After writing, how to get rid of fruit flies?, how to get rid of pigeons?, and how to get rid of mosquitoes?, we are now writing the best ways to get rid of bats in your house. Next time when you see a black creature hovering around your place, do not think it is, Bruce Wayne!! Many a time when we fall into trouble, just wish batman to help us. But that’s just a fictional character, which resides in Hollywood movies only. What resides, in reality, is a bat. Yeah, Bat! they too are good for the environment. They feed on insects and pest, thus the mammal helps to control the population of the insects that tend to destroy the crops. These mammal can be disturbing and irritating, so you might want to get rid of bats in your house. Read more, to know the ways get rid of bats naturally and fast.
If the pesky bats have taken up residence in your home, and are not willing to leave the place easily, measure have to be take in order to get rid of bats in the house. You may have a bigger problem on your hands, if you ignore the situation at the initial stage. Bat invasion often cause structural damage and also leave behind sticky droppings that slowly corrode the wood and other building materials. Exposure to bat guano can also result in a number of serious health risks to the family members.
You may have considered calling a professional pest removal service, which is indeed a good idea, if you are facing severe bat infestation. Also, there are a variety of simple remedies available that will help you to get rid of bats in the house. You can also take to evict these winged intruders from your property and make sure that these unwanted guests do not return.
Ways to Get Rid of Bats In Your House:
Contents
1.) Identify the Area to Get Rid of Bats
Before searching different remedies to get rid of bats in your house, it’s important to know the places in your or around the home, where they generally feed. How they come inside and what all they damage? Bat are not harmful. The only problem is their droppings (guano), which they leave behind. They are usually found in hot areas such as attics, in the gaps, broken screens, in pipes, porches, cracks, corner of the roof. So look at these places and then look for appropriate measure to remove them. However, sometimes bats are not visible but their guano, urine and most importantly a foul smell from them will help you to know the presence of the bat in your house.
2.) Use The Moth Balls
Once you have founnd the areas where bats feed, now it’s the correct time to start “bat removal mission” First remedy in the list is, moth balls. Take a cheesecloth and put mothballs in the middle of it. Tie the cloth properly, it should look like a sack. Hang the sack around the attic and the place it where bats generally breed. Make sure, while doing so bats are not present in their nest. The pungent smell of the mothball will surely work as a bat removal remedy. Bats will not be able to withstand the smell and at last, they have to move from that site. It is not as much easy as it seems. You have to do this ample of times because once gone bats can again return back to that place.
3.) Try Some Bats Repellent
Apart from mothballs, you can also use a few repellents to get rid of bats. It’s a trial and error method, which repellent might hit the baits you never know. The best way is to try other pesticides repellent also. Among them, aero, dog, and cat repellents are more beneficial. However, always remember our aim is to remove the bats not to kill them. Killing Bats are strictly prohibited and in some countries it considered illegal also. So make sure, you use such repellents, which make them leave the vicinity, not kill them. You can also try home made repellent to eliminate the bats. The best time to use these repellents is night. Since bats are not present at the site during day time, so you can easily complete your job by the time.
4.) Put Some Light
Bats generally feed in the warm and dark area, since they are nocturnal. So imparting lights in the places where they feed can work for you. Mostly, bats find their shelter in attics and in corner of the roof since they are dark places. To eliminate bats from such places impart lighting over there. Bright lights will be more beneficial as the bats won’t be able to bear the light and ultimately they will leave the site. However, bright lights may invite other pest, so you have to take care of that.
5.) Make Your Own Hot Spray
Most of the mammals are sensitive to hot spray therefore it can work as a one of the remedy to get rid of bats. Hot spray contains a component known as capsaicin and mammals are susceptible to it. The component work as a bat deterrent. Boil 2- 3 glass of water and add chili flakes or black pepper to it. Let the solution boil for some more time. Strain this mixture and pour the water into the spray bottle. You may or may not cool the spray, it’s your wish. Spray the solution around the bat’s nest at night. Repeat this regularly until and unless bat’s leave the place. The spray will work as hot irritant which is not liked by the mammals.
