DH wants to eradicate bats from attic...

wooly1s · #1 07/15/06, 12:16 AM

My husband wants to rid the house of some of its 100 yr old charm...the bats that live in the attic...who wants to share some advice???

john in la · #2 07/15/06, 02:12 AM

Bats are very beneficial but I guess them living in your attic can be a mess.

1 You can not kill them. They are most likely protected by endangered acts in your area.
2 The only way to get them to move out is to plug the hole or holes they are coming in. Your attic meets their needs so they will not move unless you make them.
3 You can not just plug the holes and trap them in your attic. Read #1 again.
4 You may have to wait a while to lock them out as they may have pups there also.
5 The best way to evict them is to find where they are coming in at. Plug all holes except for this one hole. Then hang a light soft cloth to where it hangs a few inches away from the hole. When they fly out the cloth will lift allowing them to get out but when they return they will not be able to get back in. Only other way is to plug the hole in the dark while they are gone.

deaconjim · #3 07/15/06, 05:14 AM

Go into the attic at night when the bats are out (Wear a dust mask, bat poop is very unhealthy to breath) and set off bug foggers to drive out any stragglers. After the fog has cleared, go back in and turn on a bright light in the attic.

Go outside and look for light leaks. Plug any holes that light can come through. You will need to use hardware cloth or other strong wire mesh to close up the holes.

primal1 · #4 07/15/06, 08:15 AM

If you have any other buildings they might relocate to, you may want to consider building a bat box, here's a plan i found googling 'bat box'

http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/factshe...tbox/index.php

ninny · #5 07/15/06, 08:34 AM

I would think that just putting a florescent light in the attic and leaving it on for a while would do the job. Wouldn't cost anything for the electricity used, as it's not that much. Get a two foot single or double bulb fixture at wal-mart, don't cost that much.

#6 07/15/06, 08:55 AM

I agree with FIRST hanging up a bat box..
bats are great to have on your property..just not in your attic. Also, if you try this time of year when it's common for them to have babies, you'll have some very persistent bats wanting to get right back in..they do NOT need much room at all to do so.
I had 3 "lost" bats find their way down through the walls and out into my living room..that was a lot of fun..BTW, if that ever happens, just open a door or a window..they'll find it.

We had a "bat party"..neighbors came over with their lawn chairs and sat around the house 45 minutes before dusk..bats do not always leave right AT dusk, but frequently before dusk..we had a brick house with 3 stories and had trouble finding exactly where they were exiting. Hanging the cloth works very well BTW.

I called the County Extension Agency and discovered that July & August in PA wasn't a great time to fool with bats..(breeding time)..so we waited until late Sept. until their babies could take off with the adults. Don't know what it is in your area??

primal1 · #7 07/15/06, 09:05 AM

would be great if the florecent lights work! I personaly would try it and I would also hang bat boxes on the house close to where their entrance was

backwoods · #8 07/15/06, 10:23 AM

We had that problem.
First we determined where they came in and out when they fed.If you watch at dusk
you can see and tell about how many.we had about 25.When they leave they won't return until dawn,so block up the hole,really block it,a bat can enter a very small hole.
Put light in attic and get a cat.They don't like either.It took about 3 weeks but they left.We killed two stragglers that we were afraid were breeders.Don't like killing bats but.......

backwoods · #9 07/15/06, 10:52 AM

deleted by backwoods

#10 07/15/06, 11:29 AM

People need to know it is illegal to kill bats..they are a protected species. Just as anything else in that category, it's much better to use any other means to remove them..if you should HAVE to whack them, it's best to keep that to yourself. The other thing that occurs is that people assume that "their bats" are common brown bats, or "little brown bats"..they may be and the may not be.

An example..here in this area of Missouri, it was discovered recently that a VERY rare species of bat has taken up residence in an abandoned mining shaft. Some folks may say to themselves, "SO WHAT?" The answer is that there are enough rare species of animals being whacked off the face of the earth already..one bat is not like the other..for all you know, your bats COULD be a group of really cool rare bats..it's just as easy to get them to leave without whacking them.

And no, I'm not one of "those" people who would throw myself in front of a tractor to save a tree frog..LOL..I just happen to like bats and dislike mosquitoes and June bugs and would much prefer to have a colony of awesome bats in my backyard than a few million bugs.

65284 · #11 07/15/06, 02:42 PM

A neighbor's son and his wife were sitting on their porch Wed. night when he felt something on his back. His wife saw a bat fly away. They went in and checked his back, 2 small, bleeding puncture wounds.

Trip to ER where they insisted on giving him an anti-rabies vaccination, and a bill for $5,500.00. Yep, that's not a typo, the bill was five thousand five hundred dollars. And the poor guy doesn't have any insurance.

