How to Rid Your Home of Bats

Bats can enter houses through chimneys, holes in walls or openings around plumbing, vents, windows and doors. Keeping bats out is a matter of identifying where they're coming in and blocking those access routes.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fiberglass Insulation
• Sheet Metal
• Duct Tape
• Staples
• Caulks
• Wood
• Duct Tape
• Fiberglass Insulation
• 1/2-inch bird netting

1. Position several people around the perimeter of the house at dusk to note bats' exit sites as they emerge to search for food. It usually takes about an hour for all bats to leave a building.

2. Search the exit sites for holes 3/8 inch wide or larger.

3. Plug all but one of these holes with sheet metal, caulk, wood or fiberglass insulation.

4. Cut a panel of 1/2-inch bird netting to cover the last hole. The panel should extend a few inches above and 2 feet below and on either side of the hole.

5. Attach the sheet at the top only, with staples or duct tape, leaving the sides and bottom unattached. If any bats remain in your structure, they'll be able to fly out this hole but not back in.

6. Watch for several nights to see whether any more bats come out.

7. Once no more bats are observed exiting from the building, remove the bird netting and seal the last hole.

8. Contact your local animal control agency for extreme or persistent bat problems, and ask about bat removal services.

Tips & Warnings

• Perform this procedure between November 15 and March 15. Many bats will be hibernating away from your home during these months. Batproofing your home during the spring or summer months may result in baby bats becoming trapped inside your home, dying and creating a foul odor.
• You can discourage bats from roosting in your attic by installing 24-hour lights or fans to create uncomfortable air currents.
• Bat bites or any other bat-to-human contact should be treated by a doctor immediately.

on 8/22/2006 It's not a great idea to injure a bat or pick one up, even with gloves. Here's a method I use (I've had bats in my house 6 times in as many weeks) that works every time.

If you're in a room with a door (like a bedroom), close the door to trap the bat in the room.
Turn on all the lights.
Open one or more windows.
Hang out (I prefer cowering on the floor in a corner) and watch the bat. It will eventually fly out the open window.

In a closed room (bedroom) this has never taken more than two minutes. In a large space (living room/dining room/kitchen) it has taken longer for the bat to find its way out.

Important! - If you wake up from sleeping in a room with a bat flying around, you should get a rabies vaccine series. This is not a big deal (shots in the arm) and health insurance will cover it. It stays active for years. I just had a blood test (bats in the bedroom) two years after vaccination and my vaccine is still active.

on 2/12/2007 You might not want to kill a bat if it enters your home. If you need to have it tested for rabies, they cant if certain parts of the bat are injured. You're better off to capture it in a jar and call animal patrol.

on 11/30/2005 At my university, there was a major bat problem in the bell tower of the law school. Maintenance personnel tried everything, such as sealing, putting out traps, etc. but to no avail; the bats kept coming back. Then somebody suggested using mothballs, because bats, like mice and most insects, hate mothballs. So they had some bags fashioned using cheesecloth, and filled the bags with mothballs and rocks to add weight, and put them around the exterior of the belltower. The bats found a new home.

on 11/22/2005 Please remember that in the UK, disturbance and/or destruction of a bat roost, obstruction of access to a bat roost, killing, injuring or taking of a bat and deliberate capture of a bat is illegal. The acts may carry a hefty fine and/or a prison sentence. The majority of species native to the UK do not carry rabies. However, should you come across an injured bat, handle it with gloves, put it somewhere warm and dark (a cardboard box lined with a towel is fine) and contact your local bat group.

on 8/29/2007 Bats are the #1 cause of rabies transmission, not dogs! Most fatal cases occur when people wake up, find a bat in the house, and let it go. 6 months later they come down with the symptoms, but there's no bat to test! Rabies vaccinations cost over $2,000! Bat bites are almost indetectable. If you see one in the house, kill it and take it to a professional IMMEDIATELY.