it shut (don’t forget air-holes) and bring it with you to your doctor if somebody may have been bitten.

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  1. squirmy Says:
    June 30th, 2009 at 6:18 am

    Get a airsoft gun. Good moving target practice.

  2. Steve Hesselton Says:
    June 5th, 2009 at 11:09 pm

    My girlfiend woke up the other night to a BAT and freaked out as if she was having a heart attack! I had to rent her a hotel for a few nights while my friends and I stayed at the house with a six pack camping and waiting for the little stinker to show up again. Well, he didn’t show up, just when she’s here! How do you find where the bat is coming from? I live in Worcester, MA, does anyone know a good exterminator? I hope that they aren’t breeding in my attic or something… oh man, I’m hoping I find his ass tonight!!!

  3. nancy Says:
    June 5th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    To all the folks on this message board, please know that killing bats is ILLEGAL so try to find an alternative to getting rid of them. Call a reputable pest control company that will relocate them & seal their point of entry. I know it costs money but in the long run it will be worth it. Killing a single bat or several will not prevent more of them from entering your living space.

  4. nancy Says:
    June 5th, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    To Shameer Mohamed. I don’t understand your post. Did the building you moved into was vacant for a year & a half? If so you may have a colony of bats since most empty buildings not habitated by humans for long periods tend to attract bats & other critters. In this case your only option (honestly) is to get a professional to deal with this situation. Bats are very territorial & will return to their roost even if transported miles away unless their point of entry is blocked. Unless you know where they are entering (100%) they will find a way in. I know what I’m talking about because I study bats for a living. Please know that about 1% of bat population are rabid, however do not approach a bat flying around your home without protection especially if it seems sickly or combatative. If at all possible & if you’re not too scared open a door & try to get him out. If that is not an option I hate to suggest this but for your safety use a big towel & hit it, they are easily brought down. I don’t advocate killing them, however if you have no other means (financially) of getting them out that may be your only recourse. Good luck & hope it turns out out well. Almost all bats I have studied (big/small brown bats) are very timid & avoid human contact unless they get confused with their surroundings & inadvertently invade your living area. That said, if the living area was previously empty they may consider it their domain. This info. is not meant to scare people but I can understand how frustrating it is to have one of these little stinkers flying around your house at night. Trust me I have been there.

  5. Shameer Mohamed Says:
    June 2nd, 2009 at 10:24 am

    There is bats in our building is was look up for a year and half and i really need to get rid of them can u help me thanks

  6. Milton Reams Says:
    March 15th, 2009 at 12:24 pm

    We have bats in our house we can’t see them but we can here them in the walls. We saw them at night once. They were coming out from some where but we couldn’t tell were or how many are in the house. We can’t open anything because we don’t know where they are. I would really much appreciate if someone comes and help me get rid of these bat so me and my family can go on with ours live.

  7. nancy Says:
    March 15th, 2009 at 10:44 am

    we had a bat get in the attic and came to the second floor flew around all night i was scard to death.is there something i can put up there they do not like?HELP PLEASE

  8. Brendan Madden Says:
    January 26th, 2009 at 2:57 pm

    I live in N.California and have Bats entering between boards of eaves. there are droppings from March until November but none December to March, does this mean they have left or are they hibernating and do not come outside to produce droppings, I want to close gaps but do not want to trap them insideBrendan

  9. Felice Says:
    December 22nd, 2008 at 4:54 am

    I live in Mexico, my house is made of cement, I live in the Jungle with plenty of trees, I have a large home with overhangs all around, I have tried sound devices, lights, fans, balloons, chemicals the farmers use on their animals to keep bats off. The bats are runing the looks of my home with bat poop and pee not to mention the daily clean up I have to do which is a LOT. I just don’t know what else to try, the high pitched machines do not work. PLEASE HELP. They cannot get inside the house, only the eves outside and ALL year around. Thanks, Felice

  10. Peter Says:
    October 20th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

    United Bat Control helped us remove a colony of bats from our wharehouse. They were great and they will you suggestions also. I recommend them highly!

  11. kat-a-lack Says:
    October 2nd, 2008 at 10:09 am

    Our warehouse has bats. We leave a lot of lights on. If they are in your basement, try that. They also have to jump from something high in order to fly. So, if they are on the ground you’re ok. Also a butterfly or fishing net is good to catch them mid-flight. If you buy or build bat boxes (hang em high in a tree or on a post)they will live in those outside instead of in your house. Bats are endangered so you may get fined if caught killing them. If you can locate the entrance they are using (usually has black smudges near it)you can cover it with a flap. That way they can get out at night. They climb back to the entrance usually and they will not be able to find it if there is a flap over it.
    We have a huge 4 story, cinder block wall full of thousands of them! We cannot find or get to all the entrances. The expanding foam keeps them out or in. They also hate bleach…..fyi. And Ocean Insect spray! Goodluck!!