6.) Pick and Drop Method
Although this remedy sounds dangerous, but when nothing comes handy it proves beneficial for you. Ok, don’t do it yourself, but you can ask a trained person to help you out. Bats do not bite generally, but to save themselves, they can get agitated and bite you. So while handling the bats wear leather hand gloves. Bats have small teeth so if you are wearing leather gloves it won’t harm you. Moreover, this is to remind you that you have to catch it so do not be rude to it. Before, starting the whole game of catching bat close the windows and door otherwise it will run outside and you won’t be able to catch it. Once you have caught, wrap it in the cloth and release it at the place far from your house.
7.) Make Fake Predators
Since predators eat other animals, so the best way to get rid of the bats is to hang a fake predator around the colonies of resting bat. A rubber snake will solve your purposes. It will scare the bat and eventually they will go away. Once the bats are gone from your house. Clean the mess otherwise, you might get infected by the droppings and the foul odor which bat leaves behind.
8.) “Exclusion” to Get Rid of Bats
Exclusion is the device that is used to eliminate the mammals from the house. The device is installed at the places from where the bats enter inside the house. The devices include net and cones. They form a single way for bats that means, it will help the bats to go outside but it won’t let them enter inside. Since bats have a habit to come back at old sites so do not remove the exclusion from your premises.
9.) Use The Fiberglass
Another remedy, which can help you to get rid of bats is fiberglass. Place the fiberglass in the walls or attics, roofs and under the floor. This will work as a bat deterrent. It will irritate the bats and eventually they will leave the premises. However, make sure that they do not come back.
10.) Sealants Will Help
The sealant is a material that tightly close the area where they bats tend to feed on. You can also use hard boards to close the attics and dark corners of your home where bats are generally found. Since bats are active at night so they won’t be present in the nest at the night, so you can do so during that time. Seal or tightly close the area and clean it properly.
11.) Phenol Will Do The Job
Phenol has a pungent smell that is not liked by the bats. A white phenol will solve your problem. Spray the deterrent at the places where bats reside. Spray it until the smell gets too strong and bats are forced to leave the place.
12.) Use Mylar Ballon
Once bats leave the place in search of food, hang the mylar balloons at the place where they reside. It should be filled with helium. When bats will come back they will get scared and eventually leave the place.
13.) Hang Aluminium Foil
Another technique that can scare bats is aluminium foil. Hang it around their nest and lit it. When the aluminium will blink and a chime-like sound will definitely scare them and force them to leave the place.
14.) Put Some Mirror
Another technique that can drive away the bats is a mirror. Place the mirror on the bats nest and turn on the light. The reflection of the mirror will disturb the bats and they will leave the place.
15.) Removing the Bats
After you have encountered enough evidences to make sure that there are bats in the house, now it is time to plan and get rid of the bats in the house. They need to understand that you do not like unwanted guests in the house.
16.) Create Some Disturbance to Drive the Bats Away
As already discussed earlier, bats like to roost in dark and quiet hideouts places. These have an aversion to lots of light and commotion. So, in order to get rid of bats try leaving a light on in the attic or another area where these unwanted guests roost. For a two-pronged approach, you can also invest in a white noise machine and leave it running overnight in order to double your chances of scaring them off.
- It is against the law to exterminate bats in places where they are considered a protected species. Now this means you will have to find a non-lethal way to get rid of bats as killing them can end you up in legal trouble.
- Another alternative to get rid of bats id to hang strips of aluminum foil from the ceiling. These can create a series of obstacles that will disorient and repel the bats, making them to take an exit.
17.) Set Up a Bat Box
Bat boxes are these small enclosed structures that provide a hospitable temporary environment for the bats seeking a place to roost. The idea here is to flush them out of your home while giving them a place to go so that they are not tempted to return. For the population living in wooded areas, bat boxes can proves to be a good way to relocate these bats without the need for more costly measures.
- You can try and construct your own bat box from scratch or can even ask your local pest control or wildlife removal services on how to obtain one.
- Set up your bat box near the tree line of your property or alongside your home. Choose a place with ample shade.
18.) Install a One-Way Exclusion Device
By fitting the suspected entry points in your house with a one-way valve or tube, these invading bats will be free to exit a space but will not be able to return back. This way, the bats will simply leave on their own because of the inability to return. Exclusion devices are arguably the most effective method when trying to get rid of bats invasion in the house. Denying the bats reentry is preferable to trap them easily. Exclusion devices can be easily found at most of the pet stores and home improvement centers. These are also relatively simple to install.
