Bats

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kyleb

Final Approach
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Drake the Outlaw
Bats have started nesting in the louvered gable vents on the side of our garage. I need to climb up in the attic and make sure they haven't entered the attic, but I *think* the screen covering the louvers is intact.

I'd prefer to relocate them humanely, but I have no idea how to do that.

Is the best option a specialty critter service?
 
kyleb said:
I'd prefer to relocate them humanely, but I have no idea how to do that.
Click to expand...

Bats can be extremely difficult to eradicate. As long as they have access to the nesting area they will stay there. If you find them inside the attic the thing to do is to observe the outside of the building at dusk and/or dawn on nights when the weather is fair. They will go out of the building at dusk to feed and return at dawn. Using "bat nets" or some similar screening device over the exits will allow them to exit but not to return. Once the entry points are located they can be sealed to prevent the bats from entering any longer.

CAUTION: the use of bat nets is not advised during many months of the year (April - October) depending on your location as there will be young birds nesting and you do not want to separate the mom from the babies as the dying babies will cause a real host of concerns you do not want to deal with. You should be able to locate a bird control person locally but be sure they are versed in bat removal.

Contrary to all the stories about vampire bats, Covid bats, and rabid bats, for the most part they are just another bird. They can however bring you a gift that looks very much like bed bugs that are called bat bugs. Very difficult to tell them apart.

Have fun!
 
You're best off hiring a professional. Bats are extremely difficult to exclude. They can get through extremely small gaps. For some species, a quarter-inch construction gap is enough. The whole roof will have to be inspected and sealed as needed.

Bats also tend to have "bat bugs," which are nearly identical to bed bugs (and as difficult to eradicate if they get into the living area of your home, which is likely once their preferred hosts are removed). Bats also have a fairly high incidence of rabies.

That being said, bats are overwhelmingly beneficial animals. A typical colony will eat many millions of mosquitoes every year. The only responsible way to deal with them is by exclusion, followed by guano removal and usually attic insulation replacement.

Regarding the cleanup stages, one of the signs of a quality company is that they vacuum the guano and insulation into filter bags for disposal. There are pathogens associated with the guano. It should be considered and treated as hazmat. Companies that just pump the insulation and guano into open trailers are acting irresponsibly. The best companies treat every stage of the job with care -- even if it's just hauling away the poop.

I'd start looking here rather than doing it yourself.

Rich
 
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The good news is I have attic access behind the gable louver. So I went up there to check it out. There is a screen on the back of the louver and the screen is intact. The critters have not made it into the attic. But there are probably 15-20 of 'em living between the louvers and the screen. Standing outside at sundown, the airshow they put on as they head out for their evening is pretty good.

That said, they need to go. I suspect I could place a bright LED worklight up in the attic pointing in their direction and run them off, since they won't have a dark space, which is what they want during the daytime.

Thoughts?
 
kyleb said:
The good news is I have attic access behind the gable louver. So I went up there to check it out. There is a screen on the back of the louver and the screen is intact. The critters have not made it into the attic. But there are probably 15-20 of 'em living between the louvers and the screen. Standing outside at sundown, the airshow they put on as they head out for their evening is pretty good.

That said, they need to go. I suspect I could place a bright LED worklight up in the attic pointing in their direction and run them off, since they won't have a dark space, which is what they want during the daytime.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Whether the light will work depends on the specie of bat and the wavelength of the light. The nocturnal hunting habits of bats are more a function of insect activity levels than aversion to light per se, and different species differ in terms of their light tolerance.

In fact, some bat species whose feeding habits include seeking aggregations of insects are actually attracted to outdoor artificial lights at night because the lights attract insects. How much of that behavior is innate versus learned / taught to young is unknown.

It may be worth shining a bright light at the bats 24/7 for a few days to a week in the hope of confusing them, however; and if it succeeds in driving them away, sealing the outside of the gable vent with hardware cloth once they're gone. If it doesn't work, you can simply wait for them to leave to hunt, making sure that there are no bats too young to fly left behind; and then seal the outside of the vent before the colony comes home from work. They'll be annoyed, but they'll cope.

Rich
 
Rich has some great information he's sharing.

Once the bats have found a place they like, making them leave is quite difficult. I have seen them cling to the side of a building in the daylight that had been sealed. It was a building they used to occupy and were now waiting for a door or window to open so they could return.

Bright lights may work, sometimes fireworks will drive them away also. Once you get them dispersed (and be sure all are gone) you can seal the area to keep them out. They can be very beneficial to have around. You might even consider putting up some bat boxes i.e. bat houses for them.
 
