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Those
little scraping sounds you hear on your ceiling may not be just the little
footsteps of mice. There is also the distinct possibility that you may have bats
in your attic. To determine if you have bats in your attic, go outside your home
at dusk and look for bats exiting the house. In particular pay attention around
the roof area, such as in the roof eves and soffit areas. Bats are fast, and in
the twilight you may have difficulty seeing them.
Consequently you may need a few sets of eyes watching out for them. You may also
need to observe the house over a couple of nights.
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If you see bats exiting your home, then you need to remove them. Bats bite, and
they can carry rabies. The best way to remove bats from your home is to first
inspect your home for small openings around the areas where you observed the
bats exiting your home. Note that a bat can get through a hole about the size of
a dime.
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Next,
during the day cover the holes with a screen mesh. Use tape to hold the screen
over the holes, however only tape the top and sides of the screen pieces. This
way the bats can slip out from the bottom end of the screen to get out of the
house, but they won’t be able to get back in.
After a few nights, you should find that the bats have left your attic and home.
You should be able to determine this by no longer hearing the little footsteps
scraping and skittering along your ceilings. |
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Once you
are convinced the bats have left your attic, you can then permanently seal up
the holes around your home.
Though a less humane way to deal with bats in your attic, I have also found
regular mice traps to be effective. A little peanut butter is all that is needed
for bait. Usually within a day or two you will catch the rogue bat that doesn’t
want to or can’t seem to leave your home. |
Photo by Mark Donovan |
Bats do
play an important role in our eco-system by keeping insect populations down.
Some bat species can eat several thousand insects in just one evening.
Consequently, you may want to consider providing them with a safe habitat for
them to live in, such as a bat house. A bat house is very simple to build and
can also help to prevent bats from living in your home’s attic. Simply place one
or two bat houses on your property so that they have an alternative to finding a
place in your home and attic.
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Related Attic Information
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