Bat Removal

“Aaaah…there’s a bat in my home; can you come and perform a bat removal?”  This is a phone call that we receive quite often at Western Bat Specialists.  And the good news is: you can easily do a bat removal yourself!  It can be quite simple.

Bats often get into homes – sometimes through doors left open in the evening, perhaps while bringing in groceries.  Also, if open windows are without screens, or have ill-fitting screens, they can enter.  And unfortunately, at times, people attempting to bat proof homes seal them into attics and walls (see how to detect bats in attic).  When they are sealed into structures inadvertently, they become desperate to find an exit and sometimes discover a way into the home.

If you are certain the bat has had no contact with anyone, just allow him back outdoors. If you can isolate him to one room by closing doors to the rest of the house, do so.  Then open doors and windows to the outside. (We recommend doing this during the day; if done at night there is the risk that another bat could fly in.)  Once you have opened doors and windows, the bat can feel the air current and fly out.  However, if it does not, it can be captured and released.  When it is resting on the wall or floor, cover it with a box and slide a flat piece of cardboard under the box to nudge the bat inside.  Keeping the flat piece over the box, take your captured bat outside and gently shake it onto a bush, wall or tree.  (We always suggest that you wear leather gloves when doing this.) The bat can take flight once it has its bearings.  DON’T put the bat on the ground.  Many bats cannot take flight from the ground, and they are vulnerable to predators there.

If the bat appears sick or injured, we can refer you to a Wildlife Rehabilitator.  Or you can call Animal Control or the Public Health Department.

Whatever you do, don’t panic.  Rest assured, the bat wants out of your home as much as you want him out!  He will perform his own “bat removal” if he is possibly able!

Bats Inside? How To Detect Bats

Are bats inside your home or building?  How do you detect bats?

You’ve called us.  You think you have bats inside, but either have only occasionally seen some, or not yet seen them at all.  Maybe you’ve seen some droppings, (please look in our “Common Questions” tab for info about how to determine the difference between a mouse dropping from bat guano, and how to detect if it is fresh or old) or maybe you’ve heard some little chirpy noises in the ceiling or wall. Could it be bats inside?

With over two decades in the bat business, we will know how to tell whether you have bats inside or not, and also where they are entering or exiting.  But, if there is any doubt, or if you are curious, you can do a little detective work yourself.  Go around the exterior of your home or building.  Look for guano on the ground, or on decks and porches, perhaps stuck on windows.  Or there may be some white urine staining on the siding or windows.  Then you can serve some “Watchman Duty”.  Stand at different ends of your house outside around sunset.  It helps if more than one person does this, but if it is just you, then circle around.  The difficultly is, it depends on what species of bats you may be hosting as to what time he is going to make his nightly exit.

Western Pipistrelle bats and the slow flying Silver-haired bats make their exit before sunset.  Mexican Free-tailed bats exit right at sunset, and usually in a nice column or group.  Our very popular Little Brown bats exits at late dusk.  The Big Brown bats makes their debut about 20 minutes after sunset.  The little California Myotis bat, the Townsend’s Big-eared bat and the cute and creamy Pallid bat leave about an hour after sunset.  The Pallid bat will continue to go in and out through the night.  Fringe-tailed bats leave 1 – 2 hours after sunset; the huge Western Mastiff bat waits for complete darkness.  And the mostly solitary guy, the Hoary bat leaves very late, 2 – 5 hours after sunset. He can make audible chattering and hissing sounds, and may like to hunt around your outdoor light.

If you prefer, you can also get out right around dawn in the morning and catch some erratic flying guests coming in for a landing and back to bed.  Now you know if there are bats inside and how to detect bats.

 

Bat Habitat

Bat-Habitat
Despite what it may seem, bats live in many types of habitats, not just our attics, walls, chimneys and barns…they also like to live in our shutters, closed patio umbrellas, brick columns, and just about any place that is cozy enough and protected enough!  But, in reality, bats DO live quite happily without man made structures.  They live in rocky outcrops, cliffs, caves, under bark, and in dead tree snags, although they also love man made bridges, mines and tunnels.

Bats In The Attic!

You may be tempted to wait for winter in the hopes that the little bats in attic that you have seen flying around, will migrate to a warmer climate.  In reality, only about 3% of bats migrate.  Many, such as the “Little Browns” and “Big Browns”  stay in a semi-hibernative state where they are currently roosting.  They get very quiet and inactive during the in-climate weather, and all you may hear from them is a little shuffling from time to time as they make themselves comfortable.  Many people think that the bats have left and moved to a new home, but come early spring, they notice once again – bats in attic.  We can safely remove bats in attic and prevent them from coming back!

Bats in the Attic

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