How to Get Rid of Bats – Bat Removal

By  //  October 22, 2020

Bats are little flying mammals you might not like sharing your home with. Nevertheless, they might choose your home and even establish their colony.

That is what you do not want to happen at all. In many cases, it has already happened until you realize they are there. Indeed, that is when you need a proper plan to remove them safely. Bats look scary, but they are much harmless than many others unless you get into their crowd too directly.

It is not recommended that your bat removal plan involves killing them, and it might be even illegal in certain areas. Though it takes a bit of time, experience, and efforts, dealing with them properly is worth your safety too.

If it is not a serious case, bat repellent products will help. And, if you do not mind the expense, it is always a better idea to find a professional service to help you.

They know way more of what they should and should not do to keep everyone fine. Of this, we will try to give you general knowledge regarding bats choosing your home and how you can deal with them nicely and safely.

What Makes Your Home Attractive to Them

Just like any other animals, before deciding for a place to settle down, bats have their own criteria. They basically need a safe shelter to hide themselves from the sun during the daylight while feeling safe from their enemies such as mice, hawks, cats, raccoons and snakes.

They can squeeze themselves in a very small hole, at the size of a thumb, and they feel safe so that those enemies could not get in.

In addition, food sources are another consideration. They will likely be around the places with lots of mosquitoes, beetles and moths in addition to fruits and plants like bananas, figs and mangoes.

These are their favorite dinners. If these are around your property, it is very inviting for them to come and probably settle down their colony.

Caves and hollow logs are their favorite places to settle down, otherwise, storm drain and under the bridge. And, if none is available, they go for the less favorable option, your attic.

And, it is obvious what you might be facing now. It could be even worse if it is already a colony there. By nature, bats are very beneficial to the ecosystem.

They act as the pest control and balancer. It is just people who do not like them that we need to relocate them away.

What Dangers Might Bats Bring You

Quite a few health risks to humans might happen when bats are around. It is not only when people get bitten by bats but also their poops called Guano.

It is especially dangerous once one inhales it. It could cause a lung infection called Histoplasmosis that might later move to cause people eye’s vision problems.

It is even more so with children and elderly. And, in case if the colony is there, poops are a lot and will be around, posing more chances of contact. It is really a better idea to remove them once you realize they are there.

In case of the bite, bats can transfer a disease called Rabies. Bats are not dangerous by themselves, but they are with the infectious virus that can be transmitted to people.

In certain cases, even without the bites, people still have a chance of contracting the virus through their hairs when it touches any torn skin people might have. It will get into people’s bloodstream and cause us all those problems.

Thus, if they are there, either by yourselves or a professional service, you need them away as quickly as possible.

How to Get Rid of Bats

The best How really depends on the actual situation you are facing. If you happen to see a few around, you might want to learn more if there is a colony yet.

Bat removal can not be done in just a day, and it takes some knowledge to do it properly and safely. In cases that they are just a few, you can find some natural remedies or bat repellents products to use.

They are available as the ultrasonic bat repellent, the bat repellent spray, and more.

Removing them does not mean attacking them or killing them. You will just need to make the environment inhospitable to them. As for the natural remedies, bright light, heat and essential oils are the things you could try.

Bats leave in the evening for food after the sun is down and get back in during the day light. They do not really like bright light. Thus, it can bother them greatly.

Bats like warm environments but not hot and dry ones. Likewise, you could find a few heaters, set them up in your attic or basement for example to overheat the space, and it will become unfavorable for them to live around.

It will not be impactful immediately. It is going to take some time. You will also be careful that it will not be too hot that it can cause fire to your home. At the temperature over 100 F is enough to do the job.

Essential oils are another thing. Essential oils have odors many bats do not like. Mostly, the effective ones are from clove, cinnamon, mint, eucalyptus, and peppermint.

You may mix them with half a cult of sugar to warm water of 32 ounces for the spray. The best time for spraying is when they leave to hunt insects for food in the evening. This adds another unfavorable condition for them to be around.

Other than these, but not so natural, you can also try out with mothballs known as naphthalene. The chemical has toxic gas to effectively repel many kinds of pests and insects away.

The gas can cause headache, dizziness, and vomiting to bats, just like it does to humans. The gas will not kill them. It only causes the sickness, and that is when they know that is no longer the place they can live in.

And, the very final method you can use is the bat exclusion device. It is simply a mesh or caulk you can use to seal all the entry points they use to get into your attic. However, you need to observe and check for all the possible holes they can squeeze themselves into. The holes could be on the walls, attic, basement, and crawl space.

The Last Step

After the removal is successfully done, you will need to properly clean the place. Gloves and masks are necessarily needed and make sure none inhales bats’ poops there.

After totally cleaning up the place, you might still need some bat repellents such as the spray or moth balls still to make sure the place keeps being unfavorable to bats, making it unwelcoming to both old ones and new ones. You are then safe and sound.