Bats are the only mammals that can fly. They have 1,100 different species and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. Thanks to their ability to adapt to different environments, they play an important role in pest control and pollinators.
These mammals can appear in gardens or backyards at night. Although they do not have a threat to humans, they can cause discomfort. Many people in the world are afraid of these little ones due to their nocturnal habits, and in some places, they are related to sinister or evil.
How to Check if there are Bats in Your Home
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The best way to check if there are bats at home is to check ceilings, windows, and rooms where there is not much light, and you can be guided by the sound they emit, which can be annoying when there are many, or by their feces that end up dirtying floors and walls of the house.
What do bat nests look like?
Although many people think that they are similar to birds’ nests, it is not so. What do bats’ nests look like? It is called a nest to the place where these flying mammals rest during the day, which represents in their lives a shelter in which they can feed and reproduce without any problem.
Where do they live and what attracts them to your house?
The most common areas of the house where they tend to settle are ventilation ducts, shutter boxes, joints, and existing gaps in ceilings and walls. They also tend to hide under the eaves or roof, in the false ceiling, in the chimney, in cracks, near pipes, in attics, or attics. These animals are attracted to dark areas where they can rest and sleep during the day and have good access to the outside.
How Do Bats Attack?
Like many other animals, this one reacts to external stimuli. How bats attack is naturally for self-defense, and they usually look for a shelter to feed and reproduce. If you are in the presence of these little ones, we invite you not to harm them or try to scare them, and they may react aggressively.
How to scare bats away: do’s and don’ts.
Before we tell you how to scare bats away from the house, here is a list of some of the main points to keep in mind:
What to Do
Contact a professional.
While it is rare that your home is infested with bats, it is appropriate to contact a professional to get the bats out of the ceiling safely.
Get the bats out of the house before they breed.
This will prevent one or two bats from becoming a family.
Prevent bats from entering the house.
Once you have removed the bats from your home, be sure to cover all areas where they can re-enter the roof securely.
Learn about bats.
The droppings of some bats can be harmful to your health, so it is best to be well informed before approaching them.
What not to Do
DO NOT break any laws.
Bats are a protected animal species, and there are laws regarding their handling.
DO NOT capture a bat in your home.
Capturing and harming bats is against protection laws.
DO NOT use pesticides or poison.
Bats are not pests. On the contrary, they feed on insects. Rats are pests and need to be eliminated more urgently.
How to get rid of bats naturally
Optical repellents
Repellents rely heavily on creating unpleasant sensations strictly for the targeted animals or insects, either by mimicking the characteristics of a natural predator, or by simply keeping the pest at a distance.
Keep in mind that bats tend to look for alternatives to enter through, so you will have to handle all of cracks and crevices; this can be laborious but will ultimately help you get rid of bats altogether.
An easier way would be to use one-way mechanisms to buy or make yourself, using netting, PVC pipes, or empty, sealed containers. For example, you can construct such a device by covering the opening with plastic or light, flexible wire mesh; attach it to the top and let it drop halfway down, making sure that it extends about 45-60 cm from the bottom of the opening. Leave it in place for a minimum of 5-7 days; this ensures that all the bats have left and you can permanently seal up the openings outside.
Using netting, sealants, and wire mesh to cover the entry points, you can easily block the entrances and prevent bats from entering your home. Since there are not many effective traps on the market and hurting bats is illegal, the best you can do is to use exclusion devices to eliminate the bat colony and then use prevention methods to keep them from returning.
Mechanical repellents
Don’t try to trap bats. Not only is it difficult and largely ineffective, as they have very good hiding places, but also it can be dangerous, as they can become aggressive and bite you.
If you are already suffering from a bat infestation, the best way to get rid of them is to trap them out of the house. The best time to deal with a bat infestation is at night when the bats leave their nest to feed. This is when, by blocking all possible entrances while they are out, you can disinfect the house without harming the bats. Keep in mind that there may be bats remaining in the roost, or even females with young, so you must be extremely careful when choosing the time of year to act.
Keep in mind that effective bat removal depends to a large extent on the time you choose. If you remove the adult bats when the young are still too young to fly or defend themselves, they will die; not only inhumanely but also cause you more problems, as the carcasses are extremely difficult to find and remove. This is why you should avoid removing bats during the period between May and August (this depends on the climate in which you live, so it is advisable to check beforehand). It is also advisable to avoid removal during the winter months, as they hibernate during this time and do not represent a nuisance; also, they will starve to death if you throw them out.
