I have bats living in the eaves of my home during the summer months. I want to get rid of them, and want to know if they stay there in the winter, or hibernate to caves. I am interested in blocking off their enterance/exit, and I dont want to kill them. I live in a residential area of northeast Pennsylvania, and I do not know what kind of bats they are.
Thanks,
Joe
Make or buy a few bat houses and mount them on posts or trees near your house. If they are properly designed and mounted, the bats should move to them. Check google for information on bat houses. Many years ago I put up four bat houses to attract them to control mosquitos. For some reason, I didn't get a single bat. Perhaps I was too far from water.
---MIKE---
Getting rid of them is usually a matter of blocking their entrance/exit. If you want to know if they stay in the winter then you would either have to wait and see or possibly contact a bat biologist. If you have year round insects where you live then I bet they will stay.
Regardless of the exact species of bat you have it will be worth it to exclude them from your home. Bats roost during the day and feed at night. Use this information to observe where they are getting in and then seal it up. Bats are smaller than they look and can squeeze through amazingly small spaces.
Get out there at dusk and dawn with a big flashlight or binoculars and find out the exact place they go in and out. Then it is just a matter of waiting until after dark when they are out feeding. Then you can set up some work lights, climb up there, and seal up that area by whatever means neccesary.
Alternatively, you could wait until they migrate if they do so. My thinking is exclude the bats as soon as possible because I think bats can do a lot of damage to your attic with the droppings and all. If they leave during the freeze up then you could fix it in the daylight hours which can be nice.
We lived in a place with bats one time and occasionally one would get into the house!! The weapon of choice is the tennis racket. Bats are freaky man they look really cool up close like a mouse with wings.
Screen off or block any openings. If you have or put in lights in attic during day they will avoid coming to roast and you can do work. Besides droppings, rabies is endemic in bat populations and if scratched or bitten, you will need rabies shots. Otherwise bats are useful to control insects. Frank
Bats often winter where they summer. Removing bats is known as 'exclusion'. It is important to do this as they are kown to carry rabies. A buildup of dead animals, urine amd excrement in your wall and ceilings voids, is obviously undesirable. Google 'bat exclusion' and see sites like
I just placed 3 bat houses on my house in ME according to info I found here
Not sure if old stockings will work but have heard they will, but take flimsy screening or heavy netting and make a 3 foot tube with the material. Secure it at the opening and let the rest hang down. They should be able to find their way down the tube but won't get back in.
Just beware that bats carry RABIES and they will fight if they have to. I have "smoked" them out of areas and sealed up the entrance where they got in. When bats get flying around a room after a wall is opened up, they look bigger than Rodan when they come at you. I had 2 laborers (230+ pounds heavily tatooed with criminal records) working for me in the mid 80's and there was a family of bats living in a wall that we just opened up. The guys did not believe me when I told them that they were live bats sleeping, so..... I goosed the bats with a piece of lath and there were 7 of these critters flying around the room and the 2 guys were so afraid to go back into the house they quit that afternoon. Hire a professional to evict these bats, if you don't feel comfortable doing it youself.
Lar wrote:
replying to Joe Casey, chucks wrote: Stuff the eaves with steel wool. They don't like that and will go somewhere else
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.