Bats in the attic

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Bats in the attic

Postby jenny1980 » Aug 24, 2009 12:53 pm

Hi everyone,

I am new to this board, and hope to get some help. I'm in the Everything Bats room so I'm hoping you will either help me or point me in the right direction.

Some bats have taken up lodging in my attic. I have no idea how many they are, or how long they've been there - never really noticed. We used to live in a house that had hundreds of them (they had been there a long time) and we always saw them flying in and out at night. We enjoyed them because we never had a problem with mosquitos! We left them alone, they never bothered us, though occasionally one would escape into the house. (One night a baby got out and boy were they mad at us!!! We scooped him up with a fly swatter and carried him outside so he could get home, but boy were the adults screeching!!!)

The problem with our new house is that we have tenants upstairs and they are bothered just knowing they are there. So I am at a loss as to what to do. I can't kick them out. :roll: (the tenants I mean), but I also don't want the bats harmed at all. How do I get them out of the attic safely? Can I make a few bat houses out in the woods by our property line for them? I realize this might sound stupid, but would they know to go to the houses once we sealed the house? I have no idea what to do. I just know that 1) if I didn't have tenants I'd leave them be, and 2) I don't want them harmed.

Okay....lay it on me. :boxing:

Jenny
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Re: Bats in the attic

Postby Phil Winkler » Aug 24, 2009 1:34 pm

Hi, Jenny,

Sounds to me like you have a wonderful attitude towards bats. Lots of info here: http://batcon.org/

In general, you find where they are entering and leaving, wait til dusk/night for them to leave and then seal the opening. They'll find another place fairly quickly or hang out in a tree until they do. Establishing a bat house first is an excellent idea.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your bats.
Phil Winkler
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Re: Bats in the attic

Postby Lost » Aug 25, 2009 7:59 am

If you can find where they are coming in at put a piece of ¼ inch hardware cloth over the hole stapled just on top so it swings out like a door the bats can leave but when they come back they climb onto the “door” and they can’t lift it up to get in. Keeps you from sealing in any bats. You can leave it up for a few days then seal the hole. Any other questions let me know my dad is an exterminator so he is iin the know on bat exclusion. You might want to put up a bat house before you do the exclusion then the bats have somewhere close to roost.
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Re: Bats in the attic

Postby wyandottecaver » Aug 25, 2009 7:31 pm

just a few words of caution. 1st, not all bat houses are equal. 2nd, just because they like your attic doesn't mean they will like a bat house...but they might.

Be careful about entering the attic without a mask...My guess on summer occupancy of an attic in numbers that are noticeable is that these will be Big Browns. Whatever the species, chances are good there will be guano....lots of it.
I'm not scared of the dark, it's the things IN the dark that make me nervous. :)
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Re: Bats in the attic

Postby Joseph W. Dixon » Aug 25, 2009 9:21 pm

Some good ideas and resources have already been mentioned, however I would like to add that despite your very enlightened and refreshing attitude towards bats - bats and humans should not coexist in the same environment due to numerous health reasons.

There was the already previously mentioned guano. Think of a cave you've been in filled with bat guano, do you really want that in your house over your heads? Plus, there have also been documented cases of bat ticks using humans as hosts after the bats were excluded from an attic (the ticks were left behind and sought out another source of blood after their meal-tickets didn't come back) - see Gill et. al (2004) Journal of Medical Entomology.

Best for you and the bats to exclude them. I would also recommend consulting a professional. If you have a large colony up there, you may need to do some serious clean up and exterminating (of parasites, not the bats).

Good luck!
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Re: Bats in the attic

Postby Cheryl Jones » Aug 25, 2009 10:52 pm

Here's some good, detailed info from Bat World, including diagrams of a flap of the sort that Lost recommended and other types of restricted exits.

Bats in Buildings
An Information and Exclusion Guide
http://www.batworld.org/bat_problems/ba ... lusion.pdf

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

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Re: Bats in the attic

Postby avidgardener » Aug 26, 2009 12:15 pm

Hi Jenny,

I applaud your dedication to keeping the bats around. They are just mis-understood! I don't think I'd put the bat house too far away though. Bats are great at doing away with those noxious flying pests, like mosquitoes, that can carry disease to you and your pets. So, explain this to your renters and put your bat house, on a pole, preferably, just on the edge of your lawn area where they can find it easily. I've read some information that suggests that they will inhabit a bat house on the south-facing side of a pole before they will move into one in a tree. I recently discovered bat houses at my favorite online nursery, Garden Harvest Supply. I had built one before, but it's gotten old and decrepit and I decided to purchase one rather than to build one again. Anyway, they have a good selection. The best of luck to you!
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Re: Bats in the attic

Postby jenny1980 » Sep 4, 2009 1:11 pm

Thank you all so very much for the input. I will definitely try the trap door because I don't want anyone left behind. Then I'll call the exterminator??? to check out for the gauno (what the heck is that anyway? or do i not want to know) and parasites, etc and make sure the attic is clean. Bat houses first though. :bananabat:

Thank you!!!
Jenny
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Re: Bats in the attic

Postby Lost » Sep 4, 2009 10:48 pm

jenny1980 wrote:Thank you all so very much for the input. I will definitely try the trap door because I don't want anyone left behind. Then I'll call the exterminator??? to check out for the gauno (what the heck is that anyway? or do i not want to know) and parasites, etc and make sure the attic is clean. Bat houses first though. :bananabat:

Thank you!!!
Jenny

make sure the bats are out before you call bug guy. In PA the game comission told them to kill bats now in houses because of WNS.
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Re: Bats in the attic

Postby trogman » Sep 5, 2009 11:39 am

jenny1980 wrote:Thank you all so very much for the input. I will definitely try the trap door because I don't want anyone left behind. Then I'll call the exterminator??? to check out for the gauno (what the heck is that anyway? or do i not want to know) and parasites, etc and make sure the attic is clean. Bat houses first though. :bananabat:

Thank you!!!
Jenny


I know you said you didn't want to know, but for future reference, guano=bat poop.

Stephen Brewer (The Trogman) :helmet:
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