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Bats In My House!

WIP

WIP

Staff member
Moderator
Roughly 30 years ago we bought this old farmhouse. The attic was well occupied by little brown bats. We could hear them crawling around in the evenings. For the most part we had almost no encounters with them because they had an easy access point through a hole in one of the gable end vents.

For the first 12 years that we lived here we spent a lot of time remodeling the home, removing the old lath and plaster walls, insulating, upgrading the electrical system, and installing new drywall. Finally, in 2001 we got to the point of replacing the roof and siding, which meant removing and boarding up the old gable end vents. The contractor went to great lengths to make sure there were no openings where bats could access our attic anymore.

Well, every once in a while we will still find a bat that has managed to get into our home and I have been unable to figure out where they enter from. I have searched the house everywhere. One possibility that I had was our chimney. We do not have a cap on the top of the chimney so I figured they could possibly crawl down the chimney and get in through the furnace damper vent so this past spring I bought some stainless steel window screen and formed a screen over that vent opening. Any bat that may try to get in that way would be prevented from getting past that screen.

Well, yesterday evening I was sitting in our living room with no lights on watching the television when I noticed something flutter past the TV screen. How it got in the house is a total mystery to me. It kept circling the living room and kitchen and I'm sure it was looking for a way out so I held the front door open and eventually it saw it and flew out.

It is freaky though to have a bat flying around in the house, especially in the dark where it is difficult for me to see it.
 
WIP said:
Roughly 30 years ago we bought this old farmhouse. The attic was well occupied by little brown bats. We could hear them crawling around in the evenings. For the most part we had almost no encounters with them because they had an easy access point through a hole in one of the gable end vents.

For the first 12 years that we lived here we spent a lot of time remodeling the home, removing the old lath and plaster walls, insulating, upgrading the electrical system, and installing new drywall. Finally, in 2001 we got to the point of replacing the roof and siding, which meant removing and boarding up the old gable end vents. The contractor went to great lengths to make sure there were no openings where bats could access our attic anymore.

Well, every once in a while we will still find a bat that has managed to get into our home and I have been unable to figure out where they enter from. I have searched the house everywhere. One possibility that I had was our chimney. We do not have a cap on the top of the chimney so I figured they could possibly crawl down the chimney and get in through the furnace damper vent so this past spring I bought some stainless steel window screen and formed a screen over that vent opening. Any bat that may try to get in that way would be prevented from getting past that screen.

Well, yesterday evening I was sitting in our living room with no lights on watching the television when I noticed something flutter past the TV screen. How it got in the house is a total mystery to me. It kept circling the living room and kitchen and I'm sure it was looking for a way out so I held the front door open and eventually it saw it and flew out.

It is freaky though to have a bat flying around in the house, especially in the dark where it is difficult for me to see it.
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You don't really need to worry until the Joker or the Penguin show up.
 
WIP said:
Roughly 30 years ago we bought this old farmhouse. The attic was well occupied by little brown bats. We could hear them crawling around in the evenings. For the most part we had almost no encounters with them because they had an easy access point through a hole in one of the gable end vents.

For the first 12 years that we lived here we spent a lot of time remodeling the home, removing the old lath and plaster walls, insulating, upgrading the electrical system, and installing new drywall. Finally, in 2001 we got to the point of replacing the roof and siding, which meant removing and boarding up the old gable end vents. The contractor went to great lengths to make sure there were no openings where bats could access our attic anymore.

Well, every once in a while we will still find a bat that has managed to get into our home and I have been unable to figure out where they enter from. I have searched the house everywhere. One possibility that I had was our chimney. We do not have a cap on the top of the chimney so I figured they could possibly crawl down the chimney and get in through the furnace damper vent so this past spring I bought some stainless steel window screen and formed a screen over that vent opening. Any bat that may try to get in that way would be prevented from getting past that screen.

Well, yesterday evening I was sitting in our living room with no lights on watching the television when I noticed something flutter past the TV screen. How it got in the house is a total mystery to me. It kept circling the living room and kitchen and I'm sure it was looking for a way out so I held the front door open and eventually it saw it and flew out.

It is freaky though to have a bat flying around in the house, especially in the dark where it is difficult for me to see it.
Click to expand...
I used to watch the bats and night-hawks patrolling my neighborhood at dusk.
I saw a bunch of night-hawks actually herding a swarm of mosquitos (I think) and diving through the swarm for a snack.
It was awesome!
I loved my bats.
They help pollinate the cactuses.
 
I feel ya WIP , although I’ve got a bigger problem with squirrels.

I actually think I’ve figured out how the bats were getting in, so they are pretty much in my soffit now. Just for laughs, in our earlier years we’ve had several bats in the house. One night one got in our bedroom and was happily hanging on our curtain. I still don’t know why my wife made such a fuss and made me remove him. He would have been fine til morning. Anyway, I use welding gloves and a fishing net to catch them.

