Bats are harmless creatures, but it is unlikely you want to share your home with Bats. Bats also carry a lot of dangerous diseases, so you don’t want them around you, your family members, and pets. Get medical attention immediately if someone is bitten or scratched by a bat, even if you don’t think it’s rabid.
Are you struggling with a bat pest problem? You’ll want to contact our bat removal service in Indianapolis for help. Our pros can easily control and remove the problem, giving you back your peace of mind.
In the meantime, we put together these tips for use when you have a bat pest problem. Make sure to keep reading! The sooner you use these pest tips, the better.
Table of Contents
1. Keep Yourself Safe
First, you’ll want to keep yourself safe when you have a bat problem.
Bats can carry diseases, including rabies, so you don’t want to touch them. Make sure to wear gloves and avoid contact with the bat. If you are scratched or bitten, you must receive medical treatment immediately. That means it’s better to let the pros handle the bats since they already have the proper protective equipment and experience to deal with them safely.
Maintaining good hygiene when you have a pest problem is also essential. If you find guano (bat droppings) in your home, wear gloves and a mask when cleaning it up. Guano can release harmful fungal spores you won’t want to breathe since they can cause disease.
2. Check Local Bat Regulations
Before doing anything else, you must understand the local bat regulations. Some areas have local laws about how you need to deal with bats. You wouldn’t want to receive a hefty fine or other penalties for accidentally breaking the law when dealing with a pest.
It’s illegal to harm bats in many areas due to their protected status. So, contacting your local wildlife agency is best to learn what restrictions you must navigate. If you’re unsure, you can always have the experts deal with the bats since we understand the regulations already.
3. Seal Entry Points on Your Home
Next, you’ll need to seal the entry points around your home. Bats can enter through very small gaps, so you must be thorough.
Most bats enter through chimneys, vents, and openings around power lines or plumbing. They can also come in through loose spaces near windows and doors.
It’s best to wait for the bats to leave, then seal the gaps so you don’t accidentally trap them inside. Most bats are active after sundown, emerging from their nests to feed a few hours after dusk. So, they’ll unlikely be in your home during that time. However, you’ll still need to be careful.
There are many ways to seal the entry points, but you want to ensure that your use is safe for the bats. They shouldn’t get hurt if they attempt to reenter. Pros can access one-way exclusion methods, allowing the bats to leave but can’t return.
That way, a bat cannot become trapped inside your home.
When You Seal Entry Points Matters
If you decide to use this method, you must consider the timing. As mentioned above, you must wait until the bats are out hunting. However, it’s also critical that no young are in the roost since you won’t want to separate the babies from their mothers.
That makes the best time of year to exclude the bats in the fall or winter when they aren’t raising young. The bats are also less likely to be in your home during this time, so it’s optimal for sealing the entry points.
Once you’ve sealed off all the entry points, you’ll want to inspect them again occasionally to ensure they’re not reopening.
4. Provide Bat Houses
Placing bat houses on your property can offer them a safe place to live so they won’t enter your home. These houses hang on trees and give the bats somewhere to hang inside.
Bats are good to have in our ecosystem. They eat harmful insects like mosquitoes, can pollinate plants, and spread plant seeds. So, you don’t want to kill them. Plus, the chemicals used to eliminate a bat can damage the environment.
Many people prefer bat houses as an alternative. The bats are happy with somewhere safe to live, and you don’t have to worry about them being in your home. The bats will even keep providing your area with their benefits.
5. Use Lights and Noise
Bats dislike bright lights and loud noises. If you play music or use more lights near where they roost, they may leave without you having to do much else.
Bats naturally seek out a dark and quiet roost, so making those changes will make them want to leave alone.
6. Manage Insects
Bats might be drawn to your property because there are many insects to eat. You can control the insect population by trimming your plants, removing excess water, and keeping your yard clean. You can also work with pest control experts, who can greatly help you in these situations.
By managing the amount of insects on your property, you can make it less appealing to bats.
7. Document Everything You Do
You must document everything that you do when it comes to dealing with bats. Since there are so many rules around what you can and can’t do, you want evidence of what you did if you encounter legal trouble.
Take pictures of your efforts, record dates, and save communications with professionals. That way, you have accurate documents to use.
You need to track what you do to deal with bats to avoid trouble, whether or not you technically broke the regulations.
Deal With a Bat Problem Immediately
No matter what, you must deal with a bat problem as soon as possible. You don’t want to let them live in your home for long since their droppings can harm humans.
In short, make sure to take care of your bat problem right away. You’ll want to reach out to the pros for help!
