CritterChatter™ Blog
There's A Bat In My House! What Do I Do?
As the autumn season gets underway you may be seeing more bats this time of year in your backyard as they patrol the skies looking for bugs to eat. And that's where they should be - outside. But sometimes, these little flying mammals, either get into our houses by mistake, or colonize our attics looking for a good place to live and spend the winter.
Too often, the creatures get into the living area of the home and that's not good. It's always best to keep wildlife out of your bedroom. So if your home is being co-habitated by bats, you should get rid of them and the best way is to do what is called an "exclusion".
Mark Turner, a bat control specialist with Critter Control in Toledo recommends that you use an expert to do the job, or you may be facing the same problem soon after you think you've evicted them.
Bats are not easy to find in the house, but you can normally figure where they are coming in by checking for holes and small cracks. Turner says the opening only needs to be about two inches long and a quarter of an inch wide for a bat to fold its wings and wriggle through.
The concept is to plug most of the possible entry ways which can found under eaves, around fireplace chimneys and in soffits. But one of the likely portals is left open where a bat "valve" is installed that allows the bats to get out, but not get back in.
Turner says he is confident that after about a week, the bats should have vacated the premises and the opening can be sealed up so your house is bat free. Turner says this is a popular time of year to do the so called bat exclusions because the house should be sealed up before the bats begin nesting for their winter hibernation.
Credits: By Lou Hebert - Toledoonthemove.com - Channel 24
