Unless you’re a member of the Addams family, you’re probably not too keen on the idea of bats taking up residence in your attic. If the nighttime fliers have already moved in though, it’s not so simple to get them out. Here’s how you can safely remove bats from your attic and take preventative measures to keep them from coming back.
Removing bats from the attic
There are a few methods that have proven to be effective for bat removal from homes. Perhaps the most effective is the installation of exclusion devices, which are basically one-way doors. The bats can fly out of them, but they can’t come back in. To get them to work, however, you need to be sure to install them on all possible entry/exit points the bats are using to access your attic. Another option is to provide a new home for the bats, in the form of a bat house near your home. Hang it close to one of the entry points to encourage the bats to take up residence in their new home. Other options for bat removal include repellant devices that emit high frequencies or ultrasonic waves, though these may be less effective.
Keeping the bats out for good
Once you’ve gotten all the bats out of your attic, you want it to stay that way. To achieve this, the single most important step you can take is to seal off every entry and exit point so the bats can’t return. You can do this by using caulking, netting, screens, or even polyurethane foam to fill in the holes. Be sure to get every spot, too, as bats can be very territorial about their nests and will more than likely try to get back in. Don’t dismiss the smaller holes either, as some bats have been known to squeeze though square-inch or even smaller spaces!