Knowledge is power. And we’re here to help you by answering your questions, and helping you to understand what you need to know with respect to addressing and solving your bat related issue.
- There is a bat flying around in the living space of my home. What do I do?
- If a bat is flying around in the living space of your home it needs to be caught!
- Bats are a Rabies Vectored Mammal. Meaning that they can carry and transmit the rabies virus.
- Our experience is that if you contact a medical professional and tell them that you had a bat in your living space (especially while you were sleeping), and you were unable to capture it then they recommend that you get the required rabies shots. Note: we are note medical professionals, and we do not provide medical advice, for medical advice contact your physician)
- This can be avoided by catching the bat and handing it over to your town or county health department for testing.
- Less than 5% of bats test positive for rabies. By having the bat tested you can avoid having to get the shots.
- How do I catch the bat?
- It is important to note that if you don’t catch the bat when it is active at night and wait until morning you may never find it. Bats seek shelter prior to daylight. They claw into very tight crevices, and are very difficult to find the next day. In warmer weather, they may surface again in the living space in the evening hours. In colder weather they often settle back down into their “Torpor” hibernation state until spring arrives.
- When you set out to catch a bat you want to have the following items available:
- A plastic jar preferably clean plastic with a 6 inch diameter screw on top.
- A thin stiff 12 inch by 12 inch piece of poster board, or any other stiff/thin piece of material (i.e.: plastic, aluminum/metal flashing, etc.)
- Wait for the bat to land on a solid flat surface (if it lands on a curtain or drape this technique will not work).
- Approaching the bat very slowly and quietly:
- Place the opened container over the bat.
- Slide the thin 12 X 12 material between the solid surface and the opening of the container.
- Carefully move the container with the temporary 12 x 12 lid away from the solid surface.
- Carefully slide the 12 x 12 along the rim of the jar while at the same time sliding the screw on cover over the opening there-by transferring covers and tightly securing the bat inside the jar.
- In warmer weather when bats are active, and not out as a result of a disruption in their torpor/hibernation state (especially if you are not comfortable with catching them in a jar then try the following approach:
- This approach requires that the bat be isolated into an area where there is a “double-hung” window (a window that slides up and down and does not crank out sideways) equipped with screening on the outside.
- The smaller the area where you can isolate the bat the better. Close all doors associated with the isolated area. Doors have jams along the top and sides that help to seal the tight. However they always have a space along the bottom. If there is a space bigger than ¼ inch then seal the bottom of the door. The easiest way to do this is with duct tape. Alternatively any other material that seals the opening tight will work.
- Close all of the windows in the isolated area with the exception of one window that is equipped with an external screen. Open this window 2 inches from the top and leave the room.
- Bats are attracted to “Drafts/Air Movement” and if left alone the bat typically feels the air coming from the outside through the screen and is drawn to this area and land on the screen. Once it has landed on the screen slowly and quietly approach and close the window encapsulating the bat between the window and the screen. Then at your leisure you can use the technique described above to transfer the bat into an appropriate container, or call someone else in to do it for you.
- Bats in the attic!
- When you have bats living in your home they typically are living in what we refer to as the “envelope” of your home. Our definition of envelope includes the attic, soffits, and between the interior and exterior walls.
- The reason they are in the envelope area is that during the summer months this area builds up a tremendous amount of heat. In the summer when it is 80 degrees outside the temperature within the attic for example can easily reach 120 degrees. This is the exact type of environment that female bats need to give birth and raise their young, and the female bats and young that reside there are referred to as a “Maternity Colony”.
- Bat Biology and Maternity Colony Facts:
- Bats live an average of 6 to 7 years and are capable of living beyond 10 years. Female bats have 1 offspring per year and occasionally give birth to twins. A female bat born this year will not give birth to her first off spring until 12 months after she was born.
