Bat House Forum

[BatsInTheBelfry]

Sigh...so about 4 years ago we had bats in the attic of our Massachusetts home. We hired a professional company who did a great job (at a cost of about $1200) and cured us of our noisy tenants. Things have been great since, but much to our dismay they are back in the attic again. My wife is eager for me to call the pros again, however I'd like to save my wallet the distress if at all possible.
 
We hear them scratching in the ceiling above our bedroom every night (presumably they are under the insulation in the attic), they seem to get going anywhere from midnight to about 3am and go through until the sun comes up.
 
The house is already pretty well sealed from the last exclusion we had done, I did however locate one spot where I think they are coming in and out. I had noticed a sticky brown mess on the wall a while ago but had not put 2 and 2 together that it was probably bat poop, here's the picture:
 

 
I've tried to make an exclusion device out of screen used for windows and doors, here's my effort:
 

 

 

 

 
That has been up for a couple of days now and so far, no luck. We hear the bat(s) moving around at night, but they don't seem to be leaving the attic - granted it's cold outside - in the 20s at night.
 
Here are my questions, and help/advice would be very, very much appreciated (lack of sleep is starting to wear thin  )
 

• Is the exclusion device I've created usable?
  
• It's been a couple of nights and the bats don't seem to be leaving - is this expected? How long should I wait before calling someone in?
  
• Is there anything I can do in the attic to help them out through the exclusion device? I've even tried putting a smoke alarm up there jammed in the test position - nothing...
  

 
Thanks in advance for any advice, I have no problems calling in the pros, I just wanted to at least try it myself first before emptying my wallet again.  
 
Waiting eagerly!
 
-TJ

[Gran]

Have you actually verified that  they are bats?  I know you had them in past but could it be something else? I used to have squirrels get in mine and chase each other around behind tub enclosure.  The reason I question it is, that is an awfully round hole almost like something made it.  At least in Alabama there are several types of rodents that like to live in atics.  of course, bats could be using hole too.

[BatsInTheBelfry]

Many thanks for the kind response Gran - much appreciated.

As for the round hole - it looks like that because I made it. It was originally smaller and less perfectly shaped, I cut it larger in hopes I could see inside and also make it easier for the bats to get out through the exclusion device.

As for squirrels, I don't think so. I actually have 2 HaveAHeart squirrel traps set in the attic as a matter of course (from the original bat invasion - I thought they were squirrels before finding out they were bats).

Thanks again for the kind response!

-TJ

[BatMan]

That exclusion device looks like it should work, at first look it did appear to be too tight against the hole but it does appear that they can drop out of the hole. I would give it sometime, let it warm up a bit.

Have you given any thought to giving them an alternate roost ?

[IowaNate]

 The exclusion device looks good. I lived in an old farmhouse for several years that big brown bats hibernated in, and occasionally I could hear them chattering and moving about (especially near interior door frames). Your bats are almost certainly big browns and they will start leaving the hibernation site (your house) within the next month or two when the nighttime temperature gets above 50 degrees. Aside from catching the bats in the attic or poisoning them (both of which are greatly inhumane in my eyes), there is no real good option other than waiting till they leave at this time of the year.

  I would definately take Batman's advice in providing an alternate roost, although they probably won't use it in the winter, it will give them a good summer home option.

[BatsInTheBelfry]

Hi all, thank you very much indeed for the replies, this forum is a great resource!

I will certainly be building a bathouse for my friends to use next year, might prevent the same thing happening next year, or 3 years from now.

We heard them again in our bedroom cieling last night, this morning I went to check the exclusion device to find that the lower flap was missing. I'm not sure where it went (it's nowhere to be found on our property), it wasn't windy last night, I probably should have secured it better with some duct tape down one side of it also. I'll make a new piece for it today.

It sounds like the best I can do is to leave the exclusion device up and hope they leave. I hope it's soon as we've moved into a cramped spare room as we keep getting woke up by the bats in the cieling of our main bedroom.

Is there anything different a professional company would be able to do to get the bats out sooner?

Thanks again to all for the great advice!

-TJ

[Terry Lobdell]

If you are patient you should be able to exclude them yourself.........sometimes caulk works better to hold the mesh in place. Once you are done excluding you can just peel the bead of caulking off......

[IowaNate]

  I don't believe a professional company would be able to exclude them any sooner and keep the bat's safety at the utmost concern. With the temperatures in your area this time of year there are no insects for them to feed on, and disturbing the bats by relocating (catching and releasing) in another area probably wouldn't work well either, since the stressed bats would expend alot of their energy and fat reserves that they need to survive the winter without food.

  I think you are doing great with your exclusion device, and I am very confident that it will work. This may sound funny, but I have great nieghbors that are good friends and helpful most times, but they have boisterious parties occasionally late at night. I can't get rid of my nieghbors (and I wouldn't want to) but I feel you will be able to keep the bats in your yard but keep their "loud parties" confined to a well built bat house of their own.

  Stay villigent TJ...your family and the bats will learn to coexist without bothering each other very soon with warmer weather, a well built bat house that is mounted properly, and permanent sealing of access points into your house after the bats have been excluded.

 

                   

[Joe Spencer]

Thanks for the photos BITB and very good points all.  I remember when I started this forum as a spinoff/pickup from pioneer Dave's Bat House Discussion Group that I was so busy posting with very few experienced bat housers/enthusiasts available to offer experienced advice and help.  So glad to see that it has evolved with some true sound experienced members and awesome newcomers which has made the experience far more relaxing and fulfilling for me.  Many thanks... Joe