Bat colonies are usually composed entirely of female bats and are called maternity colonies. The females give birth to a baby every summer, so the size of the colonies doubles. The bats are also long-lived, so they stay in the same place all year round if conditions are favorable or, if not, they migrate and return each summer. This means that, over time, bat colonies can grow to enormous dimensions. An entire attic infested with bats is one of the biggest problems and most difficult challenges in the field of pest elimination.
If we start blocking the possible entrances to the house, we can locate the location of the colony, and it will be a great help. Then we must carry out the blocking of entrances for several nights in a row, as not all bats may come out on the same night to feed. Place wire netting and wire mesh in the openings, but make sure that you will be able to remove them the second night, allowing the rest of the bats to leave. Once this has been carried out for several nights, you can proceed to block the entrances permanently.
In case a bat sneaks into the room, the best way to chase it out is by lowering the intensity of the light, closing all windows or doors, leaving only one exit, and turning off all electronic devices: fans and air conditioning. This will maintain a silence that will allow the bat to guide itself using echolocation. This is usually enough, and the bat will come out on its own.
If the bat does not make it out, you can trap it in a plastic container, jar, or bucket. Wait for it to land, exhausted, and then cautiously place the plastic container over the bat against the wall or floor. Then insert a piece of paper between the wall and the container and capture the bat. Then carefully release it outside.
Alternative Repellent Methods
Mothballs
Bats can be eliminated using mothballs, as they do not like the smell of mothballs. When the bats are out hunting, you can put mothballs of mothballs in rags, knot them up to create little sachets and then place them in the area where the bats have their roosts. Because the stench will deter them from returning. You may have to use this method more than once because bats tend to return to their old roosts from time to time.
Pet Spray Repellents
Another repellent method that can be used is dog or cat spray repellents and ammonia, making sure that you apply it to places where the bats have their roost while they are outside. Because they do not like the smell, they will avoid returning to the sprayed area. However, this method needs to be repeated regularly.
High-frequency sounds
It is said that by placing strips of paper or balloons that move in the wind, we will succeed in scaring the bats and using devices that produce high-frequency sounds. The effectiveness of these methods is debatable and, if they work, they would only keep the bats away but would not solve your problem if the pest is already in your home.
Bright Lights
Because the use of a large number of mothballs can be dangerous to humans, alternative methods of repelling bats are recommended. Since they are highly attracted to darkness, you can place bright lights in their nesting areas, and the place will no longer be as attractive to them. Fiberglass can also help, as it irritates bats when they come in contact with it. It is unnecessary to cover the entire house but use several layers in places where bats could access your home.
Sprinkle the area with water
If you discover that their nesting area is close to your house and you want to prevent them from coming closer, you can sprinkle the area with water, as this will disturb the bats without harming them. Again, be sure to repeat the action at regular intervals until the bats understand that they are not welcome there.
How to Keep the Bats away from Your Home
Make sure they are bats!
To make sure they are bats and not rats living on your roof, do the following:
– Check to see if you hear them chirping, especially at dawn and dusk, when they are out hunting.
– Check for bat droppings. Bat droppings are similar to rat droppings, but they turn to dust if you press on them.
– Conduct an official survey.
Locate entry points.
Bats usually go out to hunt and come in to make a nest. Some are small and only need a hole in a tile, in bricks, or enter through the chimney.
Never trap them, and make them leave your house.
Bats are not a pest, and we don’t want to harm them. The best thing you can do in these cases is to let them fly away and block the access points, so they don’t come back into your house.
Use home remedies to repel bats.
There are some natural and inexpensive options to keep bats out of your home. Among them are the following:
– Hang Christmas balls. Bats are scared away if they see shiny objects that move.
– Mirrors have the same effect as Christmas balls. You can use them to scare bats away.
– You can use eucalyptus oil to scare bats away, as they don’t like strong scents.
– If you don’t like the smell of eucalyptus oil, you can use cinnamon to scare bats away.
Summary
Bats are not a pest, and they can be useful to get rid of insects. However, we can keep them away without harming them. Now you know how to keep bats away from ceilings with natural solutions and safely.