Leave them alone, they eat mosquitoes and other bugs and they do no harm.
they do not carry disease.
 
Daleandee said:
Rich has some great information he's sharing.

Once the bats have found a place they like, making them leave is quite difficult. I have seen them cling to the side of a building in the daylight that had been sealed. It was a building they used to occupy and were now waiting for a door or window to open so they could return.

Bright lights may work, sometimes fireworks will drive them away also. Once you get them dispersed (and be sure all are gone) you can seal the area to keep them out. They can be very beneficial to have around. You might even consider putting up some bat boxes i.e. bat houses for them.
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The good thing is there is an almost complete bat box in the basement that my son lost interest in before it was complete. Maybe I could close off their little louver and hang the bat box over or adjacent to the louver.
 
Believe it or not, what worked for me is one of those plug in ultrasonic pest devices. I had one bat in the vestibule at our front door one year, he came back the next. Cute guy, but he made a mess and creeped my wife out. That 2nd year it left after about 3 days after I plugged it in. I used an extension cord and a ladder and I aimed it up in 3 roosting spots. Funny thing, it used the area just in the evenings, not during the day.
 
We put up signs, but the bats simply ignored it, they didn't care. It's just one more indication of the continuing breakdown of our society. :incazzato:

-iiYEr9S6pdGId9iz3cv-My50L3HT5zLXPFZ77cUR-Zmafck0DaVyxCD9LzYxErVWzsjSC-LWv7_ig2Rp8MB0Tcd7B3DhrfKjECA00DoAn_1
 
kyleb said:
The good thing is there is an almost complete bat box in the basement that my son lost interest in before it was complete. Maybe I could close off their little louver and hang the bat box over or adjacent to the louver.
Click to expand...

There you go. Chiropterid urban renewal.

Rich
 
kyleb said:
The good news is I have attic access behind the gable louver. So I went up there to check it out. There is a screen on the back of the louver and the screen is intact. The critters have not made it into the attic. But there are probably 15-20 of 'em living between the louvers and the screen. Standing outside at sundown, the airshow they put on as they head out for their evening is pretty good.

That said, they need to go. I suspect I could place a bright LED worklight up in the attic pointing in their direction and run them off, since they won't have a dark space, which is what they want during the daytime.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Every summer I have a few that come and spend the day on the underside of my covered front porch, and head out every night to hunt the detested mosquitoes. I'm a fan of anything that does that.

Tom-D said:
Leave them alone, they eat mosquitoes and other bugs and they do no harm.
they do not carry disease.
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I did what Tom is suggesting. Just left them alone. Swept up the dried droppings off the porch every couple of days.
They can be a rabies vector though.
 
Why are you worried about the bats?
If the screens are intact, they can't get in the house.
They will hang out there all summer, eating bugs.
In the winter they go back to their cave or where ever they congregate to keep warm.
I have had bats living behind all the shutters on my house since me moved in here. Almost no biting insects to be seen.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Funny thing, it used the area just in the evenings, not during the day.
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Bats have sleeping quarters during the day and other "resting places" at night. The balcony off my bedroom served both purposes for one bat for years. Or maybe it was two bats, since they don't wear license plates.
 
Tom-D said:
Leave them alone, they eat mosquitoes and other bugs and they do no harm.
they do not carry disease.
Click to expand...
We like our bats here. We watch them eat bugs at twilight every night. If they don't get into the house or storage areas, they are welcome to stay.
 
We have a bat, maybe three, that comes for a dip in our pool most nights. He flys cuban eights over the pool for a bit around dusk, washing himself, or drinking, or something. No idea where he lives, but it's not in the bat box we put up.
 
Shepherd said:
Why are you worried about the bats?
If the screens are intact, they can't get in the house.
They will hang out there all summer, eating bugs.
In the winter they go back to their cave or where ever they congregate to keep warm.
I have had bats living behind all the shutters on my house since me moved in here. Almost no biting insects to be seen.
Click to expand...

For me, it's really a matter of where they are. The guano is corrosive and associated with pathogens. It can also deface siding when it eventually starts dripping.

I recently evicted some bats from a soffit because the guano was dripping through. But if they're in an area where none of those things are of concern, I leave them alone, too.

Rich
 
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What caused the Texas City explosion? Bat crap and fuel oil. :)
 
As it turns out, the best option was to wait two days. The bats are gone. The whole colony. I'm guessing the location they chose was too hot for them now that temperatures are creeping up into the mid-80's.
 
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