- Any Female Bat born in a structure “Imprints” on that structure. Meaning she returns to the structure in the spring to give birth. The best way to understand this phenomena is to realize it is no different than what we find with salmon, where the adult salmon lays her eggs, the young salmon leave the stream and go out into the ocean, and when ready to lay their eggs return to where they were born.
- The issue associated with maternity colonies is the multiplying factor associated with the growth of the colony. It works like this:
- 2 Female bats are displaced and move into a new structure in the spring where they establish a new maternity colony.
- Each of these females has a off spring and based upon averages 1 is a male and 1 is a female.
- In the fall all 4 bats (2 adult females, 1 juvenile female & 1 juvenile male) leave for their winter habernacle (cave like environment with a constant temperature of 50 to 55 degrees where they hibernate)
- In the spring all 3 females return to the maternity colony location to repeat the cycle.
- During this 1 year cycle the colony has grown by 50% from 2 to 3
- The next year these 3 females each have 3 offspring and so on and so forth resulting in a theoretical 50% increase year over year.
- 10 last year 15 the next year.
- 20 last year 30 the next year.
- THEY NEVER LEAVE ON THEIR OWN & THE COLONY CONTINUES TO GROW LARGER & LARGER!
- This is why it is important that homeowners not disregard the problem and/or postpone taking action to exclude the bats from their home.
- How do they find their way into the envelope:
- The hot air that builds up in the envelope during the day seeps out through gaps and openings at night.
- If the gap/opening is larger than 5/8 inches in diameter, or ½ inch X 1 inch it is of sufficient size to provide a bat with access into the envelope.
- As mentioned earlier, bats are attracted to drafts/air movement. When they are flying around the exterior perimeter of your home and they sense hot air escaping from the home they are drawn to it and land. If the opening is of sufficient size they utilize it to gain access.
This is a picture of a “Primary” opening being used by bats to enter this structure as determined by the “brown stain” found of the white trim. It’s presents also confirms that bats have been living in this structure for a long time. Bats have oily skin/fur that rubs off and builds up over time in “Primary/Front Door” areas being used by bats to gain access into the structure.
“Guano” (Bat Droppings) found in an area immediately below a Primary Opening.
- The following are examples of “typical suspect” areas used by bats to gain access into the envelope of the home”
The “PacMan” area where a soffit meets the shingles on an adjacent roof surface.
The “Roof Line Gap” area where the sheeting on the roof meets the sheeting on the side of the home. This area is located immediately below the overhanging shingles and immediately above the gutter.
The “Saw-Tooth” condition area where the beveled siding meets the fascia board.
- Excluding bats from structures / Bat Proofing your home
- Bats are protected by both State and Federal Laws. Trap and/or kill them and you a subject to be prosecuted under these laws. The only legal way to remove them from your home and bat proof you home is to use a procedure called “EXCLUSION”. This procedure involves:
- Performing an inspection to identify:
- Every “Primary” opening on the home. (These are opening of sufficient size to allow a bat to gain access that have be identified as active areas being used by bats to gain access).
- Every “Secondary” opening on the home. (These are all remaining opening of sufficient size capable of providing bats with access).
- Note: When bat proofing a home you need to be meticulous. If you miss sealing up a secondary opening the bats will find it, and the problem will not be eliminated.
- Close/seal up every Secondary opening and all but 1 or several Primary openings.
- Install a Bat Cone (patented one way out exclusion device) over the Primary opening(s) that were not sealed closed.
- Leave them in place for a period of time dependent upon seasonal and weather related factors.
- Remove the Bat Cones and seal of these areas as well.
- Performing an inspection to identify:
- Per New Jersey State Laws it is illegal to close off primary opening and/or install bat exclusion devices:
- During “Baby Season”. Baby Season in New Jersey starts on May 1st and ends on July 31st.
- From October 16th through March 31st if it is determined that bats are wintering over/hibernating somewhere in the home.