19.) Call a Pest Removal Service
If you are not having any luck in trying to get rid of the bats on your own, or if you suspect that you might be housing an entire bat colony. It is indeed a best bet to have the problem dealt with the help of professionals. Pest control specialists will be able to pinpoint the specific places where bats are likely getting in from and then remove these unwanted guests and seal the vulnerable entry points to keep them from coming back again.
- This will be the safest and most convenient option when trying to get rid of bats permanently.
- In the places where environmental conservation is on high priority, you can also be able to find a team of wildlife experts that can help you to remove the bats from your home at no cost.
20.) Seal off All Potential Entry Points.
Once these unwanted bat guests are gone, it will be necessary for you to bar any such openings that the bats might be using to make their way in. This task can easily be accomplished by repairing the longstanding cracks and damage. You can also try installing exclusion devices or in some cases applying new mortar, plaster or shingles is also effective. With these things in place, bats will find it difficult or impossible to return in future.
- You can also have a contractor go over the exterior of your home with you to look for places that might attract the bats again.
- It is also important that you address each and every possible entry point for the bats to return. If the bats cannot get in through one, they will always try to find another entry point.
21.) Dispose of Any Remaining Bat Waste
Vacuum up all the dried droppings or scoop them up into a garbage bag with a plastic scraper. Afterwards, you can scrub the area thoroughly using an enzyme-based cleaning solution to get rid of the odor which can attract to re-infest in future. This will help you to break down any remaining biological waste products so that no traces are left behind to call the bats again.
How to Verify Bat Infestation?
The occasional rustling in the attic might also be an old water pipe or the sound of the house settling. It is important to make sure that you have excluded all other possibilities before you begin spending time and energy to get rid of bats in house. The best possible way to tell that you have bats infestation in your home is to witness bats or their droppings in the house. Then is when you should actually begin with the project to get rid of bats in house. You can also consult a pest removal specialist or wildlife expert that will help you to determine what type of bats are commonly found in your area.
Be on The Lookout for Droppings
Bat excrement that are commonly known as “guano”, most often takes the form of small, dark pellets. Guano are round in shape and give off an overpowering musky stench which is actually unbearable. Once you encounter bat guano in any part of your home, there is a strong possibility that bats have recently been roosting there. So now it is the time to begin with the get rid of bats project.
While bat urine is not typically visible, it may leave behind small stains and a not to forget the sharp and unbearable odor. Bat guano can sometimes contain fungal mold spores that may also prove hazardous to breathe. In a few cases, prolonged exposure to guano can even lead to serious health concerns that include hemorrhagic fever and respiratory infections like histoplasmosis.
Research The Types of Bats Found in Your Area
There are many different types of bats. The initial step is to find out when maternity season begins for your local bat population. And if you drive off the lactating mother after she has given birth, the babies will not be able to survive. This will leave you with an unbearable stench and an attic full of dead bats to dispose of. I know it is inhuman but no other option has been left with us in order to get rid of bats in house.
Bats are known to live in a wide range of highly specialized conditions. In most of the cases it is also possible to narrow down the species by the region it has occupied. This will tend to give you an advantage when coming up with a strategy for safely managing the isolation and get rid of bats.
Inspect Places Where Bats Roost:
Bats tend to roost in darker areas of the house. These places are typically enclosed and most closely resemble to their natural cave habitats. Take a look around these dark places like your attic, chimney flue, basement or crawlspaces. Also see if you can turn up with evidences that bats have been roosting there. Remember to pay special attention to the areas accessible through small cracks and apertures. This is because bats often use these as entry points.
Bats are always capable of squeezing into spaces as narrow as ⅜th of an inch, so do not ignore small or inconspicuous openings. Watch the bats as they come and go at night. This is to see what entrances they have been using to invade your house without permission.
Some Interesting Facts About Bats:
- Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Bats are nocturnal, that means they get active at night only.
- In countries like the UK and other countries, killing bats is illegal. Bats shed their hair regularly, which are a shelter of many diseases.
- The droppings (guano) of bats with hair gives way to diseases known as Histoplasmosis, which infects the lungs.
- Bats carry a pest (as their food). Moreover, they themselves are a host of such pests. A bat in your house may invite pest also. Bats carry rabies.
- Don’t evacuate bats during maternity period (when female bats are pregnant) as it can kill their babies. So wait for the right time. The bat can hear the echo and can tell where the object is. This is called “echolocation”.