How To Remove Bats From An Attic

How To Remove Bats From An Attic

For many homeowners the presence of a bat colony in an attic isn't necessarily a problem, and bats do play an important role in eating mosquitoes and other flying insects around a property. However, the noise and the droppings that accompany a bat colony can be more of a problem, and for this reason many people will be keen to remove any bats from their attic.


Bat Removal During Maternity Season

One of the things to note for people who are considering trying to remove a bat colony from their attic is that it is illegal to carry out any work during the bat maternity season. In practice, this means that no work can be carried out to remove bats between the period when the pups are born until the young are independent enough to leave the roost by themselves. This period generally runs from April through until the end of August, when bat removal work can be restarted.


Examination Of The Roost

The first step to getting rid of a colony of bats from your attic is to carry out a thorough internal and external examination of the attic to identify every possible bat entry point to the roost. Many roosts will have numerous entry points, particularly for larger colonies, so identifying all of these is vital to the effective exclusion of the bats. The most effective results will often come by watching the roof at dusk to see where the bats are emerging from.

Some entry points will be quite easy to spot with urine and droppings clearly showing where the entry point is, while others may require a more experienced eye to spot.


Excluding The Bats From The Attic

Once all of the bat entry points have been identified, the next step is to install the exclusion devices that will allow the bats to exit the attic, but are inaccessible from the inside so that once the bats have exited they will have to look for another place to roost. In some cases many of the entry points can be blocked off at this point with a wire mesh, with only the main exit points installed with the exclusion devices.

Once these are in place then it is time to keep an eye on the exit points at dusk, and to watch these entry points to make sure that the bats are leaving successfully. Within a few days, as long as the exclusion devices have been successfully installed, the activity of bats leaving the attic should stop, and then you can start to carry out the work to ensure that the bats cannot return into the attic.


Sealing And Cleaning The Attic For A Permanent Solution

After monitoring the exclusion devices for a few days, the drop in bat activity at dusk should indicate that the devices have been successful and that these bats have been successfully removed from the attic. Then all of the bat entry points can be sealed and repaired to ensure that the bats cannot return to the attic again.

As well as sealing the attic so that it is no longer accessible to bats, it is also important to remove any bat droppings and spray the roof with a special cleaner to ensure that any spores are destroyed, as these can still cause health problems after the bats have been removed.


Hiring A Professional

For the vast majority of homeowners, hiring a bat removal expert is the wise choice when they find out they have a bat colony in the attic, as successfully removing bats is often difficult and detailed work. It is also worth considering that dealing with bats can often have health risks, with bats being known for transmitting rabies, and the risk of contracting histoplasmosis from the bat droppings.

For novices who are trying to deal with a bat infestation themselves, it can often be a frustrating experience, as many of the bat entry points can be very difficult to identify. The best bat removal experts will also do much of their work during the evening and night, as this will give them the best idea of where the bats are getting in and out of the property.



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