Bat House Forum

[2muchguano]

We are in need of an exclusion... For the last 15-20 years we have been watching bats fly out of our house. It has gotten more and more each year. I sit at night and try to count them coming out,, but they have so many exits I can't. I lose count at about 100 or so and that is only about halfway thru... It is starting to get bad because we used to only get about 5 a year into our house. I would turn different lights on and off and eventially get them to fly out the door. Stuborn ones I would let land and then grab them take it outside and release it. This year it is a little worse... we had 4 in the house last night and today. A few weeks ago I awoke to one crawling on my hand. Last night my wife woke up to one crawling in her hair... she freaked... So I need to put up a house for them and get them moved outside. I want them to stay in my yard, just not in my house. It is fun watching them eating every evening. Do they hibernate or migrate ? We live in SE Pa and I guess they are little brown bats ???
I'm sure I'm going to need to get profesionals in because there has to be a mess up inside the ceiling in the attic... I know the ceiling has to be taken down and cleaned out. I might try calling BCM tomorrow and discuss with them the options...

[Dave Miller]

2much - I assume you have visited Bat Conservation International's page on bats in buildings?

http://www.batcon.org/index.php/bats-in-buildings.html

They have exclusion instructions, etc. However unless you are comfortable climbing around on ladders and in your attic, putting up bat houses and hiring a pro to do the exclusion is a wise choice.

As you probably know, timing for the exclusion is important - you don't want to trap any baby bats in your attic.

I helped a friend put up a bat house before they did an exclusion and everything went well. We mounted the bat house on their chimney, and some of the bats moved in right away, even before the exclusion. But if you can put it on a pole or a wall, that is usually best.

Little brown bats can fit through any crevice that you could fit a matchbook through, so you will have to be thorough in sealing the crevices in your attic space.

Just curious - how far do you live from open water (lake, pond, stream, etc.)?

Please keep us updated on your progress! Also feel free to post any specific questions.

Dave