  12. J Reed Says:
    September 17th, 2008 at 5:15 am

    Need Help: We “lost” the bat we had in our house last night. We have all the rooms shut off that we know where it isn’t. It was last seen flying in the hallway but cannot locate after much searching in the middle of the night and turning lights on. How do we flush out the bat or do we just have to wait it out until it decides to appear again and wake us up? Any info appreciated.

  13. nancy Says:
    September 16th, 2008 at 9:00 pm

    Hi Andrea. I have the same problem. The attick is usually where they prefer to live, however if it gets cold they will find a place more condusive to their environment, a warm basement. I have been studying bats for years yet I can’t bring myself to get rid of them in my own house. If you want to stop them from invading your home please call people that are qualified to remove them humanely otherwise you may be stuck with these little stinkers forever……they tend to come back. Including their babies. Good luck kiddo. As for me I tried to get rid of the 2 bats I have & they are not going anywhere yet. Some expert I am, right? Take care & know that less than 1% of bats carry rabies. Some misinformed person here stated that bats are responsible for 50% of rabies or something like that. Like what??? I guess he missed National Geographic Special on RABIES?????

  14. craig siegfried Says:
    September 9th, 2008 at 8:15 am

    How can I get rid of bats that are living behind my shutters I live in Pa. The second floor of my house has Louvered shutters there are 11 windows 22 shutters. not all shutters have bats living behind them but most do.If I chase them out they just come back or move to another shutter.Putting a mesh around the shutters would take alot of time and look pretty ugly.They are destroying the new paint job on my house.I do know my neighbors would not like seeing a bat house in my yard and their mess is disgusting.Please Help Thank You

  15. Jerry in SA, TX Says:
    September 8th, 2008 at 9:50 am

    I have bats in my attack. I constructed a double bat house, capable of hausing 500. They ignore the bat house and roost in my attack instead. I’ve heard there is a device that makes a noise bats don’t like. I would like to get one if I knew where to look.

  16. april addy Says:
    September 5th, 2008 at 9:33 pm

    My mother in law has a bat cave somewhere in her house and we need help.
    Does anyone know what to do? She had them for a few years now and has paid hundreds of dollars to the batman and it has not helped. The bats are now starting to attack them while they are in there beds or even just sitting on the couch. I went to visit the other night and we sat outside until 2 am to watch and see where they were coming in at and all that happened was we found one asleep on the porch and in attacked us. This is becoming a huge problem for her and her family and she has a two year old grandson what if one gets in bed with him. Please help we have did everything we can think of.

  17. Cindi Says:
    September 2nd, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    PLEASE HELP!!!!!!! I am in an apartment and last weekend was the 2nd time a bat was in my bedroom, and it scared the crap out of me, literally. My maintanence guys were able to get it out the 1st time, but it came back a week later, which was labor day saturday, and they weren’t able to locate it. (He did get in because of screen not all the way closed. Today is Tuesday, and I haven’t been able to sleep n my bed all week! We have checked around the whole apt and cannot find it. How long will it survive indoors, with no access to “food” or water before it dies? I am so ready to move at this point! I have seen elsewhere that if it’s flying around you can throw a towel over it and remove it that way, but I keeping an empty coffee can on hand as well. My maintenance staff now thinks that I am “batty” for calling them and tem not being able to find it. I am afraid to leave the window open hoping it escapes that way, but I am afraid of other vermin and varmits getting in. Any help anyone can give me is greatly appreciated.

  18. Jerry Briggs Says:
    September 2nd, 2008 at 7:29 am

    I have two bats in each of my shutters on the front of my house. I get urine on the shutters and droppings on the sidewalk leading to the house. They sleep all day and I have sprayed them with the hose a few times and they aren’t staying away. What can I do to get rid of them? I like the idea they eat mosquitos but why crap in my space? Thanks.

  19. jim Says:
    August 31st, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    i have a colony of bats living in a vinyl siding outside corner. i built the house and i do not believe that they can get in the attic, or soffit. also there is a substancial amount of guano on the concrete under the corner in question. when i squeeze the corner i can hear them moving around. can i start to put up a one way sreen yet. are the little ones old enough to get out? i live in southeastern michigan.thanks jim

  20. Katie frin Sioux City, IA Says:
    August 30th, 2008 at 8:45 am

    I got woke up @ 5am to my 12 year old daughter saying a bat flew and got her face, my self and room mate went up stairs and tried getting it off the wall and it flew into my sons room so I opened the window that has no screen got it to fly around but didnt leave it went into the kids toy room and got it self in a crack by the time Animal Control got here it was already day light and the bat was gone, I have no clue where it went will it come out again yes!!!! what should i do they are creapy and i dont want to touch it….please let me know

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