They are stunned, can't possibly pay something like that. They both work, and struggle, but do try to pay what they owe.

If I had bats in my house they would leave ASAP by whatever means I deemed neccessary. No bat is "cool" or rare enough to have to be burdened with a backbreaking expense like that.

jnap31 · #12 07/16/06, 01:46 AM

Why would anyone want to get rid of their protected beneficial bats from their house. They are blessed wish they would all come take up residence at my place and the people that started this thread get eaten alive by mosquitos.

primal1 · #13 07/16/06, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 65284

A neighbor's son and his wife were sitting on their porch Wed. night when he felt something on his back. His wife saw a bat fly away. They went in and checked his back, 2 small, bleeding puncture wounds.

Trip to ER where they insisted on giving him an anti-rabies vaccination, and a bill for $5,500.00. Yep, that's not a typo, the bill was five thousand five hundred dollars. And the poor guy doesn't have any insurance.

They are stunned, can't possibly pay something like that. They both work, and struggle, but do try to pay what they owe.

If I had bats in my house they would leave ASAP by whatever means I deemed neccessary. No bat is "cool" or rare enough to have to be burdened with a backbreaking expense like that.

ok, not too sure about that one lol, even the bats that do drink blood don't make two punture wounds, what the do is scratch with their teeth until they draw blood and then they lick it.. i hope somebody can back me up on this, i learned it in elementary school on a field trip.

bgak47 · #14 07/16/06, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnap31

Why would anyone want to get rid of their protected beneficial bats from their house. They are blessed wish they would all come take up residence at my place and the people that started this thread get eaten alive by mosquitos.

What are you going to do with all of that bat guano in the attic? What about the vermin that are attracted by that guano?Bats certainly have their place, but its not in the attic of the house that you're living in.

primal1... I have serious doubts about that story too! Bats do carry rabies, but we Don't have vampire bats in the US. And the 2 puncture wounds is straight out of the movies. Bats don't have canine teeth.

longshadowfarms · #15 07/16/06, 07:44 AM

Rabies is a real concern with bats. We've found two dying bats around here in the last week. Not encouraging. My bro and SIL went through the rabies shots routine a year or so ago when they found a bat in their room. They were told that you might not even detect a scratch - get the shots. They bought the serum themselves because they got such a runaround from medical health professionals. Finally got their insurance to pay for it but it was a hassle.

jnap31 · #16 07/16/06, 01:06 PM

bats have been living in peoples atics for hundreds of years with no problems. My grandpa's place and every house I ever lived in had them.

primal1 · #17 07/16/06, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnap31

bats have been living in peoples atics for hundreds of years with no problems. My grandpa's place and every house I ever lived in had them.

You can seriously be trying to say that bats in the attic are better than bats with a home of their own?
It can be a health hazard to have them in your attic, over the years you will be breathing dust from your attic... not to mention a nightmare when it's time to re-insulate!

#18 07/16/06, 02:05 PM

Even "I" the serious bat lover would relocate the bats..wouldn't want furry critters pooping in any part of my home. blech.

bats don't carry rabies at any higher rate than any other mammal which a person might come into contact with in a homesteading environment..it doesn't make any difference if someone were bitten by a bat or a rat or a raccoon or a skunk or a cute little dog that wandered onto their property..if any animal bites and then takes off, "oh well"..it is what it is..

whodunit · #19 07/16/06, 04:32 PM

We found a bat inside our house oen time and it was quite the adventure getting rid of it.

We opened the front door and scared the bat off doorframe where he was perched.

We then checked around for an hour or so, because we THINK we saw him fly out the door, but didn't want to assume and end up coming across him again in the middle of the night.

Later, a friedn asked why we didn't just put a crevice attachment on our vacuum and use it to suck him onto it and out him in a jar to carry outside and release. Great! NOW you tell me!

insocal · #20 07/16/06, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 65284

A neighbor's son and his wife were sitting on their porch Wed. night when he felt something on his back. His wife saw a bat fly away. They went in and checked his back, 2 small, bleeding puncture wounds.

Trip to ER where they insisted on giving him an anti-rabies vaccination, and a bill for $5,500.00. Yep, that's not a typo, the bill was five thousand five hundred dollars. And the poor guy doesn't have any insurance.

They are stunned, can't possibly pay something like that. They both work, and struggle, but do try to pay what they owe.

If I had bats in my house they would leave ASAP by whatever means I deemed neccessary. No bat is "cool" or rare enough to have to be burdened with a backbreaking expense like that.

Not sure about your neck of the woods, but here in Los Angeles, if someone gets exposed to rabies the COUNTY pays for treatment because it's a matter of PUBLIC HEALTH. One of the many benefits of being willing to pay taxes. And yes, I got to be the beneficiary of this particular little perk in 1987 when I got exposed to rabies by a feline patient.