Bat Control

Are there bats in your attic? How do you get rid of them? The only permanent way to be free from the bat roost nuisance is to shut the bats out.

To shut bats out of a building, find the openings where they enter. Look for cracks, louvers, knot holes or torn screens. Any crack big enough to admit a pencil can let bats in. Most bats can enter a hole the size of a quarter. Look for openings with "dirty edges" where bats have been squeezing through. Check walls and the ground for bat droppings. They are like mouse droppings, but shiny and with pointed ends. Unlike mouse droppings, they often stick to surfaces.

Next, encourage the bats to leave. Scatter naphthalene moth crystals where the bats roost. They don't like the smell. Try lights. Bats don't like to sleep with the lights on. After bats leave, go to work to seal all openings. Stuff stainless steel scouring pads in cracks. Then caulk over them.

If bats won't leave, simply close the openings soon after it becomes dark when the bats are out for their evening meal. Don't wait too long, because bats often return to their roost after a good feed.

The best season for closing bats out is late summer or early fall (late August through October). In early summer many young bats will remain in the attic. Their mothers return several times each night to feed them. If you block bats in, they will die...and stink. If you wait for cold weather, the bats won't leave. They'll hibernate in the attic all winter.

Sometimes you can make a funnel about a foot long and fasten it over the opening where the bats come and go. Make it so the bats have to pass through the funnel to get out. Make the opening at the small end 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches. Often they can get out easily but can't get back in.

Poison is not a recommended method of bat control. Poisons cause bats to die in out-of-the-way places. Dead bats stink. Besides, new bats may enter the attic. Dying bats may turn up on the lawn or in downstairs rooms. They will bite if handled carelessly, and, like other mammals, they carry rabies. for avoiding bats. Like other mammals, they may carry rabies.

For more information on bats, contact your local county Extension office.