live in a 2 story house, and have bats in my upper attic...counted 54 come out tonight at dusk.......wife is terrified of bats and would like to get them out so that she will want to go back upstairs and sleep in our bed.......king size........bed down stairs is full...i need my bed and cover and my wife back in my bed....serious answers only......thank you
2006-09-04 15:28:46 · 13 answers · asked by tracy c 1 in Pets ➔ Birds
I can really empathize with your wife. We had one get in the house twice this year and it's really freaky. Hopefully they're only in your attic and not finding a way into your house. Watch at dusk to determine where they're coming out and when you're pretty sure they're all out for the night cover the holes and spaces. I've also heard people have had success with hanging old cd's from string and strips of aluminum foil by their entrance/exit areas. I guess this screws up their sonar so they will find another place to live. Hopefully you can successfully evict them without having to kill them as they are harmless and very beneficial animals. They just creep the beejezus out of me.
2006-09-05 12:53:56 · answer #1 · answered by DawnDavenport 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was curious as to why your placed your question under "Pets>birds" since bats are neither. You may receive more information if you place your question under the Zoology category. A lot of graduate students tend to do their thesis on bats and they have more knowledge.
Bats are beneficial to the environment and just like any creature they serve a purpose and they have a niche on the Earth. Some bat species are protected by law and it would be better to remove them without causing harm. Most eat their weight in bugs, some eat only fruit and a one species drinks only blood, but as far as I am aware, there are not any blood sucking bats in the US. They seldom bite humans for their bloody cocktails, but there has been some isolated reports.
On the other hand....bats are resovoires for Rabies, not to mention a few other air born viruses. A teenager died in Texas this past summer from a bat bite he sustained in his own bedroom. It was just a tiny scratch, so he didn't seek medical help until it was too late. Bats teeth are so sharp and tiny, often one does not even realize that a bite has occured.
Over the years that I've worked as a vet tech, there has been several instances of clients finding dead bats in their yards. Since our clients have dogs and cats, the vet always sends the bats to the lab to be checked for rabies as a precaution and everytime, the results have been positive for rabies.
Bats also carry parasites. Their dropings are hazzardous to breathe as well as they release a strong odor of ammonia. As beneficial as bats are to the planet, no one wants them in their house!
Call an wildlife capture expert to rehome this creatures. So don't touch them youself. Then patch up any entrance holes because they tend to visit again.
Actually, if you can patch up their entrance holes from the outside at night when they are free flying, the wildlife capture guy can take care of any left behind. Wear latex gloves and a mask if you go in the attic.
Good luck and happy bat riddence! As much as I love animals, I have to agree with your wife....! I've seen too many Vampire movies! LOL They all look a bit creepy to me except for the Flying Fox.
Bye the way, not sure of your location, but this is the time of the year when bats migrate which might be why they've taken up residence in your home.
2006-09-05 08:12:19 · answer #2 · answered by Free Bird 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do not harm them in the process of getting them out of your house, they are protected by law and you could get in some serious trouble for harming them. They are actually quite beneficially to the ecosystem. Maybe you can have someone smoke them out like someone else here suggested so they will not be harmed. Have you tried just leaving all the windows in the attic open for them to fly out on their own? Once they are out, you need to throughly check your attic and cover up any holes, even tiny ones to keep them from getting in again. Tell your wife the bats are not going to harm her...they don't attack or anything, and if they are up in the attic, why will she not go into the bedroom!?
2006-09-05 01:33:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had bats in my two story house as well. I don't mind the critters and enjoyed the numbers of mosquitoes they ate. But, they didn't need to be inside the house.
I called an exterminator and they used smoke (non-toxic) to discourage the bats from nesting in the house. It took about an hour and we never had problems with them again. We had about the same number as you're seeing. And it wasn't outragously expensive either.
Hopefully this will help alieve your wifes fears (and you can remind her that they bats won't be upstairs at night -they will be out eating all the bugs she probably hates just as much as the bats).
2006-09-04 23:03:26 · answer #4 · answered by An Oregon Nut 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Bats are not birds so this is in the wrong category. Bats are mammals.
You are going to have to call in people who work with gettting rid of bats since you have 54 of them. Couldn't say who that would be in your area. Hopefully, the colony can be encouraged to move out without killing them because they eat their weight in bugs every night and are good animals to have in the environment. Then, you'd have to figure out where they were getting into your house and seal off the entry point(s).
2006-09-08 18:27:24 · answer #5 · answered by Rags to Riches 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Please don't have them poisoned. Bats are beneficial creatures that reduce the numbers of migrating crop-eating insects. Their numbers are decreasing in the wild. Bats and bat droppings pose very little threat to humans. What you want to do is find where they are entering and exiting. Wait until evening when they leave and cover the holes so they can't re-enter. You may want to throw something strongly scented up in the area where they are roosting if it is difficult to reach. They don't like to sleep where it stinks anymore than humans do. There is a mothball-scented product called Bat-A-Way for this.
2006-09-04 23:31:33 · answer #6 · answered by February Rain 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Contact your local wildlife rehab center to have the bats removed. Then seal up any little hole you have to keep them out in the future. Also, a pet cat or dog could help scare them away.
2006-09-04 22:41:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
call an exterminator and then find a point of entry there is probably a hole some where where they are getting in like a chimney or some kind of a vent, once you find it seal it up
2006-09-04 23:32:33 · answer #8 · answered by russelthurmond 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to call a professional to remove them immediately. The droppings also cause serious eye sight loss & can get severe with weeks (3 & on).
2006-09-04 22:48:00 · answer #9 · answered by BeloyeMore 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Try these sites... the first one is an informational government site, and the other one has traps you can order.
2006-09-04 22:46:44 · answer #10 · answered by ♫☼♥ ≈ Debbi ≈ ♥☼♫ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