Bat House Forum

[Joe Spencer]

I chose the original title for SEO reasons. Comments welcomed.

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Bats

[Dave Miller]

Excellent job, Joe.

Perhaps you should send a copy to congress...

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/b ... t_loose_in

[DeeDee]

I learned recently that an acquaintance is being visited every two years by a bat in her home living area. She claims that she has tried everything possible to allow the bat to leave through an open door. She is, however, afraid to turn off lights and remove herself as well as her dog and cat temporarily. She believes these bats come from outside her home so she opens doors hoping the bat will exit - to no avail. Fear of illness, attack on her and her animals results in trapping the bat with a squash racket followed by crushing his head with her foot.(oouuhhhhh). I have emailed her with what little I know and found online, but I believe her fear and panic overtake her each time a bat loses his way and arrives into her living area. She is clearly traumatized by a belief that she has no other choice and is forced to kill this sentient being. Please help me help her.

[Dave Miller]

If she has had bats in her house more than once, I would guess they they are living in her attic, around her chimney, under the siding, etc. Or perhaps they are living in one of those places at her neighbor's.

She should go outside and watch for bats exiting her house, or look for stains or droppings around the outside of her house. The droppings look like mouse droppings but they are very lightweight because they are made of insect skeletons.

If she does have bats in her attic, she should put up a bat house, then do an exclusion following these guidelines: http://www.batcon.org/index.php/bats-a- ... intro.html

She could of course learn to live with bats in her attic, many people do. They are providing her neighborhood with a tremendous bug-consuming service. But she should figure out how they are getting from her attic into the living space, and seal that up. Also she should have the guano removed every once in a while, to prevent it from weighing down and/or soaking through the attic floor - it is awesome fertilizer that sells for $6/pound - http://www.planetnatural.com/site/bat-guano.html