It’s been several years since ones been in the house. Roof is plank with OSB overlay. I remember them getting very aggressive when I did the roof and during the cedar shake removal, it exposed them. Angry bats can be a bit intimidating! Anyway, after the new roof, they were squeezing in the gap between the OSB and planks. Of course, they had to lift the drip edge to squeeze in, but going out must have been much easier for them. It’s amazing how they squeeze their way in. Anyway, I put moth balls in the gap and it did nothing. My next resort was steel wool and then Ivsealed it with great stuff.

that slowed them down, but they just found another way in. They came in from the soffit, so I moved the insulation from the Eves and put a wire mesh in there as a barrier. I don’t. See them coming out of my drip edge anymore, but boy are they ruining my soffit now. I remember doing the roof…. No way am I tearing out soffit till next spring. I think I counted about 50 coming out of my soffit last summer.

squirrels, that’s another battle…
 
humble soul said:
Unbelievable.that would freak me out.
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It can a bit unnerving. I stayed sitting in the chair for a little while watching bits and pieces of it as it dipped and dived around the house before I got the courage to get up, turn on some lights so I could see, and move to the front door to hold it open.

Here's one that really freaked me out one time and fortunately my wife wasn't home at the time. Before going to bed I had closed the windows because there was a threat of thunderstorms overnight. Sometime during the night I was awakened by a breeze I felt across my face. I woke up thinking I had closed the windows. I was laying there looking at the windows to see if I had forgot to close one or something. The windows ware backlit by our outside security light and while I was trying to see if one was open I saw a bat zip passed in front of the window. That breeze I felt was from that bat's wings as it flew by close to my face. Freaked me right out!
 
kiwidan said:
Heaps of bats here i see them flying at night all the time.
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www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu

Five Facts: Bats in Florida

First of all, there are no vampire bats in Florida! And bats are not rodents. They are in their own order, Chiroptera, which translates to "hand-wing," and most people are surprised to learn that the bone structure of a bat wing is nearly identical to a human hand. Bats are also the only mammals tha
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu

don't see the daytime ones like I did before
 
stovebolts said:
I feel ya @WIP , although I’ve got a bigger problem with squirrels.
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One day I got in my wife's car and noticed a lot of shredded paper on the console and thought what happened here ?

Later that day I opened the trunk and inside an open toilet paper multi pack that had 3 rolls of tp in it was more shredded paper ! Not only that but there were animal dropping a little bigger than pea size :squint ! My only guess is a squirrel got in my wife's car when the trunk was left open for a while . Her car has a remote trunk release and we can open it from inside the house , so I guess the squirrel escaped when we popped the trunk but we did not see it happen . I am glad not be in the way of a squirrel getting out of a car . But how did the squirrel know what toilet paper was for ? 🤣
 
Years ago a brown bat pup got into my apartment.
I walked to the sliding doors that opened onto the balcony and opened them. Held the sheer curtain back and little one flew away.

Bats have a sense of home once they've established their colony. Hard to say where your little guy gained access.
Maybe look near the foundation of your home.

It's always a good idea to have a shield or cover over the top of your chimney. Birds can nest in spring and this can cause issues later.
Plus it protects from anything else falling in.

The thing about a large colony is the bat guano that accumulates.

Unless of course one wants to collect it to sell to high end cosmetic companies for their eyeliner and mascara production, it can cause serious issues in the home.

There's a YouTube video that tells you how to find out how bats are getting into your home.
 
Chocolate Roadrunner said:
There's a YouTube video that tells you how to find out how bats are getting into your home.
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They say to look for evidence of guano but I have found none. I do not believe they are actually living in my home anymore but somehow one manages to get inside unintentionally. When that happens they can get quite anxious as they look for an exit. Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind but actually have very good eye sight and can see an open door or window exit point and it usually doesn't take long once one is made available.
 
WIP said:
They say to look for evidence of guano but I have found none. I do not believe they are actually living in my home anymore but somehow one manages to get inside unintentionally. When that happens they can get quite anxious as they look for an exit. Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind but actually have very good eye sight and can see an open door or window exit point and it usually doesn't take long once one is made available.
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Yes, I know the phrase, blind as a bat, is unfair to bats. The one in my apartment was flying around until I opened the balcony door and held the sheets aside. He flew out immediately.
He was so cute.
 
stovebolts said:
Yes, and it can be toxic. Our home is about 120 years old and when we moved in there was at least 1/2 inch of guano. I purchased respirators and extra hose for the shop vacuum…. The worst was bleaching it.
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I bet. I can barely stand the smell of bleach on whites laundry day.

I met someone who, while lucky to be alive, lost their sense of taste and smell when they walked into a house to clear it out after a woman had died mixing bleach and ammonia for her housework chores.
Apparently having all the windows and doors open wasn't enough.
 
Most small bats only need an opening as small as a dime or quarter and they can squeeze in.

It's good you got sealed what you could, but they are definitely coming in from somewhere. The chimney is a possibility. Generally gaps in siding and attics in houses is to blame. I had a friend many years ago that could hear about a hundred of them or so chattering in one wall on the side of her home. They would fly out a gap in the siding at dusk. I remember standing there watching them all with her. It's a bit difficult when it's inside your home they are flying out of.

It can be dangerous because bat droppings/guano is toxic and you don't want that in your walls, it can make you sick. Have those areas they have roosted cleaned if possible. Also, another concern is a bite and while the chance of being bitten by a bat is low, they are still able to get rabies.

I hope you can continue to find a solution to keep them out of your home. There are many places that bats can crawl and sneak into. When in doubt, observe different points of your home at dusk and see if you can spot where they fly out of. It may take persistence every evening, but keep at it.
 
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