How do you get rid of bats?

DmansPadge · Apr 11, 2005

( Why would you want to get rid of bats? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

They are awesome little animals. )

I don't have anything against bats. But everytime I open the garage they are swarming and they are tearing up the insulation. Everyday I can walk outside to the back of the shop and find insulation they have torn up laying on the ground. They gotta go!

Jagmandave · Apr 12, 2005

I'm the same way with the neighborhood squirrels, as long as they stay out of my house and outbuildings, they're welcome. If they go in, they're dead!
I wonder if that trick they use on crows would work? where you hand a dead one up to scare off the rest?

gws · Apr 12, 2005

you DONT want to get rid of them, You want to re-locate them. Create a bat house for them, there are a number of free plans online.

Next close up access points to your barn.

DmansPadge · Apr 12, 2005

( you DONT want to get rid of them, You want to re-locate them. Create a bat house for them, there are a number of free plans online.

Next close up access points to your barn. )

That seems to be the best way to go. I thought all the access points to the shop were closed up, but, apparently they are still getting in somewhere.

Freds · Apr 13, 2005

Do you have roof vents, louvers, unducted fans...?
These items don't automatically come with "birdscreen" and/or backdraft dampers in them. Your contracor or supplier may have skimped.

AggieDave77 · Apr 14, 2005

Check out the link under Most Requested called "Got a bat in your house?" for some ideas.
Bat conservation international,inc.

DmansPadge · Apr 15, 2005

( Check out the link under Most Requested called "Got a bat in your house?" for some ideas.
Bat conservation international,inc. )

Thanks for the good link. There is a ton of info on that site.

Varmintmist · Apr 15, 2005

You want to get rid of bats because of the bat crap. Once it dries and powders it gets airborne when disturded. I think Hantavirus is a biggie that you can get from it. Not withstanding the dust and smell. And they crap a lot.

The only way that I found that works is close the holes when they are away. If you close them in, they will dig their way out. If you close them out they will find another home.

rps · Apr 20, 2005

Bats can really be hard to deal with. The link below is to the bat chapter of the Wildlife Damage Handbook. It is the best resource that I know of for wildlife damage issues. There is more in this chapter than you really want to know about bats, including disease concerns, removal techniques and exclusion methods.

Robert

Wildlife Damage handbook -Bats

shawnrogan · Apr 23, 2005

OK folks, time to set the record straight (my wife has been in charge of our county health departments rabies proram for years and would want me to reply). Less than 1% of bats in nature carry rabies, and here in NY, less than 4% of those tested are positive. The increased number is due to the screening process. Obviously we don't test every bat, nor do we want people killing every bat out there just to test because, as many have said, they ARE quite useful at eating bugs.
The best way to go would be to seal all the holes with "great stuff". The screening you mentioned is a great first step, as it allows the bats to leave in the evening, and if done properly ( with the bottom edge left hanging) they can't get back in. It is very important that you do this ASAP because very soon they will be having their young and you don't want to exclude these useful little creatures from their young.
Now to rabies- In order to get rabies, you need to get saliva into a mucous membrane or into a cut that has bled as recently as 24 hrs. The problem with bats is their very small teeth, so it is possible to be bitten and not see marks. This is why treatment is authorized to those that awake to find a bat in their sleeping area, assuming that the bat was not available for testing.
Hope this helps. They really are very usefull, we look forward to their return each spring.