How To Get Rid Of Bats In Your House, According To Experts

Here’s how to keep bats out of your house.

Bats are amazing creatures that zip through the night skies on a mission: To hunt and devour insects. “Most bats are insectivores and feed on large numbers of insects and agricultural pests,” says Sheldon Owen, PhD, wildlife extension specialist at West Virginia University. “They consume 50 to 75 percent of their body weight in insects every night, including pests such as mosquitoes, leafhoppers, cucumber beetles, and corn earworm moths.”

But sometimes these beneficial little mammals end up roosting inside our attics, barns, sheds, or other structures. They don’t chew through building materials to make a hole to get in, like squirrels do. “They enter through existing gaps or cracks,” says Michael Mengak, PhD, Certified Wildlife Biologist and professor, Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. “They can get in through an opening the size of a dime or smaller.”

Meet The Expert

• Sheldon Owen, PhD, is a wildlife extension specialist at West Virginia University.

• Michael Mengak, PhD, is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and professor at Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources at the University of Georgia.

There are about 30 species of bats across the Southeast, but the most common types that get into homes are the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus). “If you discover you have bats, you shouldn’t panic, but you will need to take action,” says Owen. “The buildup of bat guano, or feces, can accumulate. This leads to odors and a risk for histoplasmosis, a respiratory disease caused by fungal spores that become airborne when the guano of infected bats is disturbed.”

Related: How To Get Rid Of Mice And Keep Them Away From Your Home, According To An Expert

How To Tell If You Have Bats In Your House

You may see bats swooping in or out of your home at dusk and dawn, or you may notice brown, oily stains on the side of your house where they’re rubbing up against it as they enter. You also may find droppings on the side of the house or in the attic insulation; these resemble mouse feces but also include insect parts, says Owen. Or you may hear rustling around or high-pitched squeaks as bats get ready to leave at dusk.

If you find a bat roosting in your home or shed, look for its entryway into the structure. There may be more than one entry point. Bats may enter through rotted wood or a gap that wasn’t sealed up properly. Look behind chimneys, behind gable vents, and inside roof vents which may have lost their protective screening, says Mengak.

What To Do If You Have Bats In Your House

There are no chemicals or repellents for bats. Exclusion is the most effective means of keeping bats from roosting in your house. Once you’ve found their entrances, seal openings with hardware cloth or flashing. You also may choose to install a bat excluder, a type of one-way door which allows bats to leave your house but not to re-enter, says Owen.

However, from spring to mid-summer, you may discover that you have a maternity colony, which consists of nursing mothers and their babies, says Mengak. In most states, it is not legal to exclude the mothers until the babies have left the roost, or the babies will die. Check with your state’s wildlife department about when you can exclude bats because many species are protected by state and federal laws.

That’s because, sadly, many bat populations have declined in recent years due to factors including habitat loss, wind turbines, and white nose syndrome (WNS), a devastating fungal disease which disrupts their natural hibernation cycles. At some hibernation sites, a shocking 90 to 100 percent of bats have died, and there currently is no cure. On top of that, bats have very low reproductive rates, with most species having one baby per year, says Owen.

For maternity colonies or large bat colonies, it’s recommended to hire a professional for removal. Or if the area is too high up on your house or inaccessible to you—or you just don’t feel like handling it yourself—you may need to hire a nuisance wildlife removal company, says Owen.

It’s also important to note that if you find a bat that seems disoriented or is acting strangely, contact a professional for removal. Although the incidence rate is very low (only 0.5 percent of bats are infected), sick bats can transmit rabies, so you need to be aware of this potential risk, says Owen.

If excluding the bats is a DIY job, clean up the roosting area afterwards so that guano doesn’t attract other pests such as cockroaches and flies. Cleanup is similar to a rodent infestation, says Owen. Wear disposable gloves, and clean the affected area by spraying down droppings with a bleach solution (1.5 cups of household bleach in 1 gallon of water) or a general disinfectant (make sure it says “disinfectant on the label). Let it sit for five minutes, wipe up the area with paper towels, and dispose. Wash your hands.

How To Use A Bat Box

Whether or not you had to exclude bats from your house, it’s a great idea to offer them a place to roost by mounting a bat box on your property, says Mengak. Bats will reuse the same roost year after year, though it can take them some time to find it. Place the bat house in a sunny spot at least 15 feet off the ground. Bats actually like houses on buildings better than trees because it’s harder for predators to get inside, and buildings retain heat better. You can purchase one or follow these instructions for how to build one yourself.

Related: How To Keep Squirrels Away, According To Experts

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