- Bats are protected by both State and Federal Laws. Trap and/or kill them and you a subject to be prosecuted under these laws. The only legal way to remove them from your home and bat proof you home is to use a procedure called “EXCLUSION”. This procedure involves:
- Keeping bats out of your “Living Space” during periods when it is illegal to exclude them from the envelope of your home.
- Earlier we discussed the size of gaps/openings capable of providing bats with access into the envelope of your home, and how bats are attracted to drafts/air movement. Understanding these facts is essential to preventing bats from accessing the living space within your home.
- If a bat has made its way into your living space it did so through an opening/gap of sufficient size somewhere in a floor, ceiling or wall in your home. The typical suspect areas are:
- Pull down attic ladders
- Over time the springs associated with these ladders start to fatigue resulting in a gap often of sufficient size to allow for a bat to move from the attic though the gap into the living space.
- Doors leading to a basement area or up into an attic. All doors have “Jambs” (usually wood trim) along the top and sides of the door allowing them to get a tight seal when closed. However, there is always a gap along the bottom of the door. If he space along the bottom of the door meets the criteria needed for bat access then a draft coming under the door could attract a bat to that area with it subsequently gaining access to the living area.
- Address this gap by visiting your hardware store to purchase and installing a bottom door jamb (typical cost under $10.00 and a simple 3 to 4 screw installation)
- In older homes with radiators, the area where the radiator pipe comes through the floor, ceiling or wall the opening around the pipe when it was first installed most likely had a metal disk plate that snapped around the pipe to close off the excess opened area around the pipe and thereby provide a finished look.
- If this disk is missing and there is a gap of sufficient size around the pipe visit you hardware store to purchase and install a replacement that matches the diameter of the pipe (typical cost under $2.00 if the hole is in the floor simply snap on the new plate, if it is on the wall or ceiling secure it in place with a tube of liquid nails
- Be meticulous and inspect every room of your home closing off any opening you discover. This will keep you from having another living space incident prior to having the outside of your home professionally bat proofed.
- Note:
- You can use a variety of materials to close up gaps/openings and it doesn’t have to be a permanent fix provided you intend to bat proof your home soon.
- Bats can’t chew so if you are in a hurry just close off the opening with “Painters” Tape. Avoid using “Duct” Tape it will peel the paint off of a surface when removed.
- Note:
- Pull down attic ladders
- Selecting a company to perform an Exclusion & Bat Proof Your Home:
- Bat Proofing a home is never an “anticipated expense, and often expensive. For this reason it is important that you do your homework prior to hiring someone to perform the Exclusion/Bat Proofing Process.
- Pest and Exterminating Companies often offer this service because it is lucrative. However, their core competency which revolves around mice and bugs involves using snap traps, glue traps and chemicals to keep the problem under control. That’s why they offer ongoing maintenance contracts. Their expertise isn’t in sealing up gaps on the upper levels of the outside of your home.
- If you have a heart condition you don’t go to your General Practitioner who has limited experience with respect to heart related issues instead you go to a Cardiologist that Specializes in issues associated with the heart. The same is true when it comes to bats. Although Pest and Exterminating companies have some general knowledge with respect to bats, their core competency revolves around using snap traps, glue boards and chemicals. For the most part, they lack the skill set and tools needed to professionally seal up opening found around the perimeter of the upper level of your home.
- Whoever you select make sure you understand:
- The materials they will be using to seal the gaps and opening. Things like expansion foam and wire mesh often result in an end product which distracts from the aesthetic look of your home.
- Understand the warrantee/guarantee
- Most people who have bat issues have had them for a long period before they realized the problem. Bats a small, nocturnal and seldom seen. For this reason, you want a warrantee/guarantee period of at least 18 months. This timeframe will allow you to observe over a period of 2 summer seasons to insure the bats issue has been eliminated.
- Whoever you select make sure you understand:
- Bat Proofing a home is never an “anticipated expense, and often expensive. For this reason it is important that you do your homework prior to hiring someone to perform the Exclusion/Bat Proofing Process.
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